Prof. Karim Lekadir has joined the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona (UBneuro) as the principal investigator of the AI for Mental Health group.
Prof. Lekadir is an ICREA Research Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Barcelona and director of the research group BCN-AIM. He studied mathematics and computer science in France and Germany, obtained his PhD from Imperial College London, and subsequently carried out postdoctoral research at Stanford University. His career has been strongly oriented towards the development of data science and artificial intelligence (AI) methods with direct impact on medicine and health. He is also cofounder of the spin-off Fedder AI, which applies advanced, privacy-preserving artificial intelligence to improve clinical diagnosis and medical decision-making.
His research lies at the intersection of AI, medicine and the social sciences, with a focus on AI solutions that are effective, ethical and trustworthy. Through extensive experience in European research projects, he has specialised in designing generalisable AI methods that can adapt across different environments and populations. He has been principal investigator in 12 EU-funded projects and coordinator of five Horizon projects, and he currently leads the ERC Consolidator Grant AIMIX (Inclusive AI for accessible medical imaging across resource-limited settings).
A key line of Prof. Lekadir’s work is AI for global health, with particular attention to under-served populations in rural African regions, where data scarcity, basic equipment and clinician shortages pose major challenges. His research also addresses fairness in AI, aiming to ensure that AI tools provide equitable care regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. His projects span several medical fields, including oncology, cardiology, mental health and women’s health.
With his incorporation, UBneuro strengthens its capacity in artificial intelligence and data science applied to neuroscience and health, opening new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and international collaboration. The Institute warmly welcomes Prof. Karim Lekadir and looks forward to the new discoveries and cutting-edge research that lie ahead.
