NIH Awards 15 Grants to CHI Members for BRAIN Initiative Research
La Jolla, Calif. (PRWEB) September 30, 2014 -- Today the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the initial round of grants for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, an undertaking that aims to develop and revolutionize new methods of understanding the complexities and neuro circuit functions of the human brain. This first round of grants totaling $46 million in funding for fiscal year 2014 was allocated to more than 100 investigators in 15 states and several countries. California-based academic and private research institutions were awarded 20 of the total 58 grants, supported through this round of funding.
“The NIH is the lifeblood of basic research, fostering the next generation of medical breakthroughs,” said CHI President & CEO Todd Gillenwater. “Today’s announcement solidifies California’s position as the flagship of global biomedical innovation and we applaud the NIH for recognizing our state’s leading research institutions as a critical partner in this groundbreaking initiative.”
CHI is a non-profit research and advocacy organization which helps advance public policies to promote biomedical research, investment and innovation.
Of the 58 grants announced today, 20 were awarded to California-based academic research institutions. CHI members receiving awards through this landmark initiative include:
• Stanford University: 1 Grant
• University of California, Berkeley: 3 Grants
• University of California, Davis: 2 Grants
• University of California, Irvine: 1 Grant
• University of California, Los Angeles: 2 Grants
• University of California, San Diego: 3 Grants
• University of California, San Francisco: 3 Grants
The BRAIN Initiative was launched last year by President Obama, as a large-scale effort to equip researchers with fundamental insights necessary for treating a wide variety of brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. Four federal agencies — NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Food and Drug Administration and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — stepped up to the “grand challenge” and committed more than $110 million to the Initiative for fiscal year 2014, according to the NIH. In California, the budget signed into law on June by Governor Jerry Brown itself allocated $2 million to establish a complimentary California Blueprint for Research to Advance Innovations in Neuroscience (Cal-BRAIN) initiative.
Click here to view the NIH announcement.
Click here to learn more about the BRAIN Initiative.
Click here to view a recent CHI op-ed published in the U-T San Diego on the importance of NIH-funded research for continued global competitiveness.
About CHI-California Healthcare Institute
CHI represents more than 275 leading biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics and pharmaceutical companies, and public and private academic biomedical research organizations. CHI’s mission is to advance biomedical research, investment and innovation through effective advocacy of policies to improve public health and ensure continued vitality of the life sciences sector. CHI’s website is http://www.chi.org. Follow us on Twitter @calhealthcare, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Will Zasadny, Manager of Communications, CHI-California Healthcare Institute, http://www.chi.org, +1 619-961-8848, [email protected]
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