In this episode of Voices from the Field, we speak with Dr Kiran Aftab, a medical doctor and neuroscience researcher whose work connects Pakistan and the UK. Kiran discusses her research using portable MRI and artificial intelligence to investigate neurological conditions, alongside the challenges of developing neuroscience research in settings where access to conventional brain imaging and research infrastructure may be limited.

We explore the potential of portable neuroimaging, the use of AI in dementia research, and the importance of ensuring that datasets represent populations beyond those traditionally included in biomedical research. Kiran also reflects on the practical challenges of conducting research in Pakistan, building local research capacity, and developing collaborations that can help address inequalities in access to neuroscience and healthcare.

From the opportunities offered by emerging technologies to the limitations of applying research findings across different populations, this conversation considers how neuroscience can become more inclusive, representative and equitable.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Kiran Aftab and episode overview

04:03 Healthcare Landscape in Pakistan

06:37 MRI and Portable MRIs

13:28 Portable MRI Research in Pakistan

26:45 Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience

29:41 Dr. Aftab's Aims for Research in Pakistan

38:26 Dream Research Project and Current Work

Voices from the Field is a special series from the Smooth Brain Society, supported by the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) through its Spark Grant. The series explores culturally responsive research and what cross-cultural psychology looks like in practice. The views expressed by guests are their own.

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we speak with Dr Veena Easvaradoss, a clinical psychologist and researcher from Chennai, India, about the ways culture and gender shape everyday life.

We discuss her research with women who roll bidis (a tobacco product) in their homes, exploring gendered work, economic opportunity, health risks and an intervention designed to help workers move towards alternative livelihoods. We then turn to parenting in India, looking at how cultural values, urbanisation and changing family structures shape parenting practices and why psychological theories developed in one cultural context may not always translate neatly to another.

Part of Voices from the Field: International Conversations on Cross-Cultural Research Practice, supported by the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) SPARK Grant.

Topics: Gender and work • Bidi workers • Women’s livelihoods • Occupational health • Alternative livelihoods • Indian parenting • Family and culture • Cross-cultural psychology • Cultural adaptation • Gender roles • Socioeconomic inequality

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the episode and guest

00:44 Dr. Easvaradoss Shares Her Origin Story

03:13 Women in the workplace: The Indian Context

09:54 The Bidi industry and its gendered nature

16:57 Interventions to help bidi rollers

33:13 Policy, welfare and Future

35:25 Parenting Styles in India

48:03 Dream Research and Wrap up

#CrossCulturalPsychology #CulturalPsychology #India #GenderAndPsychology

What can researchers around the world learn from Māori approaches to knowledge, language and community?

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we speak with Dr Awanui Te Huia (Ngāti Maniapoto) about te reo Māori, identity, colonisation and Kaupapa Māori research.

Awanui shares how language shapes identity and belonging, why culturally responsive research requires genuine relationships with communities, and how Māori approaches can challenge conventional ideas about psychology, wellbeing and research.

We also discuss language revitalisation, researcher positionality, community-led research, and what it means to create research that is accountable to the people it seeks to serve.

Part of Voices from the Field: International Conversations on Cross-Cultural Research Practice, supported by the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) SPARK Grant

Topics: Māori psychology • Kaupapa Māori • te reo Māori • Indigenous research • language revitalisation • identity • colonisation • research ethics • cultural psychology • neurodiversity

#CrossCulturalPsychology #KaupapaMāori #MāoriPsychology #IndigenousResearch #TeReoMāori #SmoothBrainSociety