Hugo Spiers

Hugo Spiers is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, and a  Vice Dean for Enterprise, at University College London (UCL). He has over 25 years of research experience in neuroscience and psychology studying how our brain recalls the past, navigates the present and imagines the future. He has published over 100 academic articles and received numerous awards including the Charles Darwin Award from the British Science Association and a James McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award. He is co-director of the International Centre for NeuroArchitecture and NeuroDesign, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation, a Lighthouse Fellow of the Centre for Conscious Design and the Vice Chair of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture in the UK. His research project  Sea Hero Quest has tested over 4 million people in 195 nations on their navigation ability, providing a powerful benchmark for assessment in Alzheimer's disease and global insight into cognition. 

Awards/Nominations:

Charles Darwin Award from the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2008)

James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award (2012)

9 Lion Awards at the Cannes Festival of Creativity for Sea Hero Quest (2016)

BAFTA nomination for  "Game Beyond Entertainment" for Sea Hero Quest (2018)

Webby Award for Social Impact with Sea Hero Quest (2018)

New York Games Awards nomination for Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game (2020)