ABDN — African Brain Data Network
Overview
The African Brain Data Network is a network of over 300 researchers, data scientists, policymakers, and funders across more than 20 African countries as of 2025, working to make African brain data FAIR and to build the technical and institutional capacity needed to generate, share, and reuse it. It was co-founded in 2021 by researchers at De Montfort University (UK) and the University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria) following efforts to collect neuroimaging datasets from Nigerian diagnostic centres that revealed systematic barriers to African brain data sharing: lack of technical expertise, inadequate research infrastructure, data localisation policies, and limited FAIR data practice in the African neuroscience ecosystem. Initial datasets collected under ABDN have been deposited on BrainLife.io. ABDN is supported by the Kavli Foundation and IBRO, and works in close collaboration with the BRIDGE initiative.
Activities
ABDN runs the African Brain Data Science (ABDS) Academy, an intensive training programme in neuroimaging data collection, processing, and FAIR data practices for African researchers. The first Academy was held in Lagos, Nigeria in 2023. Subsequent editions have expanded to include neurophysiology data and additional hands-on training. The network also works to address structural barriers to African brain data sharing, including data localisation policies, ethics review infrastructure gaps, and limited access to open-source tools and computing resources.
Connections
- Deposits data on: BrainLife.io
- Partners with: BRIDGE
Resources
- https://africanbraindatanetwork.com
- https://africanbraindatanetwork.com/about-us
- https://africanbraindatanetwork.com/people
- https://www.kavlifoundation.org/science/neuroscience (Kavli Foundation neuroscience programme)
- https://ibro.org/about (IBRO, co-funder of the ABDS Academy)
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11911527/ (Wogu et al. 2025, Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, FAIR African brain data challenges)
- https://www.kavlifoundation.org/news/expanding-mri-research-in-africa (Kavli Foundation feature, June 2024, confirms 2021 founding and ABDS Academy history)