Tékeniyáhsen Ohkwá:ri (Jackson 2bears) is a Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) multimedia installation/ performance artist and cultural theorist from Six Nations and Tyendinaga, who is currently based in London. He is Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Indigenous Arts Research & Technology, Associate Professor of Visual Arts and Indigenous Studies, and Director of the Onkwehonwe Research Environment (ORE) at the University of Western Ontario. His research-creation activities focus on Indigenous land-based histories and embodied cultural knowledge, exploring creative uses of digital technologies to support the innovation, transmission, expression, and transformation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit creative and cultural practices. His recent works focus on the impacts of changing technologies on contemporary Indigenous politics, culture, and society. He has worked extensively with/in Indigenous communities, notably the Blackfoot (Niitsitapi) community in Treaty 7 territory and in his own Haudenosaunee community of Six Nations. He is co-investigator on a large-scale research project called Mootookakio’ssin, working with Dr. Leroy Little Bear and several Blackfoot knowledge-keepers to create high-resolution 3D models of sacred Niitsitapi artifacts kept in museums around the world. Two Bears’ research lab, Onkwehonwe Research Environment (ORE), supports numerous research collaborations with the Blackfoot community and community organizations in Six Nations. ORE is currently involved in a project with an Ohsweken community organization, Thru the Red Door, and MIT researchers creating virtual environments for Haudenosaunee cultural practice and language revitalization based on longhouse/community protocols. Dr. Two Bears is also the Pod Lead for the Haudenosaunee Pod.

Karim Jerbi is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal, where he holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroimaging. He is the Director of UNIQUE, the Quebec-wide Neuro-AI Research Center, and an Associate Professor at Mila, the Quebec AI research institute. Dr. Jerbi earned a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Imaging from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris and holds a degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. His research sits at the intersection of cognitive, computational, and clinical neuroscience. The work conducted in his laboratory focuses on elucidating the role of neural oscillations and large-scale brain communication in cognition—including decision-making, attention, consciousness, and creativity—and on investigating brain network alterations in psychiatric and neurological disorders. His multidisciplinary research program combines advanced brain-imaging methods, such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and scalp and intracranial electroencephalography (EEG), with state-of-the-art signal processing, computational modeling, and data analytics, including machine learning. Dr. Jerbi also has a strong interest in the convergence of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and art, as well as in promoting justice within and beyond the scientific community. In his role as Director of the UNIQUE Neuro-AI Research Center at Université de Montréal, Dr. Jerbi contributes expertise on the intersections of cognitive, computational, and clinical neuroscience, and on how knowledge frameworks from diverse cultural contexts shape our understanding of intelligent action.

Dr. Melanie Cheung (Ngāti Rangitihi, Te Arawa) is a neurobiologist with experience across academia, the health sector, and Indigenous communities in Aotearoa, Canada, and the USA. Her research focuses on understanding how neuroplasticity can be harnessed to develop neurological treatments and enhance performance. Her work is distinguished by its integration of innovative, multidisciplinary science—including brain training, neurodegenerative disease research, MRI, neuropsychology, and biomarkers—with clinical practice in psychiatry, community-based care, and Māori healing. She also incorporates decolonising methodologies, grounding research ethics and practices in Māori concepts and engaging intensively with Māori communities. In recognition of her contributions, Dr Cheung has received the Women of the Year Award in Health and Science and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America Distinguished Leadership Award for exemplary dedication.

Jason Edward Lewis is a digital media theorist, poet, and software designer. He founded Obx Laboratory for Experimental Media, where he conducts research/creation projects exploring computation as a creative and cultural material. Lewis is deeply committed to developing intriguing new forms of expression by working on conceptual, critical, creative and technical levels simultaneously. He is the University Research Chair in Computational Media and the Indigenous Future Imaginary as well Professor of Computation Arts at Concordia University. Lewis was born and raised in northern California, and currently lives in Montreal.