Rate My Professor Elsa Fouragnan

Professor Elsa Fouragnan is Professor of Neuroscience in the School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, at the University of Plymouth. She serves as Executive Director of the Brain Research and Imaging Centre (BRIC) and Director of the Centre for Therapeutic Ultrasound (CENTUS). A UKRI Future Leader Fellow since 2018, she is recognised as a leader in brain stimulation research in the UK and internationally. Her career began working as a biomedical engineer developing brain-related clinical devices, after which she pursued an academic career in computational neuroscience at the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford. Fouragnan's research focuses on the neurobiology of decision-making and learning, both in healthy adults and in patients with psychiatric disorders. She has demonstrated the proof-of-principle that transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation can safely and transiently change neural activity in precise parts of the brain, particularly deep regions responsible for core cognitive and motivational processes. She is now advancing this technology to address mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and addiction.

An executive member of the International Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation Safety and Standards consortium (ITRUSST) since 2018, Fouragnan contributes to diagnostic guidelines and regulatory recommendations worldwide. Her key publications include 'Two spatiotemporally distinct value systems shape reward-based learning in the human brain' (Nature Communications, 2015), 'Ultrasound modulation of macaque prefrontal cortex affects value-based decision-making' (Science Advances, 2021), 'Transcranial focused ultrasound-mediated neurochemical effects enhance and prolong dopamine release in the ventral striatum' (Nature Communications, 2023), 'ITRUSST Consensus on Biophysical Safety for Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation' (2023), and 'A practical guide to transcranial ultrasonic stimulation from the IFCN-endorsed ITRUSST consortium' (Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025). She has supervised 6 PhD theses to completion with 6 ongoing, and numerous postdocs, many advancing to prestigious positions. Fouragnan lectures on physics of neuroimaging, neural signals, fMRI tools, cognitive neuroscience, and decision-making at master's and undergraduate levels.