I’m a neuroscientist who investigates how relationships shape the brain and why it matters.
Dr. Atiqah Azhari is an award-winning Associate Professor of Relational Neuroscience at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), where she holds the Provost’s Chair, the Head of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Programme (Office of Graduate Studies), and the Head of Research Cluster (School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences) appointments.
Relational neuroscience explains how relationships and social systems shape brain mechanisms that support socioemotional development, co-regulation, well-being, learning, and performance.
Atiqah leads the Relational Brain Lab whose mission is to discover how these social environments shape brain activity across the lifespan — in families, educational contexts, and systems.
She helps institutions, educators, and families translate neuroscience into practical strategies to create improvements in well-being, socioemotional development, learning, performance and long-term outcomes.
Meet Atiqah
Atiqah has won close to $3 million in competitive extramural funding. She is a recipient of the MOE AcRF Tier 2 Grant and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fellowship which recognises outstanding early career researchers. She is a prolific academic who has published over 45 research articles.
Atiqah has shared her work with a wide audience through Channel NewsAsia (CNA) documentaries, talks and workshops. Internationally, she has been invited and sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JSTA) to provide expert talks on relational neuroscience to academics and practitioners in Japan. Within Singapore, Atiqah has been invited to dialogue sessions with government bodies such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, and social service agencies like Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities.
Atiqah serves as a Board Member at PPIS, and an Advisor at the Institute of Neurodiversity (International and Singapore) and the Institute of Adult Learning. She also has a strong editorial/reviewer presence in several journals.
Atiqah has accumulated significant supervisory experience. She has hosted Visiting Fellows from the University of Trento (Italy) and University of Basel (Switzerland), who sought her tutelage in Singapore, which attest to the international recognition of her expertise. Atiqah has also supervised Research Fellows, PhD, Master’s and undergraduate students. She is a two-time recipient of Excellence in Teaching Awards.
