The BRAIN Initiative: Building, Strengthening, and Sustaining

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NeuroView The BRAIN Initiative: Building, Strengthening, and Sustaining Christopher L. Martin1,* and Miyoung Chun1,* 1The Kavli Foundation, 1801 Solar Dr. Suite 250, Oxnard, CA 93030, USA *Correspondence: [email protected] (C.L.M.), [email protected] (M.C.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.039

Successful federal initiatives share a focus on tangible success stories, constant input and guidance from scientists, participation by a wide range of funders, ongoing interest from policy makers, and a broad and effective communications network. By comparing these elements of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative with other initiatives, we look at what needs to be done to sustain the BRAIN Initiative in the years to come.

Introduction Over the years, our understanding of the brain—how it works, what goes wrong when it is injured or diseased—has increased dramatically. However, we still have much more to learn . Powerful microscopes, major strides in the study of genetics, and advanced brain imaging devices are giving physicians and scientists ever greater insight into the brain. Neuroscientists are mapping the brain’s biochemical circuitry, which may help produce more effective drugs for alleviating the suffering of those who have Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.—George H.W. Bush With these words, President Bush announced the beginning of the Decade of the Brain (DOB) in 1990 (Bush, 1990). With a concurrent bipartisan resolution (United States, 1989), Congress proclaimed its support for brain research, and the future of neuroscience research looked robust. While the DOB may have raised the profile of neuroscience (Jones and Mendell, 1999), it was not associated with any specific congressionally directed funding. Seen in this context, how is President Obama’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative different, and how will it be sustained in the years to come? First and foremost, unlike the DOB, the BRAIN Initiative has been explicitly directed toward the development of new tools, or ‘‘neurotechnologies,’’ to enable

scientists to monitor and modulate brain circuit activity (see Box 1). This concentrated approach to supporting technology development provides an opportunity for specific, tangible outcomes to be achieved early on, which can then be scaled up and disseminated for widespread use in discovery, hypothesisdriven science. In turn, the new tools coming from the BRAIN Initiative will enable the neuroscience community to pursue a myriad of previously inaccessible scientific questions. Additionally, while every federal initiative is unique, there are common elements found in all long-running and successful initiatives: namely, a focus on tangible success stories, constant input and guidance from scientists, participation by a wide range of funders, ongoing interest from policy makers, and a broad and effective communications network. The sections below demonstrate how each of these core elements is evident in the nature and progress of the BRAIN Initiative. Focus on Early Successes The tools generated during the first 2 years of the BRAIN Initiative have been publicized in over 130 publications from NIH-funded investigators alone (with many more from other BRAIN partners), as well as in monthly summaries for a general audience describing how these tools can be applied in research or in clinical settings (a list can be found at https:// www.braininitiative.nih.gov/resources/ publication.aspx and with additional details at https://brainupdate.nih.gov/). By

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keeping both the public and scientific communities well informed of progress of the BRAIN Initiative—the power of the new technologies and the discoveries they enable—the partners in the BRAIN Initiative are creating an environment that sustains the momentum and enthusiasm that has been so compelling, not only with scientists but the general public and policy-makers as well. With only 2 years of funding, revolutionary tools are coming at a rapid pace, including highthroughput methods to classify hundreds of thousands of neurons, innovative optical imaging tools, a variety of new chemoand opto-genetic reagents, creation of transgenic marmosets, and advanced electrodes, to name just a few. Other initiatives, such as the $1.4 billionper-year National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), also highlight their success stories through common web portals (see e.g., http://www.nano.gov/accomplishments) as a way of communicating their impact to science and society. As the BRAIN Initiative continues, the partners have created a central forum at http://www. braininitiative.org where all of the success stories and funding opportunities will be shared with scientists, policy makers, and the general public. Ongoing Scientific Guidance from the Broader Community The BRAIN Initiative began with the scientific clarity provided through the BRAIN 2025 report (Bargmann et al., 2014), which laid out a clear vision for the first 10 years of the BRAIN Initiative by conducting a year-long survey of the field

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NeuroView Box 1. U.S. BRAIN Initiative

GOVERNANCE The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is a public-private partnership including: d d d d d d

National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Science Foundation (NSF) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and over 20 private foundations, institutes, universities, companies, and international partners (see https://www.whitehouse. gov/brain)

To help coordinate the partners, the NIH convenes the BRAIN Multi-Council Working Group as well as an annual BRAIN Investigators Meeting. Internationally, the NSF organizes conferences to share research and foster collaboration worldwide. However, while coordination is encouraged, each partner in the BRAIN Initiative sets its own priorities and makes its own funding decisions. HISTORY Beginning in 2011, a series of scientific meetings and interagency discussions built the case for a coordinated effort to develop tools for brain research. Then in April 2013, President Obama launched the BRAIN Initiative to ‘‘accelerate the development and application of new technologies that will enable researchers to produce dynamic pictures of the brain that show how individual brain cells and complex neural circuits interact at the speed of thought.’’ Following the announcement, the NIH formed the BRAIN 2025 working group to develop a rigorous long-term plan for achieving this vision and to evaluate challenges and opportunities. Last year, many of the public and private partners joined together to form the BRAIN Initiative Alliance to provide a forum to coordinate and facilitate communications about the BRAIN Initiative. MISSION AND SCOPE The BRAIN Initiative seeks to deepen understanding of the inner workings of the human mind and to improve how we treat, prevent, and cure disorders of the brain. This will be accomplished through the pursuit of a set of key goals: d d d d d

Advance Neurotechnologies: accelerate the development and application of new neurotechnologies Facilitate Dynamic Imaging: enable researchers to produce a dynamic picture of the brain functioning in real time Explore Brain Functionality: explore how the brain records, processes, uses, scores, and retrieves vast quantities of information Link Function and Behavior: shed light on the complex links between brain function and behavior, incorporating new theories and computational models Advance Consumer Applications: help bring safe and effective products to patients and consumers

FUNDING Since 2013, a total of $1.36 billion dollars of funding have been allocated by federal, state, and private sectors. From the U.S. Federal partners, BRAIN’s FY2016 budget totals about $323 million and the budget requested for FY2017 is approximately $439 million: this includes $195 million for NIH, $74 million for NSF, $118 million for DARPA, $43 million for IARPA, and $9 million for the Department of Energy. FIND OUT MORE A full list of partners, contacts, and funding opportunities is available at http://www.braininitiative.org/.

and gathering deep scientific input from trusted figures in neuroscience. Each of the federal partners participated in the process of producing the report and it continues to serve as a guide for all

of the participants as the Initiative develops. This scientific input and participation of the diversity of public and private funders continues on a regular basis through the BRAIN Multi-Council Working

Group (MCWG) (for details see https:// www.braininitiative.nih.gov/about/mcwg. htm). In addition, a plethora of scientific meetings on the BRAIN Initiative have helped to inform the NSF and NIH BRAIN Neuron 92, November 2, 2016 571

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NeuroView staff of new scientific opportunities as they emerge. Finally, the annual BRAIN Investigator meeting held by the NSF, NIH, and other funders provides a venue to not only share information about new tools and discoveries but also a way to form collaborations and build team approaches that advance the field.

goals and critical importance of unlocking the brain’s circuitry for neuro/mental health. However, continual outreach and explanation of the Initiative’s importance is critical to ensure that policymakers are aware of the reward that will accrue from continued support. As a community, we need to continue delivering on what we have promised to justify this continued support and show how these results will be of benefit to taxpayers and the world at large.

Participation by Multiple Federal Agencies and Private Funders The BRAIN Initiative spans five federal agencies and numerous private funders, BRAIN Initiative Alliance and this number continues As a public-private partnership, the BRAIN Initiative to grow. By bringing a variety of interests and funding stranow boasts support from tegies to the table, each partfive federal agencies and over 20 private partners; its ner is able to add a different and complementary aspect success stories are starting to the Initiative. At the to accumulate; and its same time, this strategically network of opportunities conaligned group of partners tinues to grow. To bring all of also fosters a community of these funding opportunities, like-minded advocates who awards, and success stories together in one place, a can collectively communicate the importance of the subset of these partners Initiative, the transformahave formed the BRAIN Figure 1. A Comparison of Federal Funding for the BRAIN Initiative Initiative Alliance (BIA). The tional nature of the new techand the National Nanotechnology Initiative nologies, and the scientific BIA members have develThe National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has 20 participating agencies that are clustered by lead organizations (Department of Commerce, green; impact of a sustained effort. oped a website, http://www. Department of Defense, blue; National Science Foundation [NSF] yellow; braininitiative.org/, to serve This crucial balance—a Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], gray; and Department of diverse, rich ecology of supas a central-access portal Energy [DOE], orange). The BRAIN Initiative has four funding agencies (with a fifth, the DOE [green] proposed for FY 2017): NIH, red; the Defense Advanced port underpinned by a for visitors wanting informaResearch Projects Agency (DARPA), yellow; NSF, blue; and the Intelligence strong, unified vision for coltion related to the BRAIN Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), light blue. The Food and Drug Initiative. Functioning as a lective action—has been Administration is also part of the BRAIN Initiative, but since it does not award shared by other successful directory, information clearing any funding it is not shown here. Data are drawn from Presidential Budget Requests, Congressional Justifications, and the Office of Management and initiatives, including the NNI house, and posting aggregaBudget. tor, the site offers scientists, as well as the more recent Materials Genome Initiative the general public, and policy(MGI), and bodes well for the future of reasserted and refreshed the ongoing makers a default point of entry for learning the BRAIN Initiative. As an example of need for the initiative to the broader about the BRAIN Initiative. The BIA welthis effect, during the early 2000s as community. comes all those participating in the BRAIN the NNI became more established and Initiative to submit news, events, and related content to the site. additional agencies joined the initiative, Continued Congressional Interest its budget grew every year, until eventu- and Support ally dropping somewhat and stabilizing In an era of partisanship and tight funding Conclusion around a constant $1.5 billion dollars for science research, the BRAIN Initiative By prioritizing and tracking these missionper year (Figure 1). The NNI has also has attracted tremendous bipartisan sup- critical foci—i.e., strategically publicizing benefitted from a series of reports and port and has specifically been called out and distributing our success stories; strategic plans that have provided over- positively in annual appropriations lan- aggregating constant input and guidance arching strategies that continue to bind guage from both the House and Senate. from scientists; courting and maintaining the funding partners together and have Members of Congress appreciate the support from a diverse-yet-unified group 572 Neuron 92, November 2, 2016

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NeuroView of funders and policymakers; and encouraging communication between all sectors of government, industry, nonprofits, and the public—the BRAIN Initiative is well positioned for a long and healthy future. While there will always be risks associated with making promises of transformative technologies and downstream clinical benefits, by continuing to communicate internally within the scientific community and externally with funders, policy makers, and the public, these risks can be managed and overcome. If the BRAIN Initiative continues to build, strengthen, and sustain itself in the years to come, we will in fact move closer to unlocking the elusive secrets of the human brain—the infamous three pounds between our ears that drives all our behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and dreams.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Christopher L. Martin is a Science Program Officer at The Kavli Foundation, where he works with scientists from around the globe in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics to enable their work and advance basic science research for the benefit of humanity. Miyoung Chun’s career spans a wide range of experience in academia, industry, and philanthropy. As an Executive Vice President of The Kavli Foundation, she has spearheaded many scientific initiatives and dynamic large-scale projects, including the BRAIN Initiative and the National Microbiome Initiative. More recently, she catalyzed the International Brain Initiative, to foster coordination of large-scale brain projects globally, which held its dialog during the UN General Assembly in September 2016. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank Dr. Walter Koroshetz of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders

and Stroke, Dr. Jim Olds of the National Science Foundation, and Dr. Christof Koch of the Allen Institute for Brain Science for their thoughtful suggestions and advice in the preparation of this manuscript.

REFERENCES Bargmann, C., Newsome, W., Anderson, D., Brown, E., Deisseroth, K., Donoghue, J., MacLeish, P., Marder, E., Normann, R., Sanes, J., et al. (2014). Report to the Advisory Committee to the Director, NIH. https://www.braininitiative.nih.gov/ pdf/BRAIN2025_508C.pdf Bush, G.H.W. (1990). Presidential Proclamation 6158: Decade of the Brain. http://www.loc.gov/ loc/brain/proclaim.html. Jones, E., and Mendell, L. (1999). Science 284, 739. United States (1989). Public Law 101-58: To designate the decade beginning January 1, 1990, as the ‘‘Decade of the Brain.’’ https://www.gpo. gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-103/pdf/STATUTE-103Pg152.pdf.

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