Dr. Durnell is a media psychologist with expertise in various areas of business, technology, and graduate level education. Her focus lies in taking a comprehensive approach to leverage the combination of innovative and scalable technology, cognitive behavioral sciences, research rigor and inclusive collaboration within multiple disciplines to understand and achieve profound systemic change. She analyzes and teaches graduate students the impact of technology on human behavior and social change, particularly in the realms of artificial intelligence (AI), MedTech, neuroscience, virtual reality (VR), and ethics within the technology, engineering, healthcare, and business ecosystems.  

 At Johns Hopkins University, she serves as Director at NeuroTech Harbor, building a global coalition of research institutions, healthcare systems, policy makers, regulators and patient advocates to create the first-of-its-kind AI-driven neurotechnology platform to accelerate discoveries for conditions like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Opioid Use Disorder, and Friedreich Ataxia. She holds joint appointments at the School of Medicine, and the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design at the Whiting School of Engineering. Her grant and research focus are on studying Virtual Reality (VR) in MedTech and she has presented her work at prestigious events such as Stanford’s Innovations in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and Harvard Medical School’s VR and Healthcare Symposium. 

With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Durnell has worked at prominent technology companies such as Apple, Xerox, and IBM, as well as start-up technology firms and non-profit organizations in Silicon Valley. Her involvement with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Roster of Experts allowed her to contribute to strategic approaches in digital health, including areas for intervention, governance, and the creation of digital health solutions during COVID. 

Dr. Durnell’s expertise extends to consulting work with Applied Physics Lab (APL) and government entities like the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), and the Joint Staff. Her role involves assessing cognitive options to disrupt and counter operational capabilities of groups like ISIS, the area of mis/dis-information as well as training Psychological Operations (PO) operators. 

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Henry Brem is the Harvey Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery at The Johns Hopkins University, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief. He also is a professor of Oncology, Ophthalmology, and Biomedical Engineering. Brem received his undergraduate degree from New York University, his medical degree from Harvard, and trained in neurosurgery at Columbia. He has built one of the largest brain tumor research and treatment centers in the world. He has trained numerous researchers who have revolutionized the fields of intraoperative imaging, angiogenesis, immunotherapy, and controlled release polymers for drug delivery to the brain. His work has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1982 and is currently funded by several active grants. He has published over 350 research papers, 57 book chapters, 11 patents, and an H index of 93 with over 35,000 citations.

Dr. Brem is committed to collaboration across disciplines to inspire and facilitate the translation of scientific advances for direct patient benefit. As such, he has helped found Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute and was co-principal investigator of the Johns Hopkins Coulter Foundation “Translational Research Partners Program” which funded innovative biomedical engineering projects across disciplines that have the potential to rapidly develop into useful products for patients. Henry Brem has developed new tools and techniques that have changed the field of neurosurgery. Brem carried out the pivotal clinical study that introduced navigational imaging into the neurosurgical suite. His work led to the FDA’s approval of the first image guidance computer system for intraoperative localization of tumors. Furthermore, he has changed the surgical armamentarium against brain tumors by inventing and developing Gliadel® wafers to intraoperatively deliver chemotherapy to brain tumors.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/details/henry-brem

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