Human Adaptation Through Relational Neuroscience.
Understanding how relationships shape resilience, learning and collaboration—and translating that science to improve human lives.
Human Adaptation
Human adaptation is our capacity to respond effectively to challenge, uncertainty and change. It shapes how we cope under stress, build resilient relationships, learn new skills, and work together to solve increasingly complex problems.
My research programme advances this understanding across three interconnected domains.
Research Programme
Adaptive Individuals
How do people adapt to stress—and how can adaptive coping be strengthened?
How do relationships shape resilience in families and communities?
Adaptive Families
How do people learn, communicate and solve problems together?
Adaptive Teams
Meet Atiqah
I am Associate Professor Atiqah Azhari, an award-winning relational neuroscientist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), where I lead The Relational Brain Lab.
I study how relationships shape human adaptation. Through relational neuroscience, I investigate how our interactions with others influence the brain's capacity to regulate emotions, cope with stress, learn, collaborate and flourish.
Over the past decade, my research has attracted more than S$5 million in competitive funding and been featured in documentaries, keynote speeches and national media.
My research bridges rigorous academia with real-world impact, integrating neuroscience, behavioural science and technology to understand not only how people adapt, but also how adaptation can be strengthened.
Vision
I believe the future of resilience, learning and collaboration will not be understood by studying individuals in isolation.
It will be understood by understanding relationships.
My long-term vision is to establish Human Adaptation through Relational Neuroscience as a scientific and translational framework that transforms how we understand resilience, learning and collaboration—and translates that knowledge into evidence-based technologies that improve lives at scale.