Pittsburgh, October 13, 2016 -- A significant grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help to fund advanced brain research at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC focused on deeper understanding of how speech is controlled in the brain.
The $3.3 million grant awarded over a three-year period, is among the third round of awards in the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative launched by President Barack Obama in 2013 as a large-scale effort to understand the brain and apply the knowledge to treating a variety brain disorders including Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism and traumatic brain injury, among others.
President Obama is expected to speak about the BRAIN initiative and its achievements in Pittsburgh at the White House Frontiers conference, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
“There are very few effective cures for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders,” said Walter J. Koroshetz, MD, director of NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “By pushing the boundaries of fundamental neuroscience research, NIH BRAIN Initiative scientists are providing the insights researchers will need to develop 21st century treatments.