Day 1
Speaker
Ali Jawaid, MD, PhD
Description
Dr. Ali Jawaid, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist with training in both clinical and basic neuroscience. He is a Principal Research Investigator at the Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development. He completed his medical studies from Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan, and followed it up with fellowship in Neuropsychiatry from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. He then proceeded to complete an MD-PhD in Neuroscience from Switzerland (simultaneous PhD degrees awarded by UZH/ETH International Program in Neuroscience and UZH MD-PhD program in 2016) followed by a post-doc in Neuroepigenetics from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Jawaid has been an independent group leader since late 2020 investigating the interplay of metabolic and epigenetic factors in the susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders across the lifespan and across generations. He has authored 80+ publications, including original studies in top-tier scientific journals, such as Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, Nature Communication, EMBO Journal, and Translational Psychiatry and has a current H-index of 33.
Dr. Ali Jawaid is a scholar of the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence, a platform of 30 outstanding Neuroscientists in Europe under the patronage of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies. He is a fiction author, poet, and virtual-reality enthusiast outside of scientific work.
Time
Day 3
Speaker
dr hab. inż. Klaudia Proniewska-van Dam, prof. UJ
Description
Dr hab. n.med. inż. Klaudia Proniewska-van Dam, prof. UJ, is a dynamic researcher and educator specializing in digital-age methods for medical instruction. She currently leads the Functional and Virtual 3D Medical Imaging Laboratory in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at University Hospital in Kraków and serves as Director of the Center for Digital Medicine and Robotics at Jagiellonian University Medical College. She was awarded her habilitation (DSc) in medical sciences for her thesis entitled “Immersive Technologies and Functional Imaging in Cardiology.” This work showcased the clinical application of virtual and mixed reality systems to enhance cardiac diagnostics and interventional training.
Prof. Proniewska-van Dam earned her Ph.D. in Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering (2014) and holds an M.Sc. in Physics and Applied Computer Science (2009) from AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. Her research focuses on integrating mixed, augmented, and virtual reality into medical education—developing immersive 3D visualization techniques that enhance students’ understanding of complex anatomical and physiological concepts. She has spearheaded innovative projects such as the eduXR platform, Mixed Reality–Supported Advanced Medical Education, and Holographic MedAssistant using Microsoft HoloLens.
Her work also extends into clinical practice, particularly in cardiology, with a focus on immersive platforms for pre-operative planning. She has led projects involving XR-based applications and Health Digital Twins that incorporate AI-driven image segmentation.