On 19 September 2018 the International Brain Initiative was launched during a meeting that accompanied the 71st UN General Assembly. It was no coincidence that the Coordinating Global Brain Projects Meeting, organized by researchers Cori Bargmann (The Rockefeller university) and Rafael Yuste (Columbia University), took place at Rockefeller University.
The main objective of this event was to bring together researchers and administrators representing large-scale projects already underway in the world – such as the BRAIN Initiative (USA), the Human Brain Project (European Union), the Brain/MINDS project (Japan), the Brain Project on Cognition and Brain Disorders (Korea), among others – as well as institutes and foundations of neuroscience in various countries (both public and private, see below), to stimulate and coordinate global projects, thus joining efforts and methodologies to advance the understanding of the human brain.
To implement the International Brain Initiative and to promote greater interchange between major neuroscience projects in different countries, some ideas were exposed and discussed at the event, such as the creation of an international brain station (International Brain Station), where neuroimaging data in human or gene expression in animals can be stored and shared to maximize the possibilities of collaborations in both basic and clinical research. Other proposals include sharing and standardizing tools and technologies, encouraging student and researcher exchanges, stimulating private foundation projects (such as Allen Brain, Simon Global Brain, Janelia, etc.) and coordinating funding mechanisms for high-impact collaborations.
How all this will actually materialize, and especially what will be the role or participation of Latin America and FALAN in this great project, is still in the air. But perhaps this is a new era for global neuroscience, and an opportunity worth following closely.
More information:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/09/big-dreams-emerge-big-brain-science-projects
Institutes and Neurosciences foundations participation:
– Allen Institute for Brain Science
– Simons Foundation (Global Brain)
– Janelia
– The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology
– Brain Behavior Research Foundation
– iNSCOPIX
