ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize 2025 Winner

I am most honoured to receive this prestigious prize, particularly as this moment of recognition belongs also to all my committed colleagues at UCL. The prize recognises our shared belief that EDI research is not only a moral imperative; it is a key contributor to the improvement of neuroscientific knowledge and culture, as well as an opportunity to improve physical and mental health outcomes for all. - Prof. Aikaterini Fotopoulou 

Oslo, 18 June 2025 – Aikaterini Fotopoulou is Professor in Psychodynamic Neuroscience in the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London (UCL), UK. She has been awarded the 2025 ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize in recognition of her sustained leadership and transformative contributions to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in neuroscience research, training, and academic culture. Her work spans the development of inclusive research infrastructures, mentorship of diverse early-career researchers, and institutional change across national and international scientific communities.

This prestigious award – jointly presented by the ALBA Network and the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence (FKNE), with the support of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) – celebrates Europe-based students and researchers who have made a significant impact in promoting diversity within the brain sciences. 

Through her pioneering work, Prof. Fotopoulou exemplifies the values of the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize and continues to shape a more inclusive future for neuroscience. The ALBA Network and FKNE Scholars would like to highlight the following achievements:

• She founded the Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences (ERB) at UCL, the first centre of its kind globally. With over 15 commissioned research projects, the Centre addresses issues such as racial and ethnic disparities in education, accessibility in neuroimaging, and participatory research with neurodivergent populations – setting a new standard for inclusive and impactful neuroscience.
• She founded and coordinated the ‘World of Work (WoW) Mentor’ scheme, through which over 90 early-career neuroscientists were mentored, achieving outstanding satisfaction and replication of the scheme across multiple institutions.
• She has supported global inclusion in science, sponsoring scholars from resource-limited countries via Commonwealth Scholarships and CIFAR fellowships. As Gender Equity Lead at UCL, she has also advanced gender and intersectional equity via the Athena Swan framework.
• She has embedded EDI principles into the core operations of the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (ESCAN), where, as current President, she has led the adoption of a society-wide EDI code of practice, aligned values with the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion, offering carer travel awards to support conference participation, and championing diversity in speaker representation and award selection.

The ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize Selection Committee would like to congratulate Prof. Fotopoulou for being such a vocal advocate of equity and inclusion in the field, and encourages her to continue her efforts.

More information on the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize can be found here. Read the official press release here.