In 2021, the University of Alabama at Birmingham took major steps in the field of neuroengineering by establishing the Center for Neuroengineering and Brain Computer Interfaces (CNBCI). Recently, the CNBCI was named a pilot University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center (UWIRC).

The UAB UWIRC program serves to promote cross-disciplinary scholarship and collaboration from faculty across multiple schools at UAB. Units with a pilot UWIRC designation are afforded a developmental period to establish programs and activities that drive multidisciplinary discovery that allow the pilot center to mature into an organization that can eventually transition to a full UWIRC. 

Directed by Department of Neurobiology Professor Lynn E. Dobrunz, Ph.D and co-directed by Department of Neurosurgery Assistant Professor Nicole Bentley, M.D., the UAB CNBCI is well on its way. Previously known as the UAB Neuroenginereering & Brain Computer Interface Initiative, the CNBCI maintains an interdisciplinary seminar series, several training opportunities, and a long list of collaborative faculty. Bentley is excited about the future of the program.

"Being in on the ground floor and helping to establish this valuable program is incredible," says Bentley. "Neuroengineering as a field is taking off and the implications for patient care are exciting to think about."