A meeting of the Multi-Council Working Group for the NIH BRAIN Initiative provided insights into funding the second wave of BRAIN awardees, explored foundation efforts and potential collaborations, approved a neuroethics workgroup, and contemplated future ventures for the initiative.
Continuing to provide oversight of the long-term scientific vision of The BRAIN InitiativeSM at NIH, on July 30, 2015, the Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) members met with directors and staff from the 10 NIH Institutes and Centers supporting the initiative. The MCWG meeting was videocast from an off-campus NIH building, and included presentations from NIH staff and MCWG members, as well as from non-federal foundations that have invested in the initiative: the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Simons Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Kavli Foundation. In another presentation, MCWG member Hank Greely, JD, of Stanford University partnered with Christine Grady, RN, PhD, chief of the NIH Department of Bioethics, to discuss establishment of a new neuroethics workgroup within the MCWG. The necessity of collaboration among the various BRAIN partners became a common thread to conversations throughout the day. Looking ahead to 2016, 2017, and beyond, the group highlighted a need for synergy across efforts supported by federal and non-federal partners to ensure the continued success of The BRAIN Initiative.