Neuroscience and the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus

In February 2010, when speaking at an OHSU Brain Awareness Lecture, Congressman Blumenauer discussed the critical importance of neuroscience research and announced the formation of a Congressional Neuroscience Caucus.

 

Mission of the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus

In February 2010, when speaking at an OHSU Brain Awareness Lecture, Congressman Blumenauer discussed the critical importance of neuroscience research and announced the formation of a Congressional Neuroscience Caucus. 

Co-Chaired by Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the aim of the Caucus is to build awareness of the intrinsic role brain research plays in understanding ourselves and our society, to help communicate the progress and the benefits of this research, and to help inform federal policy.

 

About the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus

The brain is the last great frontier of medical science; increased focus is required as neuroscience is at a historic turning point. A continuous stream of advances is shattering long-held notions about how the human brain works and what happens when it doesn’t. These advances are also reshaping the landscapes of other fields, from psychology to economics, education and the law.

These advances come at a critical time -- currently one in three individuals is afflicted with a neurological or psychiatric disorder. There are more people with brain disorders than all cancers and heart problems combined. And as society ages, this number will increase exponentially as will the cost to the healthcare system, the economy, and society.

These problems are the leading cause of disability, resulting in more hospitalizations and long-term care than all other disorders combined.  From autism to Alzheimer’s, neuroscience research is the only way to stem this growing epidemic. It is a looming disaster that is hanging over the heads – and brains – of the boomer generation.  Only through research will the causes, cures, and ultimately prevention of neurological and psychiatric disorders be found. By unlocking the secrets of the brain, this research will doubtlessly improve our lives.

 

What Do Members Support?

  • Policies that encourage support for funding of quality neuroscience research.
  • Policies that enhance translation and dissemination of discoveries to maximize the medical and societal benefits of research.

 

What Does the Neuroscience Caucus Do?

The Congressional Neuroscience Caucus develops and promotes legislation that will further advance neuroscience research; sponsoring briefings and information sessions on neuroscience research and findings; collaborating with patient advocacy, physician, and research organizations to build awareness; and distributing congressional communications and information such as Dear Colleagues and Congressional Record statements.

 

Legislation in the 114th Congress

  • Military Construction and Veterans Appropriations Act: Congressman Blumenauer offered and successfully passed a bipartisan amendment that ensures the Veterans Administration continues to have the resources it needs to find innovative medicines and enhanced diagnostics for soldiers and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. It requires that no less than $35 million in medical research goes toward post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury research and treatment in order to expedite a cure for hundreds of thousands of active duty personnel and veterans suffering the effects of brain- and psychological-trauma incurred during service.

  •    H. Res 850 – Legislation recognizing September as “National Suicide Prevention Month”

 

Caucus Activities in the 114th Congress

Celebrated Brain Awareness Week 2015

Led an effort supporting robust funding for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative in the FY2016 Budget. A copy of that budget request is available here.

 

Breifings in the 114th Congress

March 19, 2015: Brain Health Breakthroughs: Good News for Service Members, Students, and Seniors

Co-Hosted by the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, University of California – Berkeley, American Brain Coalition, and the Navy Seal Foundation, featuring:

  • Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas, Dee Wyly Distinguished University Chair, and Professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
  • Mark D’Esposito, M.D., Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and Director of the Henry H. Wheeler, Jr. Brain Imaging Center at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Lt. Morgan Luttrell, retired United States Navy SEAL

 

May 19, 2015: Forth Annual Brain Mapping Day

Co-hosted by the Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics, featuring:

  • Dr. Babak Kateb,  President of Brain Mapping Foundation, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics, Director of National Center for NanoBioElectronics, editor of the Textbook of Nanoneuroscience and Nanoneurosurgery, Research Scientist Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Chief editor of SBMT-PLoSOne-NeuroMapping and Therapeutics Journal
  • Robert Picardo, Actor and Neuroscience Advocate
  • Nancy  Sauer, Ph.D., Associate Director for Chemistry, Life, and Earth Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Dipen N. Sinha, PhD, Laboratory Fellow & Team Leader, Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Michelle Espy, PhD, Research Scientist & Team Leader, Applied Physics Lab, Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • The Honorable Monwabisi Bevan Goqwana, Ph.D., Member of National Assembly (Parliament) of South Africa

 

September 10, 2015: Peering into the Brain, Public and Private Investment in the BRAIN Initiative

Co-Hosted by the American Brain Coalition, featuring:

  • Robin Elliott; President, Parkinson’s Disease Foundation; Chair, The American Brain Coalition
  • Alan Gilbert, Director of Global Government and NGO Strategy, GE’s healthymagination
  • Pushkar Joshi, PhD, Director of Strategy & Business Development, Inscopix
  • Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO, The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

 

December 1, 2015: Work in Progress: Neuroscience Research to Understand the Developing Brain

Co-Hosted by the American Brain Coalition and the American Academy of Neurology, featuring:

  • Lisa Freund, PhD, Chief of National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Child Development and Behavior Branch
  • Frances E. Jensen, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and author of The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

 

April 20, 2016: Fifth Annual Brain Mapping Day

Co-hosted by the Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics, featuring:

  • Dr. Babak Kateb,  President of Brain Mapping Foundation, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics, Director of National Center for NanoBioElectronics, editor of the Textbook of Nanoneuroscience and Nanoneurosurgery, Research Scientist Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Chief editor of SBMT-PLoSOne-NeuroMapping and Therapeutics Journal
  • Aaron Filler, M.D., Ph.D., J.D, 13th President of SBMT (2015-2016), Directors of the Institute of Nerve Medicine, Neurosurgeon, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Ret. Lt. Colonel US Army Reserve, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • John Ralston, Ph.D, Chairman, President & CEO X2 Biosystems, Silicon Valley, CA USA
  • Her Excellency Mariam Matar, M.D., Founder and Chairwoman of UAE Genetic Disease Association, Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE)

  • Vyacheslav (Slava) Kalchenko, M.D., Ph.D., Head of In Vivo Optical Imaging Unit, Senior Staff Scientist, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
  • Nevzat Tarhan, M.D., President of Uskudar University, Professor of Psychiatry, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Selahattin Gültekin, Ph.D. (Presenter), Professor of Chemical Engineering, Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Uskudar University, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Ray Chu, M.D, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • Parham Yashar, M.D., Director of Endovascular Program, California Neurosurgical Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • W.P. Andy Lee, M.D., Milton T. Edgerton Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • Harry Kloor, Ph.D. (Physics) and Ph.D. (Chemistry), Member of the Scientific Board of SBMT; Member of the Award Committee of SBMT; Founder and CEO of Jupiter 9 Production; Co-Founder & Chief scientific Officer of Caricord Inc. Los Angeles, CA, USA

 

April 26, 2016: Creativity and the Brain, Featuring the NW Noggins

Co-Hosted by the STEAM Caucus, American Brain Coalition, Washington State University - Vancouver, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland State University, the Portland Art Museum, and the Phillips Collection, featuring the NW Noggins, a neuroscience outreach group that seeks to excite students and the public about science and neuroscience research through art.