KVL Provides Support for First KAUST Brain Awareness Week

Overview

Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign that promotes public awareness and interest in brain science. On the week of April 13-17, 2025, KAUST celebrated its first Brain Awareness Week led by KAUST faculty Prof. Leena Ibrahim in partnership with several KAUST stakeholders including the KAUST Visualization Core Lab. The event was filled with lectures about the brain and related research given by experts including KAUST faculty. It also included research showcases and interactive activities that engaged participants into learning more about the wonders of the brain.

The KAUST Visualization Core Lab (KVL) provided VR headsets and laptops as well as expert support with hardware and software set up, helping facilitate several virtual reality (VR) experiences for the event. The first VR experience was an international lecture given by Prof. Leena Ibrahim who was physically in KAUST, Prof. Corrado Cali who was in Turin, Italy and Prof. Marco Agus who was in Qatar. The three lecturers presented inside a virtual space where 3D reconstructions of different brain-related structures were situated and used in the lecture. The experience was streamed live to participants in lecture rooms in KAUST and Italy as shown in the photos below. After the lecture, participants were given the chance to go inside the virtual lecture room to interact with the 3D models in VR.

During the whole week, there were three booths in the event that showcased virtual reality experiences co-organized by KVL. The first booth managed by PhD student Maria Veloz Castillo featured VirtualMente and the metaverse lecture hall used in the international VR lecture. VirtualMente is a virtual reality tour of the brain that was developed by KVL with Prof. Pierre Magistretti and Corrado Cali. The metaverse application based on the spatial.io platform was developed by Prof. Cali and Prof. Agus and features various 3D content that is used for virtual lectures and presentations. The second booth managed by students Norah Alghamdi and Farah Chamaa featured a virtual reality experience that let users experience how it is like to have dementia. This app is publicly available and free in the Meta store here. The third booth managed by Ana Cecilia Gonzalez Alvarez featured a VR Brain Exploration app that allowed users to explore a 3D model of the brain. The app can be freely downloaded here.

Prof. Leena Ibrahim giving a lecture in virtual reality, streamed to lecture room in Italy.

Prof. Corrado Cali's avatar is shown here, while he is physically in Turin, Italy giving the lecture.

KAUST participants were given the chance to experience the lecture hall in VR.

The event featured booths for research showcases and interactive experiences.

The first VR booth featured VirtualMente and the metaverse lecture hall.

Photo credits: Mariana Zapparoli, Marie Sicat.