The tenth edition of the Neuroengineering Symposium of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) took place on November 12, 13 and 14, in Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, bringing together hundreds of professional and trainee researchers from several national and international institutions. The event discussed the development and use of technologies in rehabilitation, the advancement of brain studies and interdisciplinarity in neuroscience, among other topics, through lectures, workshops, papers and networking spaces.

The tenth edition of the ISD event marked the fifth visit of Eddy Krueger, professor at the State University of Londrina, to Macaíba. Between remote and in-person participation, the researcher from Paraná highlights that he is always surprised by the innovative technologies and methods, which end up serving as inspiration for scientific processes at his home institution.

“The Institute’s work with technology-related assistance, whether it’s a robotic claw or functional electrical stimulation, always serves as inspiration for those of us who work with research in Londrina,” explains Krueger.

The speakers at the event included prominent researchers in their fields, from Brazil and abroad. One of them was Carlos Díaz Novo, from Uruguay, who presented the relationship between head collisions in football and neuroscience, and Suellen Marinho Andrade, who opened the space for debate on applied research in neuroscience for the study of neurological diseases.

In addition to lectures, the Symposium featured theoretical and practical tutorials, led by professionals from ISD and external institutions, who addressed topics such as optogenetics (a technique used to study neural circuits), brain-machine interfaces, neurodevelopment and microscopic analysis of tissues. 

Participants were also able to present their work in poster or oral presentation formats. At the end of the event, the highlights were awarded prizes. 

Ana Luiza Matos, a recent graduate in Science and Technology from UFRN, wrote the research for one of the award-winning papers at the event. She had previously participated in the congress as a volunteer and, for the first time, presented it as a master's student at the institution. 

“It is a great opportunity, and a very important contribution, to be able to listen to other people and professionals outside our project and see what we have to present. It is a very important and fundamental networking for the development of science”, he says. 

Neuroengineering Symposium

In its decade of existence, the ISD Symposium's main missions are to complement the training and performance of researchers and students and to stimulate the exchange of knowledge through the integration of professionals from different areas. 

To this end, the event annually promotes presentations of scientific works, with awards for the best productions, in addition to theoretical-practical tutorials and spaces for networking and the exchange of knowledge and experiences.

ABOUT ISD

The Santos Dumont Institute is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.