The report on the multi-institutional Neuro-Workshop held June 2, 2016 at Berkeley Lab (LBNL) is now available. The workshop was convened to discuss relevant technological capabilities for the national Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. Participants also explored collaborative opportunities that would address neuroscience “grand challenges” in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) contribution to BRAIN and other national scientific challenges.
The workshop, co-chaired by Andrew Wyrobek and Kristofer Bouchard of the Biological Systems & Engineering Division, included participants from two National Laboratories (LBNL and PNNL), two DOE User Facilities (EMSL and JGI) and the Joint BioEnergy Institute. The workshop participants agreed that technology development could be accelerated by closing the “design-test-learn” loop using complementary rodent and insect model systems. There was also broad consensus to begin multi-scale investigations of nervous system function using the capabilities available across the participating institutions, the report describes. The workshop’s findings have been shared with the DOE Office of Science and other federal, academic, and private stakeholders.
BRAIN, a bold, new initiative focused on revolutionizing the understanding of the human brain, was announced by the President in 2013 and is one of the Administration’s “Grand Challenges”-ambitious but achievable goals that require advances in science and technology. In March 2016, following five other federal institutes, the DOE joined the initiative with a focus on development, characterization, and validation of multi-scale tools required to obtain a dynamic read-out of neurological function.
