by Alicia González Martínez, Resident and Research Fellow Section (RRFS) Past Chair, on behalf of the EAN RRFS Office
This year, the EAN Resident and Research Fellow Section (RRFS) celebrated the third edition of the NeuroART Competition, which concluded with an engaging exhibition of artistic talent from the neurology community at the 12th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Geneva. For the second consecutive year, the winners were also invited to present their artwork at the Neuro Theatre during the congress.
Overview of the Competition
Once again, the RRFS invited its members to participate in the NeuroART Competition and, for the first time, extended the invitation to Full and Student Members as well. The competition featured three exciting categories: Music, Dance, and Video; Photography and Painting; and Poetry and Short Essays. It sought to blend the worlds of art and neurology, encouraging participants to explore and express their understanding of neuroscience through a variety of artistic media.
We are delighted to announce that Student Members and Full Members will once again be invited to participate in next year’s competition!
NeuroART 2026 Winners
Liliia Sukharieva, Ukraine – Awarded in the category ‘Music, Dance, and Video’
Watch and read more about her award-winning dance video: The Synaptic World
My dance demonstrates the synaptic world of a patient with focal epilepsy. The girl in the red dress symbolizes the focus of excitation – the epileptogenic zone. Her movements are uncontrolled, resemble motor manifestations of an epileptic attack, reflect the generation of hypersynchronous discharges. The four figures around her represent cortical structures – the prefrontal cortex, frontal cortex, associative zones, thalamo-cortical pathways. Interacting with the epileptogenic zone, they try to restrain pathological excitation, regulate its spread, and transmit activity to adjacent zones. This illustrates the pathophysiology of the spread of epileptic excitation. At the end of the dance, there is a fall – excitation reaches a peak and control over neuronal networks is lost, which corresponds to the ictal phase of an epileptic attack. The frozen figures around represent astrocytic reaction and neuronal stress, corresponding to the postictal phase. Thus, the choreography reflects a disruption of the excitatory-inhibitory balance.
Fatemehsadat Shahrezaei, Italy/Iran – Awarded in the category ‘Poetry and Short Essays’
Read her award-winning poem: Message Without a Voice
This poem uses a girl’s life in Iran as a metaphor for ALS disease pattern. She is the motor neuron – the messenger of movement – whose wish is freedom of action! In ALS, motor neurons degenerate as misfolded proteins (most often TDP 43) accumulate; here, that aggregation is portrayed as anger settling in her heart. The policewoman represents microglia, the brain’s immune guardians against pathogens and debris: meant to protect, but when chronically activated they amplify stress through inflammatory signals, worsening the burden. Her family mirrors astrocytes, support cells that normally buffer glutamate and nourish neurons; when dysregulated, they withdraw support and constrain recovery. Together, these non–cell autonomous forces overwhelm the messenger, disrupting communication along the corticospinal network until movement – and hope/freedom of action – fails.
Julia Anna Kent, Germany/ Czech Republic – Awarded in the category ‘Photography and Painting’
See and read more about and her award-winning photograph Snow of Forgetting
I went ice skating on a chilly morning in Sweden and after a while I got inspired by the freshly fallen snow and the marks I left in it with my skates. I knew I had to take advantage of the sudden burst of creativity, and I decided to combine two of my passions: neurology and figure skating. Using my skates and my arms I drew 2 neurons on the ice. One of them is a healthy cell with its magnificent body, dendrites spread out and its long axon reaching into the distance with synapses at the end. However, the other neuron is damaged, it is smaller and its axon is interrupted. With this I tried to create an image of dementia in which neurons die gradually and in which the snow is a metaphor of death, as the cells will be covered by it and slowly disappear.
The winners were selected by an expert jury for their outstanding contributions, creativity, and ability to encapsulate complex neurological concepts through their art. Their works not only reflect their artistic prowess but also demonstrate their deep understanding of and passion for neurology. The winners were invited to present their work at the Neuro Theatre during the EAN Congress 2026 in Geneva and received a travel grant and a certificate.
This year’s three winners received their awards at the EAN Congress 2026 from RRFS Chair, Alicia González Martínez. Left to right: Liliia Sukharieva, Fatemehsadat Shahrezaei, Julia Anna Kent.
Significance of the Competition
The NeuroArt competition serves as a unique platform for aspiring and established neurologists, neuroscientists, and students to engage with their field in a creative and reflective manner.
By encouraging the integration of art and science, the competition aims to foster a holistic appreciation of neurology, promote mental well-being, and enhance public understanding of neurological research.
The competition not only provides a creative outlet for participants but also helps communicate complex neurological concepts in an accessible and engaging way. The successful conclusion of this year’s competition highlights the vibrant intersection of art and science and the important role that creative expression can play in fostering both personal and professional growth within the neurology community.
For more detailed information about the competition and future events, please visit the official EAN NeuroART competition page.
Keep an eye on next year’s competition for another opportunity to showcase your creative talents and contribute to the growing community of NeuroArtists.
All Full, RRFS, and Student members are welcome to submit their artwork!
The NeuroArt Jury
Dr Jesús Porta-Etessam
President of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), Neurologist,
Madrid, Spain. Fellow of the European Academy of Neuology.
Head of the Neurology Department, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain. Founder of “Art and the butterflies of the soul” art and neurology project, Associate Professor of Neurology at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Dr Radhika Patnala PhD
CEO, Endosymbiont
Visual Science Communication and Design Experts for Biotech Neuroscientist
Munich, Germany
Dr Radhika Patnala, a neuroscientist, and the Founder of Sci-Illustrate and Endosymbiont, leads teams to solve design and communication problems for biotech and pharma, while striving to bridge the line between science, art and design. She has served as an Individual Specialist with UNESCO and the co-curator of the Creative Resilience global sci-art exhibit. Her work on COVID-19 communications has been featured by the BBC, and she has been a keynote speaker at the World Health Organization global conference on communicating science during health emergencies.
Sloka Iyengar, PhD
Neuroscientist, Adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s University
Philadelphia, USA
Dr Iyengar is a neuroscientist and practitioner of a traditional Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam and is passionate about relieving suffering through the sciences and the arts. She curates a forum called Vichaar (the Sanskrit word means ‘thought’ or ‘contemplation’) that explores the points of intersection between the arts and the sciences. She has used Bharatanatyam to present topics such as the impacts of caregiving on the brain; learning, teaching, and pedagogy; and the neural mechanisms of error detection. You can find more about her at https://www.slokaiyengar.net/.
Previous contest editions: NeuroART Competition showcases RRFS members’ artistic talent – eanNews; NeuroART Competition showcases RRFS members’ artistic talent – eanNews.
