Name: Ahmad Abu-Akel
Affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa
ResilNet role: Principal Investigator

Ahmad Abu-Akel is a tenured Associate Professor at the School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, and director of the Diametric Lab. His research explores the relationship between autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders through the lens of the diametric model, a framework he has first conceptualized. This integrative approach highlights the value of examining autism and schizophrenia in tandem, offering insights that may be obscured when these conditions are studied in isolation. A/P Abu-Akel has published over 100 papers and is the recipient of the Maof Fellowship for the integration of outstanding faculty from The Council for Higher Education, Israel.

Research interests: Autism, Psychosis/Schizophrenia, Social Cognition, Social/Cognitive Neuroscience

Email: aabuakel@psy.haifa.ac.il

Name: Majd Wely
Affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa
ResilNet role: Researcher

Majd Wely is a graduate student in the Clinical Neuropsychology Program and serves as a Graduate Researcher and Lab Manager at the Diametric Lab. His work leverages advanced expertise in data science and AI methodologies to examine the interaction of genetic and environmental risk factors in autism and schizophrenia, with particular emphasis on their combined polygenic influences on social impairment and brain phenotypes.

Research interests: Autism, Schizophrenia, Computational Neuroscience, Neurobiological Mechanisms, Genetics

Email: mwely@staff.haifa.ac.il