Dr. Uddin was Associate Professor in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Division which she created in the Department of Psychology at the
University of Miami. She directs the Brain Connectivity and Cognition Laboratory, which makes use of neuroimaging to better understand the relationship between neural connectivity and cognition. At the University of Miami, Uddin established a graduate program in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. In 2018, she was appointed a
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar. Her current research examines brain network dynamics and
cognitive flexibility in
neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Uddin returned to UCLA in 2021, where she was appointed Professor and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Analysis Core at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior. Her lab uses
resting state fMRI and
diffusion tensor imaging data to examine large-scale brain networks, and how these networks support
executive function. Dr. Uddin has developed and refined an influential model of brain network dynamics centered on the unique role of the insular cortex and salience network (Menon & Uddin, 2010) that is the topic of her 2016 book “Salience network of the human brain”. This model delineates how transient signals from the insula mediate dynamic interactions between large-scale functional brain networks, and has substantially influenced psychiatry and neurology, as it accounts for how a range of developmental pathologies can arise from disruptions to core brain network nodes. This work is a part of a larger research program investigating the neural basis of cognitive flexibility. Dr. Uddin’s group tests the hypothesis that individual differences in brain dynamics underlie heterogeneity of cognitive flexibility across the lifespan. Based on her network neuroscience model of the insular cortex, her laboratory explores how the brain implements flexible cognition and behavior in neurotypical adults and clinical populations including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In related work, her group explores alternate diagnostic nosologies using a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to parse heterogeneity of cognitive flexibility in children with prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders including ASD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The goal of these analyses is to identify children who might benefit from targeted interventions to treat cognitive flexibility deficits. Taken together, this line of work continues to reveal how brain dynamics underlie flexible cognition and behavior, providing clinically relevant insights. In late 2024, Dr. Uddin filed a civil lawsuit in a United States District Court against six major academic publishers, alleging
anticompetitive behavior that has resulted in "tremendous harm" to science and the public interest. in a proposed
class action against six major academic publishers, alleging
conspiracy "to unlawfully appropriate billions of dollars that would otherwise have funded scientific research," as well as alleging that the publishers violated
antitrust law by agreeing not to compete against each other for manuscripts and by denying scholars payment for
peer review services. On January 30, 2026, the suit was dismissed because the plaintiffs never alleged a specific, factual agreement between the defendants, but instead attempted to sue on the basis of the standards of academic publishing as an industry. == Awards and honors ==