Boston Precision Brain & Mental Health Hack 2025

Advanced Neuroscience Workshop

Boston Precision Brain & Mental Health Hack is a three-day event happening at Northeastern University this Fall designed as an extension to Brainhack Global. This event will bring together students, postdocs, and faculty to tackle precision medicine problems through hackathon-style projects, hands-on tutorials, and discussions. Following the Brainhack spirit, this hackathon is not a “coding sprint” or exclusive to programmers—neuroscientists, psychologists, engineers, programmers, students, faculty, and more can and do make a significant contribution to the event. Given some methodological overlap and goals, we are excited to incorporate both digital health and neuroscience approaches.

Any questions not covered by the FAQ? Contact us at: fischbach.a@northeastern.edu

10/28/2025 - Tuesday

Time	Session	Location
9:30 AM	Intro	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
10:00 AM	Project "speed dating" & Coffee	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
11:00 AM	Talk: Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
12:00 PM	Lunch/ Finish "Speed dating"	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
1:00 PM	Talk: Don Robinaugh	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
2:00 PM	Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
4:00 PM	Wrap up	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228

10/29/2025 - Wednesday

Time	Session	Location
9:00 AM	Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
9:30 AM	Coffee & Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
10:00 AM	Data blitz	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
11:00 AM	Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
12:00 PM	Lunch	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
1:30 PM onwards	Open Hacking	Egan Research Center, Room #440

10/30/2025 - Thursday

Time	Session	Location
9:00 AM	Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
9:30 AM	Coffee & Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
10:00 AM	Talk: Satrajit Ghosh: An Intelligent Infrastructure as a Foundation for Modern Science	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
11:00 AM	Talk: Paola Pedrelli: Rethinking Psychiatry: From Diagnoses to Mechanisms of Change and Biomarkers	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
12:00 PM	Lunch	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
1:00 PM	Open hacking	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
3:00 PM	Presentations & Wrap-up	Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor, Room #228
4:00 PM	Social!	Two Saints Tavern (52 Gainsborough St)

Speakers

Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli

Tommy Fuss Endowed Chair in Precision Psychiatry (MGH); Professor of Psychology (Northeastern); Founding Director of NUBIC (Northeastern)

Massachusetts General Hospital; Northeastern University

Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli is an American scientist, psychologist/neuroscientist, academic and researcher. She is a professor of psychology, the Founding Director of the Biomedical Imaging Center at Northeastern University, Researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and a Research Affiliate of McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Whitfield-Gabrieli’s research is focused on the working of the human brain, its development from childhood through adult maturity, the brain’s working in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, and the translation of neuroscience knowledge into treatments. She is involved in the development of neuroimaging analysis methods and software packages including CONN, REX, and ART.

Donald Robinaugh

Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology (Northeastern); Assistant Professor of Art + Design (Northeastern); Research Affiliate (MGH)

Northeastern University; Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Robinaugh’s work is focused on investigating the complex systems that give rise to anxiety and traumatic-stress disorders, especially prolonged grief. The premise of his work is that mental disorders are massively complex phenomena that arise from a host of interacting biological, psychological, social, cultural, and environmental factors. To understand these complex systems, Dr. Robinaugh utilizes a broad set of tools from psychology, systems science, and art + design, including dynamical systems modeling, network psychometric modeling, and computational phenotyping, with particular focus on applying these tools with time series data collected in the laboratory, in extended reality, and in ecological momentary assessments.

Satrajit Ghosh

Senior Research Scientist (MIT); Director of the Open Data in Neuroscience Initiative (MIT); Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology (HMS)

McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Harvard Medical School

Satrajit Ghosh is the Director of Open Data in Neuroscience Initiative and a Senior Research Scientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, and an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He is a computer scientist and computational neuroscientist by training. He directs the Senseable Intelligence Group (https://sensein.group) whose research portfolio comprises projects on spoken communication, brain imaging, and informatics to address gaps in scientific knowledge in three areas: the neural basis and translational applications of human spoken communication, machine learning approaches to precision psychiatry and medicine, and preserving information for reproducible research and knowledge generation. He is a PI on several NIH projects (BICAN knowledgebase, DANDI, and the BBQS Data Coordination and Artificial Intelligence Center) supported by the BRAIN Initiative and is a big proponent of open and collaborative science.

Paola Pedrelli

Associate Director of the Depression Clinical Research Program (MGH); Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry (HMS)

Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School

Dr. Pedrelli's research focuses on several key areas. She is a leading scientist in the development of digital tools for the long-term monitoring of depression, leveraging artificial intelligence and wearable and mobile sensors. Her commitment to improving clinical care for depression drives her research into innovative treatment methods. She has developed several face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy approaches for depression, both in isolation and in conjunction with heavy episodic drinking. Additionally, she has conducted clinical trials on novel digital health interventions for depression. More recently, her work has centered on investigating the effectiveness of ketamine-based treatments for depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, as well as the underlying mechanisms of these conditions.

Location

Boston Precision Brain & Mental Health Hack 2025 will take place at two locations on Northeastern University's campus (Curry Student Center, 2nd Floor Suites, Room #228 and Egan Research Center, Room #440) and virtually over Zoom

Primary Location (Tue, Wed Morning, and Thu)

Curry Student Center - 2nd Floor suites

360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Public Transit:

Green Line E: "Northeastern University" stop (right in front)
Orange Line: "Ruggles Station" (5-7 min walk)

Parking:

Renaissance Garage (835 Columbus Ave)

Wednesday Afternoon Location

Egan Research Center, room 440

120 Forsyth Street, Boston, MA 02115

From Curry (10 min walk):

Walk south to Ruggles St → Columbus Ave → Turn left to Egan Research Center

Public Transit:

Orange Line to Ruggles (5 min walk west on Columbus)

Registration

Registration Form

To register, please use the following link:

Registration

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. General Information

Are there any associated fees?

No - this event is free.

Are there any prerequisites to take part in any of the activities?

No - there are no prerequisites.

Why should I participate in a hackathon?

Hackathons are a great way to learn new skills that will be useful in your everyday work as a researcher. Beyond that, hackathons are also an opportunity to meet, collaborate and exchange best practices with members of the community.

Is there a registration deadline for the Brainhack?

No. However, our event space has a strict capacity, so space is limited.

Will this event have a virtual option?

Yes. However, please note that in previous years over 95% of attendees have participated in person. Additionally, while we will do our best to actively monitor virtual streams, some event spaces are not equipped with cameras and/or microphones.

Who should I reach out to if I have questions?

Please email Alex Fischbach <fischbach.a@northeastern.edu>

2. Hackathon Projects

How is this year's Brainhack different from previous years?

This year, we are incorporating hackathon projects into the three-day schedule.

What is a hackathon project?

A project developed during the event, where participants work in teams to create a tool, analysis, experiment, or idea related to the hackathon's theme. Projects can range from coding and data analysis to designing workflows, visualizations, or community resources. The focus is on creativity, learning, and collaboration rather than polished end products or technical coding/programming skills.

I don't want to submit/pitch a project, but I want to contribute. How does this work?

At the hackathon, each project leader will pitch at the beginning of the event. Then you will have the possibility to chat with the project leaders before you decide which projects to join.

Submitting a Hackathon Project

Who can submit a hackathon project?

Anyone registered for Brainhack can submit a project to the project pool. It might be either a project you are already working on and would like help with or a completely new project you would like to start.

Where can I find examples of previous brainhack projects?

To see brainhack project examples from prior hackathons, click here.

I want to submit a hackathon project. What information do you need?

In this Google form there will be a section that asks you to provide: (1) the title of your project and (2) a description of your project (1-2 sentences).

Does my project idea need to be fully formed?

No! Brainhack projects are typically broad/general at the beginning, and then become more refined throughout the hackathon, as other collaborators contribute to the project.

What is the deadline for project submission?

We will close project submission before the Brainhack starts, but we recommend you send a draft submission earlier, if possible.