The BRAIN Blog

Last week, President Obama announced his budget proposal to double the Federal investment in the BRAIN Initiative from about $100 million in Fy 2014 to approximately $200 million in FY 2015. Read the fact sheet to learn more about the proposed investments at various agencies to support groundbreaking research and meet the audacious goals of this initiative.

When the President launched the BRAIN Initiative in April 2013, he charged his Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues with exploring the ethical, legal, and societal implications raised by both this research initiative and other recent advances in neuroscience to ensure that this research progresses responsibly.

On January 15, 2014, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-73.).  In this bill, Congress signaled its strong support for the BRAIN Initiative by appropriating funds for NIH Institutes and Centers to begin its implementation in fiscal year 2014. Language also indicates the importance of investing in basic research to advance fundamental knowledge by stating that  “This work may take decades before it results in cures or treatments, but it holds promise to unlock the secrets behind diseases such as Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.”

NIH will hold several informational conference calls for prospective applicants to the recently released funding opportunities under the BRAIN Initiative.  For specifics, visit http://www.nih.gov/science/brain/funding.htm#faq.

Today, NIH is excited to release six new funding opportunities in support of the BRAIN Initiative. These announcements were developed in response to one or more of the high priority research areas  identified by the ACD BRAIN Working Group.

Check out the findings of the ACD working group on the NIH BRAIN Initiative identifying high priority research areas that should be considered for BRAIN Initiative NIH funding in Fiscal Year 14.

• Executive Summary
• Interim Report

The Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) is holding a public teleconference on September 16, 2013 (3:00-5:00 EDT) to discuss the interim report of the BRAIN working group. This report identifies high priority research areas that should be considered for BRAIN Initiative funding in Fiscal Year 14.  The full agenda for this meeting and the related links will be posted to the ACD site when available (http://acd.od.nih.gov/).  Teleconference information is as follows:

Dial-in: 800-779-1423
Pass Code: ACD

The American Brain Coalition is hosting a webinar to engage the patient advocacy community on July 22 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. (EDT). For more information, check out their site at http://www.americanbraincoalition.org/

Check out new article on NIH BRAIN Initiative by Tom Insel, Story Landis, and Francis Collins.