WestNIRS 2025 (Oct 20-24)

We welcome you to the third biennial fNIRS conference hosted by Western University’s Optical Neuroimaging Research Group (ONRG), and supported by NIRx Medical Technologies, Artinis Medical Systems, ANT Neuro, Muse by InteraXon, and BrainsCAN.

WestNIRS 2025 is a 4.5-day event consisting of a 2-day workshop (Oct 20-21) followed by a 2.5-day conference (Oct 22-24). We are very excited to announce that this year’s keynote speakers will be Dr. Anastasia Kerr-German (Mercer University) and Dr. Hamid Dehghani (University of Birmingham)!

The workshop is suitable for both novice and experienced fNIRS users and will include lectures, hands-on data collection, and tutorials on data analysis. These events include two special keynote sessions:

1. Dr. Anastasia Kerr-German will present a three-hour interactive, hands-on workshop titled "From Lab to Mobility with Community Data Collection: Multimodal Methods in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience with Typical, Risk, and Pathology Populations" (see details at the bottom of this page)
2. Dr. Hamid Dehghani will present a two-hour lecture on computational modelling and tomographic reconstruction

Lunches and refreshments will be provided throughout.

The full program will be posted in September.

The conference will include two keynote talks, invited speakers on a wide variety of fNIRS topics, a poster session including industry exhibition tables, and trainee oral presentations. This year's keynotes are:

1. Dr. Anastasia Kerr-German will present "The Toddler Data Desert in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Where we have been and where we are going"
2. Dr. Hamid Dehghani will present “Molecular Imaging using Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy”

Lunches will be provided on the first two days and refreshments will be provided throughout.

The full program will be posted in September.

Following the conference events on Wednesday October 22nd, we will have an informal social event at a nearby venue. More details will be shared soon!

Registration is separate for the workshop/conference/social, and will close on October 6th (9 AM EDT).

If you are purchasing registration for one or more other person, then please send a list of their names/emails to Kevin Stubbs ([email protected]).

We ask that Western-affiliated attendees instead . This alternative process will reduce processing fees and also streamlines the payment/reimbursement process for you!

and close on October 8th (9 AM EDT).

We will once again have the following awards:

• Two poster awards each worth 150 CAD
• Two oral presentation awards each worth 150 CAD

For each type of award, one is limited to undergraduate/masters students while the other has no restrictions. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and announced during the closing remarks. An individual may win only one award. To be eligible for an award, you must submit an abstract and present your work during the conference.

If you have any questions, please email Kevin Stubbs ([email protected]) and Androu Abdalmalak ([email protected]).

During the WestNIRS 2025 Workshop, Dr. Anastasia Kerr-German will present "From Lab to Mobility with Community Data Collection: Multimodal Methods in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience with Typical, Risk, and Pathology Populations"

Duration:

3 hours

Description:

This interactive, hands-on workshop is designed for scientists seeking to expand their methodological toolkit for studying neurodevelopment in both community and lab-based settings. Participants will gain applied training in integrating functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), eye-tracking, and behavioral data collection for mobile and field-based research with diverse populations, including infants, toddlers, and clinical groups with neurodevelopmental pathologies.The session will guide attendees through the practical aspects of project planning, from adapting study protocols for community data collection to making informed design choices about custom probes and probe digitization for compatibility with existing analysis pipelines. Special attention will be given to the challenges and opportunities of working outside of traditional lab settings, with discussion of strategies for data quality assurance and participant engagement.A highlight of the workshop will be hands-on training with the newly launched FireFly™ technology, including access to a free trial for piloting in your own lab. Participants will receive expert guidance on analysis strategies, methodological considerations, and hardware/software integration tailored for current principal investigators and their research teams. By the end of the workshop, participants will:

• Understand best practices for integrating fNIRS, eye-tracking, and behavioral measures in mobile and community-based contexts with fNIRS.
• Learn strategies for designing and digitizing custom probe configurations for developmental and clinical populations in stationary and mobile lab settings.
• Gain familiarity with FireFly™ technology and opportunities for pilot testing in their own research programs.
• Receive feedback on project design, analysis approaches, and hardware/software decision-making.

Who Should Attend:

This workshop is ideal for principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers, and advanced graduate students interested in neurodevelopmental research methods, mobile lab approaches, and cutting-edge technologies for studying brain–behavior interactions.

Host or Publisher Optical Neuroimaging Research Group (WesternU)