NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates University support brain research

ABU DHABI, 18th February, 2026 (WAM) — Researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Centre for Brain and Health, in collaboration with United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), have released a new brain health dataset to support research in the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa region. The initiative addresses a longstanding gap in large, controlled neuroimaging data from the region.

Published in Nature – Scientific Data, the research introduces the ASPIRE Research Institute Brain Health Dataset, a long-term initiative that will recruit 2,000 participants, including 1,000 Emirati citizens and 1,000 non-Emirati residents aged 18 to 60.

The publication documents the study protocol and makes neuroimaging and behavioral data from the first 41 participants publicly available, alongside detailed documentation and preprocessing workflows to support reuse by the research community.

“This project creates critical research infrastructure for the region,” said Bas Rokers, Director of the Centre for Brain and Health at NYU Abu Dhabi and senior author of the study. “It provides a foundation for future studies that reflect the UAE’s population and contribute meaningfully to global neuroscience research.”

“This dataset lays the groundwork for understanding brain health in the UAE using high-quality, openly shared data,” said Abdalla Mohamed, lead author and Assistant Professor at Department of Cognitive Sciences, United Arab Emirates University. “By making the data and study methods accessible, we aim to enable collaboration and support reproducible brain health research.”