Second Einstein Professorship for Neurotechnology Pioneer Surjo R. Soekadar
The Einstein Foundation Berlin is pleased to once again support the research of Professor Surjo R. Soekadar through an Einstein Professorship. The internationally renowned neuroscientist is considered a pioneer in the field of clinical neurotechnology and heads the Department of Translation and Neurotechnology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In recent years, the three-time European Research Council (ERC) awardee has made groundbreaking advances in treating neurological and psychiatric disorders — including patented procedures with the potential to fundamentally improve therapeutic approaches. The professorship enables him to further expand this work in Berlin. He also plans to establish a “NeuroTech Open Innovation Hub” in Berlin, aimed at testing, commercializing, and integrating innovations into healthcare in Germany.
As a trailblazer in the clinical application of brain-computer interfaces, Professor Soekadar develops technologies that enable direct communication between patients’ nervous systems and external devices — for example, to restore motor and cognitive functions. His commitment to strategic collaborations — including between Charité and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in the field of quantum sensing — has been central to building an excellent research infrastructure in Berlin. He has also played a key role in shaping the capital's research agenda in brain health.
At the heart of the professorship is an integrative approach: combining neurotechnology with psychotechnology — in other words, merging neurobiological, digital, and psychosocial interventions — to enable a new generation of holistic and highly effective therapies. The establishment of the NeuroTech Open Innovation Hub will also accelerate the clinical translation of neurotechnological developments, ensuring that groundbreaking research reaches patients more quickly.
“With this professorship, we’re creating a unique platform for the development and clinical testing of neurotechnological innovations,” emphasizes Professor Soekadar. “Our goal is to make new therapies rapidly accessible and to establish Berlin as a global leader in neurotechnology and its transfer to practice.”
The integration into the NeuroTech Open Innovation Hub creates an attractive environment for start-ups, industry partners, and international talent — a strong boost for Berlin as an innovation metropolis. With the help of the Einstein Foundation, the groundwork is also being laid for piloting a new cooperation model: through a co-creation process, so-called clinician innovators will work together with industry to develop new therapeutic approaches and healthcare models and validate them in collaboration with end users. “This model can bring forward-looking ideas and prototypes from neurotechnology and artificial intelligence — whether from Germany or abroad — to market maturity, clinically validate them, and rapidly integrate them into patient care. This addresses a gap that has long existed in Germany: testing and commercializing breakthrough inventions locally without needing to move operations to the U.S. or Asia. Of course, additional conditions are needed — such as support for navigating regulatory processes and easier access to venture capital — but with the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and UNITE, Berlin already offers the best conditions for this,” says Soekadar.
Professor Martin Rennert, Chair of the Einstein Foundation, adds: “A strong neuroscience community in Berlin — a city known for health and science — is not a given. It depends on individuals who shape and advance the field. Professor Soekadar is undoubtedly one of these key figures. We are all the more pleased to contribute to keeping this outstanding and personally inspiring scientist in Berlin with this renewed support — following the initial professorship awarded six years ago.”
Charité also welcomes the new professorship. Professor Joachim Spranger, Dean of Charité, states: “I’m very pleased that the Einstein Foundation is once again able to support Professor Soekadar. He is a tremendous asset to our neuroscience focus, and I am confident he will provide crucial impetus for future technological developments — particularly at the interface between brain and computer. We hope that our patients will directly benefit from these advances as well.”
The Einstein Foundation Berlin is an independent, not-for-profit, science-led organization established as a foundation under civil law in 2009. It promotes international cutting-edge science and research across disciplines and institutions in and for Berlin. To date, it has funded more than 250 researchers, including three Nobel laureates, over 70 projects, and ten Einstein Centers.
For science. For Berlin.