Steering Committee Member Spotlight: Leila Ali

Driven by a high interest for neuroscience and research, Dr. Ali's pursuit led her to Italy, where she embarked on research focused on unraveling the impact of sensory and motor contingencies on cognition and memory within virtual and mixed reality environments. She hopes this research will bring about a translational value for the assessment of cognition-movement dynamics in healthy individuals and later on in the rehabilitation of movement disorders patients.

Dr. Leila Ali's journey bridges medicine, neuroscience, advocacy, and artistic expression. Embracing a multipotential persona, her interests span across pedagogy, peacebuilding, women's rights, youth empowerment, and the arts. Within her current academic sphere, she collaborates to propagate innovative, neuroscience-driven educational methodologies in medical training with a specific focus on digital gamification.

A fervent advocate for peacebuilding and women's rights since her formative years. Dr. Ali aims to dismantle the societal barriers and misconceptions surrounding ethnicity and gender roles. She was actively involved within UN women Arabia and many other international organizations to promote for a society enriched by diversity, fostering health and prosperity through inclusivity.

Her commitment to health advocacy transcends conventional boundaries, evident in her 2016 Artistic project "Anatomy of Love". Through a blend of acrylic painting and fantastic realism, Dr. Ali embarked on an artistic journey to educate her community about the different body parts' functions while seamlessly intertwining science and artistry to transmit wisdom.

Acrylic painting, “The dominant Brain.” This artwork is an illustration of how the child becomes the center of attention of a mother. And also, how our inner curious and optimistic child should always prevail over the passive and pessimistic adult we may become.