Egzona Morina

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Egzona Morina
Born (1991-06-06) June 6, 1991 (age 35)
Nuremberg, Germany
Alma materFairleigh Dickinson University; Columbia University; University College London
Spouse(s)Federico Claudi
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience; Environmental health; Cognitive science
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology; Harvard University
Websitexhmf.org

Egzona Morina (born June 6, 1991) is a Kosovar neuroscientist, educator, and former collegiate tennis player. She completed her PhD in neuroscience at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London (UCL), and later conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)..[1] Morina is the founder of the Xheladin & Xhufe Morina Foundation (XhMF) a nonprofit registered both in the United Kingdom and the United States.[2][3]

Early life & Education

Morina was born in Nuremberg, Germany, to parents Xheladin Morina and Xhufe Bacaj-Morina, both engineers. During the Kosovo war of the late 1990s, her family left Kosovo and settled in Schoten, Belgium, where she spent her childhood. While living in Belgium, she trained as a competitive junior tennis player, ranking among the top five female players nationally.[4]

She enrolled at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) in the United States on an NCAA Division I tennis scholarship (2009–2013). At FDU she received All-Academic Team recognition, was inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society, and served as captain of the women’s tennis team during her senior year. She earned multiple All–Northeast Conference honors in singles and doubles competition.[5][6][7][8] [9]

Morina completed a Master of Science in neuroscience and education at Columbia University in 2015.[10] Following her degree, she worked as a research associate and laboratory manager in the laboratory of Robert Froemke at New York University (NYU), contributing to research on oxytocin and social behavior.[11] [12][13]

In 2017, she began a PhD at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, UCL. Her doctoral work examined motor circuits and developed a behavioral paradigm to measure anticipatory postural adjustments in mice. [14] In 2020, she won the STEM for Britain Physiology Prize awarded by the Physiological Society. [15] She completed her PhD in 2023.

Career

Research and academic work

After earning her doctorate, Morina relocated to Boston, Massachusetts. In 2023 she joined MIT as a postdoctoral associate in digital learning within the Department of Biology.[1]

In 2025 she founded the Environmental Neuroscience Research Incubator (ENRI) under the umbrella of her nonprofit organization.[16] ENRI’s work centers on quantifying how environmental variables influence attention, mood, and cognitive effort, with the goal of developing predictive models for public health and urban planning. Morina has secured initial grant support for the project. [17]

Morina has also participated in climate and global-health initiatives. In 2025 she co-led a working group on artificial intelligence and health at the Harvard Center for International Development’s Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM25).[18] Through her foundation, she collaborates with organizations including Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education,[19] the Planetary Health Alliance,[20] and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).[21] She is the first researcher from Kosovo to receive sponsorship from the Alzheimer’s Association Neuroscience Next program, which supported the establishment of a neuroscience hub in Kosovo. [22]

Xheladin & Xhufe Morina Foundation

BrainCamp

In 2018 she launched BrainCamp, a week-long neuroscience program for high school and university students, organized in partnership with the ATOMI Institute for gifted students.[23][24] The camp introduces fundamental neuroscience topics and includes lectures, laboratory exercises, and student presentations. It has been held annually and has expanded to include participants from across Kosovo. In 2021 the initiative expanded into BrainCamp International, bringing together students and mentors from several countries. BrainCamp has been cited as an influential program in promoting neuroscience education among youth in Kosovo. [25] [26][27][28]

The BrainBook and other outreach

In 2020, Morina authored The BrainBook, an augmented-reality children’s book designed to introduce basic neuroscience concepts through interactive 3D illustrations. The book is available in four languages and supports the foundation’s educational mission, with proceeds directed to XhMF programs.[29]

XhMF additionally offers scholarships, mentorship, and STEM outreach activities for Kosovar students.

Public engagement

Morina has participated in a number of public science outreach efforts. She served as a judge for the British Brain Bee neuroscience competition in 2018.[30] She has been featured in media programs focused on science and education, including the United Nations “Girls and Women Talking Tech” series. [31] She has also appeared on Albanian-language television programs, including RTK and “100% Shqip”. [32] [33]

Teaching

Since 2024, Morina has been a lecturer in neurobiology for Harvard University’s Extension School [34]

Personal Life

Morina is married to Federico Claudi, an Italian neuroscientist whom she met during her doctoral studies at UCL. Claudi also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT.[35] The couple resides in the Boston area.

Awards

  • Most Supportive Diaspora Representative of the Year, TOKA (funded by the European Union) (2025)[36]
  • Neuroscience Next Grant, Alzheimer’s Association (2025–2026)[37]
  • Emergent Ventures Awards, Mercatus Center (2023; 2025)[38]
  • Winner of the Physiological Society Prize, STEM for Britain (2020)[39]

Collegiate Honors (NCAA Division I)

  • 2013 ITA All-Academic Team Scholar-Athlete[40]
  • Northeast College Player of the Month[41]
  • 2013 National College Athlete Honor Society, FDU[42]
  • NEC All-Academic Team selections[43]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "MITx Biology". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  2. ↑ "XHELADIN AND XHUFE MORINA FOUNDATION - Charity 1185433". prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  3. ↑ "IRS".
  4. ↑ https://fduknights.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/egzona-morina/2125
  5. ↑ "Morina, tenistja e orientuar në shkencë". KOHA.net (in shqip). 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  6. ↑ FDUKnightsAthletics (2013-05-10). Egzona Morina Interview. Retrieved 2025-09-25 – via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "2013 All-Academic Teams - D1 Women". www.itatennis.co. Archived from the original on 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  8. ↑ "Egzona Morina - 2012-13 - Women's Tennis". FDU Knights Athletics. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  9. ↑ "Egzona Morina (4/3/2012) - Athlete Awards". northeastconference.org. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  10. ↑ https://studylib.net/doc/8099517/masters-convocation---teachers-college-columbia-university
  11. ↑ "Froemke Lab Former Members". NYU Langone Health. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  12. ↑ "‪A distributed network for social cognition enriched for oxytocin receptors‬". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  13. ↑ Mitre, Mariela; Minder, Jessica; Morina, Egzona X.; Chao, Moses V.; Froemke, Robert C. (2017), Oxytocin Modulation of Neural Circuits, Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol. 35, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 31–53, doi:10.1007/7854_2017_7, ISBN 978-3-319-63738-9, PMID 28864972, retrieved 2025-09-24
  14. ↑ "‪A novel behavioural paradigm for characterising anticipatory postural adjustments in mice‬". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  15. ↑ "The Power of Innovation Can..." (PDF). Science In Parliament. 76 (1). Spring 2020.
  16. ↑ https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_regId=1185433&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_subId=0
  17. ↑ Cowen, Tyler (2024-04-03). "Emergent Ventures, 33rd cohort". Marginal REVOLUTION. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  18. ↑ "Agenda". www.hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  19. ↑ "Partners". Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  20. ↑ "Member Organizations". Planetary Health Alliance. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  21. ↑ "IBRO Membership".
  22. ↑ "AAIC Neuroscience Next | Alzheimer's Association". AAIC Neuroscience Next | Alzheimer’s Association. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  23. ↑ "BrainCamp by Xheladin and Xhufe Morina foundation - Federation of European Neuroscience Societies".
  24. ↑ "ATOMI organizon kursin e Neuroshkencës me ligjërues nga Britania e Madhe - Telegrafi". telegrafi.com (in shqip). Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  25. ↑ https://www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/blog/igniting-passion-neuroscience-case-study-braincamp-kosovo
  26. ↑ "BrainCamp Lessons | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". www.sainsburywellcome.org. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  27. ↑ https://ibro.org/event/braincamp-2025/
  28. ↑ https://itn-entrain.eu/outreach-brain-camp-2021
  29. ↑ Noble, Barnes &. "The BrainBook|Hardcover". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  30. ↑ "DANA foundation and FENS funded European Brain Awareness Projects Final Report 2018" (PDF). 2018.
  31. ↑ EQUALS Global Partnership (2022-08-08). Girls and Women Talking Tech Interview 170: Melda Akin and Egzona Morina. Retrieved 2025-09-24 – via YouTube.
  32. ↑ RTK (2019-04-03). Mysafiri i mëngjesit - Egzona Morina 04.04.2019. Retrieved 2025-09-25 – via YouTube.
  33. ↑ ALB UK (2018-07-04). 100% SHQIP - EGZONA MORINA. Retrieved 2025-09-24 – via YouTube.
  34. ↑ https://coursebrowser.dce.harvard.edu/course/neurobiology/
  35. ↑ "People". The Fiete Lab @ MIT. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  36. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/DRfQKOyDVJ0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
  37. ↑ "neurosciencenext". Alzheimer’s Association.
  38. ↑ Cowen, Tyler (April 3, 2024). "Emergent Ventures, 33rd cohort".
  39. ↑ https://www.scienceinparliament.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/STEM-24-37.pdf
  40. ↑ "2013 All-Academic Teams - D1 Women". itatennis.co.
  41. ↑ "Egzona Morina (9/26/2012) - Athlete Awards". FDU Knights Athletics.
  42. ↑ "Egzona Morina - 2012-13 - Women's Tennis". FDU Knights Athletics.
  43. ↑ https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/northeastconference.org/documents/2012/5/1/allnec_women.pdf

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