UC Noyce Researcher Among TIME Magazine's 'Best'

A groundbreaking innovation supported by the UC Noyce Initiative is gaining global attention. TIME Magazine has named HerBrain — a digital twin of the maternal brain — one of its Best Inventions of 2025.

Led by UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor Nina Miolane of the Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Initiative (Bowers WBHI), a team is working to develop HerBrain — a first-of-its-kind platform that uses advanced machine learning to visualize how the brain changes during pregnancy and after childbirth. The project received early support through the UC Noyce Initiative, which funds collaborative research across UC campuses at the intersection of neuroscience, computing and women’s health.

As described in TIME Magazine, Miolane and her team are building the first digital twin of the maternal brain to be an educational tool that can help expectant mothers better understand their brain’s weekly shifts during and after pregnancy. Drawing on brain imaging data from pregnant individuals, including Miolane herself, the HerBrain prototype illustrates how brain structures evolve across this transformative period.

The app is expected to launch by 2027, with the goal of eventually integrating its insights into other pregnancy applications.

“Dr. Miolane’s recognition by TIME exemplifies how early-stage funding from the UC Noyce Initiative can catalyze research with global impact,” said Bryan Kerner, executive director of the UC Noyce Initiative. “This project also embodies the kind of cross-disciplinary innovation that can happen when we connect researchers.”