April 25, 2014 - This Week's Consolidation of Advocacy News
News
Fattah Continues Neuroscience Advocacy in Four Speeches this Week
April 24, 2014 | Digital Journal
Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) will deliver keynote addresses at four health conferences in the coming days as part of his efforts to elevate neuroscience as a national priority. The speeches in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington will each highlight the Congressman's current priorities and efforts as architect of the Fattah Neuroscience Initiative.
- Share important neuroscience research with your member of Congress by inviting them to tour your lab. Contact advocacy@sfn.org for more information.
NIH Director: Budget Cuts Put U.S. Science at Risk
April 23, 2014 | USA Today
In an interview, Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), discusses the impact of the recent appropriations on scientific progress. The article also offers insight from a letter from Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) to Collins questioning whether NIH uses its money wisely.
Stanford Launches Center to Strengthen Quality of Scientific Research Worldwide
April 22, 2014 | Insider Stanford Medicine
A new center at Stanford University aims to transform research practices to improve the reproducibility, efficiency and quality of scientific investigations. The center will be co-directed by John Ioannidis, professor of medicine and of health research and policy and director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center, and Steven Goodman, professor of medicine and of health research and policy and associate dean for clinical and translational research at the School of Medicine.
Brain-Mapping Milestones
April 21, 2014 | New York Times
As the Brain Initiative announced by President Obama a year ago continues to set priorities and gear up for what researchers hope will be a decade-long program to understand how the brain works, two projects independent of that effort reached milestones in their brain mapping work.
- Check out the National Science Foundation’s new website “Understanding the Brain” to learn more about how NSF will contribute to the BRAIN Initiative
Policy
Senate Approps Wants You! (To Talk About Research)
April 18, 2014 | Roll Call
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee took to Twitter to solicit ideas for an upcoming hearing on federal investments in innovation.
- Live tweet with us on April 29 during the hearing “Driving innovation through federal investments” using #innovationdeficit
Articles of Interest
Brain Control in a Flash of Light
April 21, 2014 | New York Times
SfN member Karl Deisseroth is featured in this article about the technology optogenetics and how it has enhanced neuroscientists' ability to manipulate and understand brain circuit. Deisseroth has also recently developed a neurotechnology called CLARITY and is being used to make a human brain transparent, work that was presented at the annual meeting for the Society for Neuroscience this past November.
- Share resources about optogenetics from BrainFacts.org with your member of Congress.
Meaningful Activities Protect the Brain from Depression
April 21, 2014 | The Atlantic
In a new study, researchers aimed to figure out how the tender brains of adolescents react to eudaimonic (e.g., prosocial decisions) versus hedonic rewards. Results from the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that teens who had the greatest brain response to selfless decisions had the greatest declines in depressive symptoms over time.
- Write an op-ed about the importance of all neuroscience research. Ask the SfN team for additional resources at advocacy@sfn.org.
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