Simon Eickhoff

AI in HealthCare

Systems Medicine

AI in Brain Research

As director of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behavior) at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Simon Eickhoff works at the interface between clinical practice and methodological innovation. His research also emphasizes data management and mobile health (mHealth) applications. Various types of data, such as brain scans and behavioural data, are integrated to develop models for clinical use. This results in so-called “digital biomarkers”—that is, measurable indicators of health or disease derived from digital data. They help detect diseases earlier and tailor treatments more effectively to individual patients.

Through numerous clinical-scientific collaborative projects, Eickhoff is working to translate data-driven solutions into medical practice, further developing AI methods, and evaluating their application both scientifically and with regard to ethical considerations. This also includes cross-site initiatives in which digital behavioural data is collected and analysed using AI. The focus is on various conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative diseases, for which this approach paves the way for new approaches to diagnosis and treatment.

As the program spokesperson of the research program “Biological and Artificial Intelligence: Learning from Living Systems” for the Helmholtz funding period 2028–2034, he plays a key role in shaping the interdisciplinary advancement of AI in the life sciences. The goal is both to better understand the human brain through AI and to further develop AI systems inspired by biological principles.

In addition to his position at the research centre, Simon Eickhoff is also director of the Institute for Systemic Neuroscience and a professor in the School of Medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. A licensed physician, he previously studied in Aachen, London, Sheffield, and Sydney, and is one of the most cited researchers in the world.