Congressman Fattah to Promote Neuroscience Advocacy Efforts at Events in Philadelphia and California Sunday

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Nov 08, 2013, 04:33 ET

Fattah will speak to stroke and TBI patients at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and later head to San Diego where he will attend the Society for Neuroscience's Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02) will take his neuroscience agenda from coast to coast this Sunday, November 10, with appearances in Philadelphia and San Diego to advocate for increased federal funding for brain research, heightening awareness of brain diseases, and expanding global partnerships to support neuroscience innovation.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, Fattah will address patients and their families at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Pediatric Stroke Conference. The conference, established by CHOP's pediatric stroke team, serves to teach families of stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors how to be effective advocates for the stroke community. As the lead advocate in Congress for neuroscience research, Fattah will offer insight on opportunities to expand and strengthen their federal advocacy efforts in Washington.

CHOP's Pediatric Stroke Program is part of the Division of Neurology and is one of the first programs of its kind in the country. The program is dedicated to providing diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment for infants and youth who suffer from strokes—the sixth leading cause of death in children. It also provides outpatient services and works to increase awareness and understanding of childhood strokes, their causes, and prevention efforts.

Later in the day, Fattah travels to San Diego to attend the Society for Neuroscience 2013 Annual Meeting. In San Diego, Fattah will join more than 30,000 neuroscientists from around the globe as they present research and explore the latest neuroscience technology and tools. Fattah's itinerary in San Diego includes a series of lectures and meetings that support his work growing America's international cooperation efforts in neuroscience, including with Dr. Rafi Gidron, founder and chairman of Israel Brain Technologies (IBT).

Fattah spoke at IBT's BrainTech Israel conference last month in Tel Aviv and recently announced that he will be convening a forum in Washington with representatives from Israel, the European Union, and the United States to advance cooperation around neuroscience activity. In the past year, each country has separately announced government-supported initiatives to increase efforts around brain research and innovation.

Fattah is the architect of the Fattah Neuroscience Initiative (FNI), an innovative, non-incremental policy effort seeking to achieve groundbreaking progress in understanding the human brain. The initiative's major accomplishments to-date include the formation of the Interagency Working Group on Neuroscience (IWGN), housed at The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and a formal collaboration with the pharmaceutical community to substantially increase private sector investment in brain research.

www.fattah.house.gov

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah