Project Summary / Abstract Although BRAIN 2.0 called for the BRAIN Initiative to “prioritize diversity and inclusion as a fundamental pillar,” research with the human neuroimaging technologies being developed by BRAIN Initiative continues to rely on non-representative convenience samples.
Funded Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative funds a wide-variety of research: toolmakers, trainees, individual labs testing new hypotheses, and large, team-based efforts aiming to catalyze neuroscience inquiry forward. Explore NIH BRAIN Initiative funded awards listed below. Click on the project title to learn more about it within NIH RePORTER.
To see more NIH-funded awards and associated publications, please visit the NIH RePORTER.
Title
Investigator(s)
Institution
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunity #
Project #
TitleImproving Recruitment, Engagement, and Access for Community Health Equity for BRAIN Next-Generation Human Neuroimaging Research and Beyond (REACH for BRAIN)
Investigator
Susie Yi Huang, Jonathan David Jackson, Francis X Shen
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitlePost-trial Access, Clinical Care, Psychosocial Support, and Scientific Progress in Experimental Deep Brain Stimulation Research
Investigator
Joseph J. Fins, Gabriel Lazaro-Munoz
Institute
harvard medical school
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary Public and private research funders have heavily invested in the application of implantable neurotechnologies to improve the management of treatment-resistant conditions and loss of function (e.g., deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems for recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI
TitleBCI-DEF: Brain Computer Interfaces and Disability: Developing an Inclusive Ethical Framework
Investigator
Karen G Hirsch, Holly K Tabor
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The objective of “Brain Computer Interfaces and Disability: Developing an Inclusive Ethical Framework (BCI-
DEF)” is to use structured vignettes, video-supported interviews, and a deliberative democracy approach to
assess and analyze diverse, critical stakeholder perspective
TitleCaring for BRAIN pioneers: Understanding and enhancing family and researcher support in neural device trials
Investigator
Sara Goering, Eran Klein
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project abstract
BRAIN pioneers are people who take on significant risk as participants in first-in-human or early
neurotechnology studies for the sake of helping to further science.
TitleFostering Ethical Neurotechnology Academia-Industry Partnerships: A Stakeholder Engagement and Toolkit Development Project
Investigator
Tristan Mcintosh
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Neurotechnologies used to treat brain disorders and diseases can drastically change brain function and behavior,
monitor brain activity, and collect and transmit personal health data.
TitleAnticipating ethical challenges and disparities in the dissemination of novel neurotechnologies
Investigator
Winston Chiong, Daniel P. Dohan
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
A central goal for the second half of the BRAIN Initiative is to develop new circuit-based treatments for
brain diseases.
TitleBRAINShare: Sharing Data in BRAIN Initiative Studies
Investigator
Amy L Mcguire, Sameer Anil Sheth
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Data sharing is essential to promote equity and maximize the impact of the significant investment in the BRAIN
Initiative.
TitleEthics of the Choice of Invasive versus Non-invasive Neurosurgery: Different Stakeholders' Perspectives, Surgical Decision-making, and Impact on Patient Sense of Control
Investigator
Cynthia M. S. Kubu
Institute
cleveland clinic lerner com-cwru
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
A fundamental ethical tenet in medicine is bodily sovereignty, inherent in which is the concept of
control.
TitleHighly Portable and Cloud-Enabled Neuroimaging Research: Confronting Ethics Challenges in Field Research with New Populations
Investigator
Frances Patricia Lawrenz, Francis X Shen, Susan M. Wolf
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary / Abstract
This 4-year Neuroethics R01 based at the University of Minnesota (UMN) will convene a national
Working Group of top neuroethics, neurolaw, and neuroscience experts to conduct empirical research and
generate evidence-based consensus recommendations for the ethical conduct
TitleNeuroEthics of Non-Therapeutic Invasive Human Neurophysiologic Research
Investigator
Ashley L Feinsinger, Nader Pouratian
Institute
university of california los angeles
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The BRAIN Initiative has made a significant investment in invasive human neuroscientific studies that take
advantage of unique neurosurgical opportunities to study basic human neuroscience without therapeutic intent.
These non-therapeutic studies are of particular ethical in
TitleCognitive Restoration: Neuroethics and Disability Rights
Investigator
Joseph J. Fins
Institute
weill medical coll of cornell univ
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Approximately, 40% of TBI patients discharged from the hospital will develop long-term disability with 70%
experiencing chronic cognitive impairments that disrupt vocational, social, and emotional functioning.
TitleLeveraging ethical dissension among capacity, beneficence and justice in clinical trials of neurotherapeutics in the severely disabled: lessons from schizophrenia
Investigator
Rachel A Davis, Judith Morse Gault, Elyn R. Saks
Institute
university of colorado denver
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
Ethical concerns raised from both current and historically controversial psychosurgeries are driving disparities in
accessibility to emerging BRAIN Initiative technology for those with severe, disabling, chronic mental illness like
individuals with treatment-refractory schiz
TitlePediatric Deep Brain Stimulation: Neuroethics and Decision Making
Investigator
Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Gabriel Lazaro-Munoz, Eric A. Storch
Institute
baylor college of medicine
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive DBS systems are currently used in children with dystonia,
epilepsy, and Tourette Syndrome, and its use is expanding to other neuropsychiatric conditions.
TitleAssessing the Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation on Agency
Investigator
Adina L Roskies
Institute
dartmouth college
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Recent advances in neurotechnologies have provided us with the ability to modulate brain function by
direct and indirect interventions.
TitleHuman Agency and Brain-Computer Interfaces: Understanding users’ experiences and developing a tool for improved consent
Investigator
Sara Goering, Eran Klein
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Neural prosthetic devices for sensorimotor and psychiatric disorders are in development as a
priority area of the BRAIN Initiative yet they raise important ethical concerns about human
agency.
TitleInforming Choice for Neurotechnological Innovation in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery
Investigator
Judy Illes, Patrick Mcdonald
Institute
university of british columbia
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
More than 500,000 children in the USA and Canada suffer from epilepsy today. Unmanaged, epilepsy can
result in cognitive decline, social isolation and poor quality of life, and has substantial economic impact on
families and society.
TitleIs the Treatment Perceived to be Worse than the Disease?: Ethical Concerns and Attitudes towards Psychiatric Electroceutical Interventions
Investigator
Laura Yenisa Cabrera Trujillo
Institute
michigan state university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
7. PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Mental health disorders cause immense personal suffering and represent a significant societal burden.
TitleThe Brainstorm Project: A Collaborative Approach to Facilitating the Neuroethics of Bioengineered Brain Modeling Research
Investigator
Insoo Hyun
Institute
case western reserve university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary – Abstract
Neuroscientists are getting close to building realistic bioengineered ex vivo human brain models
by: (1) introducing perfusable vascular networks to maintain tissue viability and promote 3D
brain model growth; (2) generating the full complement of currently missing cell ty
TitleAchieving ethical integration in the development of novel neurotechnologies
Investigator
Winston Chiong
Institute
university of california, san francisco
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
New technologies that modulate brain function have tremendous potential for alleviating the persistent burden
of depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders, but also raise challenging ethical and societal questions
regarding self-ownership and control over our thoughts,
TitleEnabling ethical participation in innovative neuroscience on mental illness and addiction: towards a new screening tool enhancing informed consent for transformative research on the human brain
Investigator
Laura W Roberts
Institute
stanford university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Great discoveries in neuroscience hold promise for reducing the burden of many of the most disabling
conditions that threaten human health on a global scale, including mental illnesses and addictions.
Increasingly, exceptionally innovative science inspires hope that these devastating brain-based dis
Last reviewed on July 02, 2025