Evens Foundation
Living together harmoniously in Europe

Evens Science Prize 2013

On the 31st of October the international expert jury unanimously selected the project ‘Upregulating the neural substrates of empathy via neurofeedback’ of Professor John Gruzelier (Goldsmiths, University of London) and Professor David Sander (University of Geneva).

The Evens Foundation strongly believes that science has a role to play in promoting a more harmonious society in Europe. It thus supports relevant scientific research in the framework of its Science Prize.  The 2013 edition focused on the highly exciting and fascinating topic of the neuroscience of empathy. No fewer than 20 proposals were submitted. This shows that there is still a lot to explore in the field of empathy research.

The jury praised the solidity of the proposal, and strongly approved of the collaboration between two universities, the sharing of infrastructure and talent. They also found the use of neurofeedback extremely interesting. This suggested that the project had the potential to lead to intervention to encourage and promote empathy in individuals. Last but not least, the jury wanted to celebrate Prof. Gruzelier for his many years’ commitment to neurofeedback, which struggled for many years to establish its credibility in scientific circles but, thanks to deeper and more thorough research, has increasingly gained recognition.

The winning project receives the sum of €30.000 to support the research.

The prize was awarded by Mrs Evens and Professor Cras on the 31 January 2014 in the framework of the 2014 Meeting of the Society of Applied Neuroscience in Utrecht.

Jury of the Evens Science Prize 2013

Patricia Bijttebier (BE), Senior lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the KU Leuven (University of Leuven);

Patrick Cras (BE), Head of the Neurology Department of the Antwerp University Hospital, Chair of the Ethical Commission of the Antwerp University Hospital and the University of Antwerp, chairman of the jury;

Gustave Moonen (BE),  Professor emeritus of neurology at the University of Liège and honorary head of the Department of Neurology at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège. Currently Secretary General of the European Neurological Society;

Arnon Rolnick (ISR), Clinical Psychologist, Director of the Siach Institute for Psychotherapy, Israel, Board Member of The American Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback;

Serge Tisseron (FR), Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, Director of Research (HDR) at the University of Paris VII Denis Diderot and a member of the CRPMS (Center of Research in Psychoanalysis, Medecine and Society) at the same university;

Birgit Völlm (DE), Clinical Associate Professor and Reader in Forensic Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham;

Patrik Vuilleumier (CH), Professor at Neurology Service, University Hospitals of Geneva and Neuroscience Department. Leading researcher at the Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, University of Geneva, a former Evens Science Prize laureate.