The 56-year-old Belgian scientist joined Hangzhou Normal University earlier this year as a professor at its School of Basic Medical Sciences, according to a university news release.
Before moving to China, Laureys spent decades in Europe and had a brief stint in North America. He is widely recognised as one of the first researchers to use brain-imaging technology to study consciousness and hidden awareness in patients who appear unresponsive.
He has co-authored more than 500 scientific papers and received numerous awards, including Belgium’s highest scientific honour, the Francqui Prize, the European Award in Medicine and Neurology, and the US-based Tom Slick Research Award in Consciousness.
On October 24, Laureys attended a ceremony on campus to inaugurate the Zhejiang-Belgium Joint Laboratory for Disorders of Consciousness, along with Zhejiang provincial officials, university leaders and Belgian diplomats.
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Researchers in Singapore use AI to read minds through brain scans
Researchers in Singapore use AI to read minds through brain scans
The new lab would focus on precision diagnosis and intervention for patients with consciousness disorders, including those who were in a coma or showed only limited signs of awareness, using them as a “natural model” to study how the brain worked, said Tang Ruikang, the university’s executive vice-president.
