Jean-François Mehdi Jabir, a Senior Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Stochastic Analysis and Its Applications originally from France, has been working at HSE University since 2017. He was drawn to HSE by the opportunity to conduct joint research with leading Russian and international scientists, the freedom of academic discussion, and the openness of the university. Jean-François shared his thoughts on HSE University and Moscow in general with the HSE News Service.
Having a sweet tooth may be linked not only to eating habits but also to the way people make decisions. Researchers at HSE University have found that people with a preference for sweet foods tend to behave more impulsively—not because they want immediate rewards, but because they are less willing to tolerate uncertainty. These findings may help improve treatments for addiction. The study findings have been published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Interdisciplinary conference "Comorbid Field 3.0: Social Well-being, Health and Medicine in Multiple Contexts" will be held on 3-5 December, 2026 in offline and online formats at the HSE University.
Summer is not over yet, but Jinhai Wang, Research Assistant at the International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development and PhD student, has already attended five summer schools at leading Chinese universities — and shares his reflections.
From 9 to 11 July 2026, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow hosted the XIV All-Russian Congress of Councils of Young Scientists and Student Scientific Societies, bringing together more than a thousand participants from 75 Russian regions and 12 foreign countries. Evgeny Knyazev, Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Physiology at the HSE University Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, took part in the Congress, also serving as Deputy Chair of the Council of Young Scientists of the State Research Center Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS.
Researchers from the Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Longevity presented a new test system for detecting bacteriophages in dairy production. The method makes it possible to identify starter culture contamination at an early stage without complex equipment.
Researchers at HSE University have examined how communication difficulties in children with autism are related to brain function. The findings show that not only language networks but also attention networks play an important role. The weaker the connections involved in maintaining focus and switching attention, the more pronounced communication difficulties were. The study has been published in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Beyond technological solutions, the development of anthropomorphic robotics also demands ethical ones. In July 2026, the HSE Institute for Robotics Systems hosted a foresight session dedicated to developing an Ethical Standard for Anthropomorphic Robotic Complexes. Representatives from businesses, government bodies, scientific organisations, and universities gathered to discuss key ethical and legal issues surrounding the development of anthropomorphic robotic complexes. The main outcome of the meeting was a draft of the Ethical Standard.
Why do some people voluntarily follow new rules while others ignore them? Researchers at HSE University have found that the answer lies not so much in people's willingness to cooperate, as previously believed, but in their ability to empathise with others. Empathy proved to be the strongest predictor of whether people chose to wear face masks voluntarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have been published in Frontiers.
From July 13 to 17, 2026, the HSE Faculty of Mathematics hosted the international conference ‘Moduli, Dynamics, and Integrability,’ bringing together leading mathematicians from Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
