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environmental neuroscience research incubator (enri)

ENRI is an independent research program led by neuroscientist Dr. Egzona Morina, investigating how environmental exposures shape brain function, cognition, and neurological health.

ENRI logo
scientific focus

how environments shape the brain.

At ENRI, we investigate how everyday and extreme environments influence brain function, cognitive performance, and human resilience. Our research examines how the brain and body respond to environmental and operational stressors, with the goal of identifying physiological signals that predict cognitive performance, adaptation, and recovery.

Our current research interests:

air quality, pollution & environmental exposures heat, noise & sensory environments isolation, confinement & extreme environments spaceflight physiology & human performance cognitive resilience, adaptation & recovery
methods

a multi-modal toolkit.

  • — neurophysiology & neuroimaging: EEG and complementary brain-monitoring approaches to characterize neural responses and adaptation.
  • — peripheral physiology: cardiovascular, respiratory, and sleep-related signals to examine brain-body responses to stress.
  • — cognitive & behavioral assessments: objective performance tasks, surveys, and measures of attention, executive function, and recovery.
  • — environmental monitoring: acoustic, atmospheric, thermal, and geospatial measurements to characterize environmental exposures.
  • — multimodal data analysis: integration of neural, physiological, and behavioral data from laboratory, field, and spaceflight-related studies to develop predictive models of cognitive resilience.
sustainable development goals

aligning with global goals.

All UN Member States adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Through ENRI, our work directly advances:

SDG 3

good health & well-being

SDG 7

affordable & clean energy

SDG 11

sustainable cities

SDG 13

climate action

research team

Founder and Principal Researcher: Dr. Egzona Morina

academic affiliations, research & training
2026–2027 NASA STAR-7 Participant Spaceflight Technology, Applications, and Research (STAR) Program, NASA Biological and Physical Sciences.
2026–Present Research Collaborator Laboratory for Neuroimaging and Integrative Physiology, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School (Dr. Vladimir Ivkovic).
2026–Present Affiliated Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE).
2025–Present Master's Thesis Supervisor Harvard University, graduate research supervision.
2024–2026 Instructor in Neurobiology Harvard University, Division of Continuing Education.

"I study how the human brain maintains function under environmental stress. My work treats the environment not as a static exposure, but as a dynamic influence on neural regulation and cognitive function. By integrating neurophysiology, behavioral testing, environmental sensing, and geospatial exposure methods, I develop a predictive framework, the Neuropredictive Exposome, linking environmental conditions to the neural and cognitive states they produce."

team & supervision
Head of Data Security Rina Basholli
Graduate Thesis Supervision Saura Elena Sahu
Harvard University
Research Assistants
Anita Avdiu
Tufts University
Andi Buqa
Vassar College
research outputs

recent research outputs.

forthcoming 2027 · book under contract · springer nature

The Environment Around the Brain

Egzona Morina, PhD: A forthcoming book examining how environmental conditions shape brain function, cognition, and neurological health, with a focus on the emerging field of environmental neuroscience.

2026 · frontiers in human neuroscience

Leef: Environmental Neuroscience Modeling for Cognitive Resilience

Egzona Morina, PhD: Introduces Leef, a framework integrating environmental sensing, predictive modeling, and cognitive resilience monitoring through edge-computing approaches.

read full article
2026 · currently under review · frontiers in computational neuroscience

Environmental Noise Alters Neural Regulation: A Pilot EEG Study

Egzona Morina, PhD: A pilot EEG study examining how environmental noise and natural auditory environments influence neural dynamics during cognitive performance. Twelve adults completed five cognitive tasks across three auditory conditions while 32-channel EEG recorded ongoing brain activity.

read preprint
2025–2026 · perspective · revision in progress · ssrn preprint

The Neuropredictive Exposome: A New Framework for Predictive Environmental Neuroscience

Egzona Morina, PhD: Introduces the Neuropredictive Exposome, a framework integrating environmental exposures with physiological, neural, behavioral, and data-driven measures to model how environmental conditions shape brain and cognitive states.

read preprint
february 2025 · osf

Addressing the Invisible Crisis: Air Pollution, Low-Income Communities, and the Need for CO₂ Regulation

Egzona Morina, PhD: Examines environmental inequities in air-pollution exposure and their implications for health disparities and environmental regulation.

read full article
february 2025 · osf

Fossil Fuel Expansion: A Possible Threat to Brain Health

Egzona Morina, PhD: Examines the potential implications of fossil-fuel expansion and associated environmental exposures for neurological and brain health.

read full article
open science & code

research you can inspect and build on.

ENRI develops reproducible tools for studying how environmental conditions influence brain function, cognitive resilience, and neurological vulnerability. Our public repositories include experimental EEG tasks, analytical workflows, model documentation, and selected open research materials.

research repository

enri brain + environment

The primary repository for ENRI’s environmental-neuroscience research, including analytical workflows, documentation, and reproducible materials supporting our EEG and predictive-modeling projects.

view repository
experimental tools

eeg tasks

Experimental task code developed for ENRI’s human EEG research, including paradigms for measuring cognition, performance, and neural regulation under changing environmental conditions.

explore eeg tasks
view the complete enri github ↗

Human-participant data are not publicly distributed unless sharing is permitted by participant consent, ethical approval, and applicable data-governance requirements.

substack

environmental neuroscience information.

Dr. Morina writes a Substack on environmental neuroscience. She breaks down a research paper in clear, engaging language.

With a community of over 3,000 readers, the newsletter explores how our surroundings shape the brain, from pollution and cognition to nature and neuroplasticity.

subscribe here
collaborative networks

part of a global community.

Harvard Alumni

harvard alumni for climate & environment

Neuro Climate

neuro climate working group

Harvard C-CHANGE

harvard c-change

AirClub

the airclub (un)

"nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood."
— Marie Curie