Congressman Fattah Hosts Neurotechnology Briefing on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02), in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and through the support of the Dana Foundation, will host a discussion of the imperative role of collaboration in spurring nonincremental progress in neuroscience and Neurotechnology.  The briefing will feature prominent experts in academia, industry, and government who will illustrate the successes they have realized from these vital partnerships.  

"If we want to make serious headway in addressing the hundreds of neurological conditions that people across the globe face, we must change the paradigm of research," Congressman Fattah said. "We need more collaboration—like the ones our panelists are here to present—and we must bring these results to scale.  Our country is rich in experts in a myriad of different scientific disciplines, research methods, perspectives on patient care, and pharmaceutical enterprise.  This variety of expertise holds the power to make great change.  But we suffer from redundancies in research, barriers to information sharing, and a failure to speak a common language.  Congress is in a unique position to resolve these weaknesses.  I am proud to have championed the effort to not only bring vital resources to neuroscience research, but also to have pioneered an infrastructure in which our experts can push the boundaries of what we know about the brain and bring us closer to cures." 

The briefing will feature:

• Kip Ludwig, PhD, Associate Director, Mayo Neural Engineering Laboratories
• Pushkar Joshi, PhD, Director of Strategy & Business Development, Inscopix, Inc.
• Philip Low, PhD, Founder, Chairman & C.E.O., NeuroVigil, Inc.
• Erik Caldwell, Economic Development Director, City of San Diego
• Remarks: The Honorable Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
• Moderator: Sean Gallagher, AAAS

As lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS), Congressman Fattah successfully increased neuroscience funding for the National Science Foundation to a record $146.9 million in the FY 16 Appropriations Bill. As Ranking Member, Fattah spearheaded the efforts to establish a National Brain Observatory in the FY 15 CJS Appropriations Bill.  

In 2011, Fattah created the Fattah Neuroscience Initiative to prioritize neuroscience in the United States, increase public-private partnerships around brain research, and expand research collaboration on a national and global scale. The Initiative is credited with forming the Interagency Working Group on Neuroscience (IWGN) housed at the White House, which was an impetus for the BRAIN Initiative.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

Related Links

http://www.fattah.house.gov