Multi-Council Working Group

The BRAIN Multi-Council Working Group ensures a coordinated and focused effort across NIH. The working group includes representatives from each of the 10 Institutes and Centers that contribute to the NIH BRAIN Initiative (who may also serve as a liaison to an Advisory Council), with additional at-large members appointed to supplement the working group’s expertise. In addition, the working group includes ex officio members from DARPA, FDA, IARPA, and NSF – who comprise NIH’s federal partners involved in The BRAIN Initiative^®.

The Multi-Council Working Group provides ongoing oversight of the long-term scientific vision of The BRAIN Initiative^®, as endorsed by the ACD, in the context of the evolving neuroscience landscape. It also serves as a forum for initial “concept clearance,” the review of ideas for new initiatives before they become funding announcements. In addition, the working group ensures that each of the BRAIN IC Advisory Councils is informed about BRAIN initiatives, awards, and progress – a critical point as the individual IC Advisory Councils will perform the formal concept clearance and the second level of review of BRAIN Initiative applications. Finally, the working group regularly offers an assessment of the progress of current projects and programs supported by The BRAIN Initiative^®.

Working Group Member List

 

Chair

• John Ngai, Ph.D.
  Director, NIH BRAIN Initiative

Members

• Randy Blakely, Ph.D. (NIMH council)
  Florida Atlantic University
   
• Todd Braver, Ph.D. (NCCIH council)
  Washington University
   
• Emery Brown, M.D., Ph.D. (at large member)
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
   
• Hollis Cline, Ph.D. (NINDS council)
  The Scripps Research Institute
   
• Karl Deisseroth, M.D./Ph.D. (NIDA representative)
  Stanford University
   
• Kafui Dzirasa, M.D./Ph.D. (at large member)
  Duke University
   
• James Eberwine, Ph.D. (NIAAA representative)
  University of Pennsylvania
   
• Hank Greely, J.D. (at large member)
  Stanford University Law School
   
• David Holtzman, M.D. (NIA representative)
  Washington University School of Medicine
   
• Frances Jensen, M.D. (NICHD representative)
  University of Pennsylvania
   
• Eve Marder, Ph.D. (at large member)
  Brandeis University
   
• Carol Mason, Ph.D. (NEI council)
  Columbia University
   
• Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D. (NIBIB council)
  Massachusetts General Hospital 
   
• Dan Sanes, Ph.D. (NIDCD representative)
  New York University
   
• Elba Serrano, Ph.D. (at large member)
  New Mexico State University
   
• Sameer Sheth, M.D./Ph.D. (NINDS representative)
  Baylor College of Medicine
   
• David Tank, Ph.D. (at large member)
  Princeton University
   
• Christopher Walsh, M.D./Ph.D. (NIMH representative)
  Harvard Medical School

Ex Officio Members

• Alfred Emondi, Ph.D.
  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
   
• Carlos Peña, Ph.D.
  US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
   
• David Markowitz, Ph.D.
  Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA)
   
• James Deshler, Ph.D.
  National Science Foundation (NSF) 

Designated Federal Official

• Susan Weiss, Ph.D.
  Director, Division of Extramural Research NIDA 

Science Committee Specialist

• Kristin Dupre, Ph.D.
  Office of Neuroscience Communications and Engagement, Office of the Director, NINDS

 

BRAIN Multi-Council Group Meetings 

Upcoming Meetings 

 

The eighteenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group will be on Wednesday, January 27^th, 2021. View Agenda (PDF, 133 kb).  Videocast will be available for live viewing and later archived.

The nineteenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group will be on Thursday, May 20^th, 2021. Videocast will be available for live viewing and later archived.

The twentieth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group will be on Friday, August 20^th, 2021. Videocast will be available for live viewing and later archived.

 

Previous Meetings 

The seventeenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group was held as an all-virtual meeting on Friday, August 21, 2020.

• Seventeenth meeting agenda (PDF, 130KB)
• Seventeenth meeting summary (PDF, 116KB)
• Seventeenth meeting videocast link of the open session

See below for additional previous meeting information.

Additional Previous Meetings

The sixteenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group was held as an all-virtual meeting on Friday, May 22, 2020.

• Sixteenth meeting agenda (PDF, 128KB)
• Sixteenth meeting summary (PDF, 146KB)
• Sixteenth meeting videocast link of the open session

The fifteenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group was held on Friday, January 31^st, 2020, at 6700 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD.

• Fifteenth meeting agenda (PDF, 130KB)
• Fifteenth meeting summary (PDF, 146KB)
• Fifteenth meeting videocast link of the open session 

The fourteenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group was held on Tuesday, August 20^th, 2019, at 6001 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD.

• Fourteenth meeting agenda (PDF, 130KB)
• Fourteenth meeting summary (PDF, 85KB)
• Fourteenth meeting videocast link of the open session 

The thirteenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working group was held on Thursday, May 16th, 2019, at 6001 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD. 

• Thirteenth meeting agenda (PDF, 136KB)
• Thirteenth meeting summary (PDF, 115KB)
• Thirteenth meeting open session video

The twelfth meeting of the Multi-Council Working group was held on Tuesday, February 12th, 2019, at the Bethesda Marriott in Bethesda, MD. 

• Twelfth meeting agenda (PDF - 130 KB)
• Twelfth meeting summary (PDF - 100 KB)
• Twelfth meeting open session video

The eleventh meeting of the Multi-Council Working group was held on Tuesday, August 14th, 2018, at the Porter Neuroscience Building on the NIH campus. 

• Eleventh meeting agenda (PDF - 140 KB)
• Eleventh meeting open session video

The tenth meeting of the Multi-Council Working group was held on Wednesday, May 30th, 2018, at 6001 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD. 

• Tenth meeting agenda (PDF - 740 KB)
• Tenth meeting open session video

The ninth meeting (PDF - 602 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group was held on Tuesday, January 30th, 2018, as a WebEx virtual meeting. 

• Ninth meeting summary (PDF-40 KB) 
• Update of BRAIN Initiative slide deck (PDF - 1920 KB)

The eighth meeting (PDF – 588 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group was held on Thursday, August 17th, 2017, in Building 50 on NIH campus.

• Eighth meeting summary (PDF – 378 KB)
• Eighth meeting open session video 

The seventh meeting (PDF – 711 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group was held on Tuesday, May 16th, 2017, as a WebEx teleconference. 

• Seventh meeting summary (PDF 472 KB)
• Seventh meeting open session video 

The sixth meeting (PDF - 458 KB)  of the Multi-Council Working Group occurred on Wednesday, February 15th, 2017, at the NIH Porter Neuroscience Research Center (35 Convent Dr., Bethesda, MD 20892). 

• Sixth meeting summary (PDF - 458 KB)
• Sixth meeting highlights 
• Sixth meeting videocast  

The fifth meeting (PDF - 602 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group occurred on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016, at the Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC-Downtown (815 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005).

• Fifth meeting summary
• Fifth meeting videocast 

The fourth meeting (PDF - 391 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group was held on Monday, February 8th, 2016, at 6001 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD. 

• Fourth meeting summary
• Fourth meeting videocast 

The third meeting (PDF - 359 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group occurred on Wednesday, July 30th, 2015, at 5635 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, Rooms 508/509. 

• Third meeting summary
• Third meeting videocast 

The second meeting (PDF - 368 KB) of the Multi-Council Working Group occurred on Wednesday, March 4th, 2015, on the NIH Campus. 

• Second meeting summary 
• Second meeting videocast

The first meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group occurred Monday, August 25, 2014, on the NIH Campus. 

• First meeting summary 
• First meeting videocast

Dates of future Multi-Council Working Group meetings will be posted to this page as they become available.