American Brain Coalition
Welcome to the American Brain Coalition Website.
The American Brain Coalition is a non-profit organization comprised of some of the United States’ leading professional neurological, psychological, and psychiatric associations and patient organizations. Together, we seek to advance the understanding of the functions of the brain, and to reduce the burden of brain disorders through public advocacy.
With an established presence in Washington, DC, the ABC will be a strong and powerful voice for the 50 million people with disabling brain disorders, bringing together organizations that represent concerned and interested patients, families, and professionals. This voice will be used to advocate for increased support of research that will lead to better treatment; services and support that will improve patients’ quality of life; as well as a national commitment towards finding cures for individuals with disabling neurological and psychiatric disorders.
On behalf of the 50 million patients who live with neurological and psychiatric disorders, we invite organizations that share our concerns and goals to join us in our advocacy efforts.
Parkinson's Action Network Forum Poster Session
As many of you know, the ABC and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) jointly arranged poster floor tours during the SfN Annual Meeting. These tours were very well received by ABC members, NIH directors, and congressional staff. This event prompted a discussion at the ABC Meeting where members considered including a poster session at their annual meetings. The Parkinson's Action Network is doing just that - including a poster session at their annual PAN Forum.
In recent years the Parkinson's Action Network has had increasing numbers of young investigators attend the Forum but PAN would now like to give them an opportunity to present their posters. They are offering up to 12 post-doctoral fellows the chance to present their posters in a reception session that is designed for PAN advocate leaders from around the country. As they do in alternating years, this year's PAN Forum is an "invitation only" event that is for our State Directors and other leaders who are most active in the Parkinson's community. PAN expects around 75 advocate leaders in the Parkinson's community to attend. The Forum is scheduled for February 27-29, with the Poster Session being tentatively scheduled as the opening event from 5-7 pm on February 27th.
PAN doesn't have specific requirements for the posters except that they present findings with direct implications for Parkinson's disease and that the post-doctoral fellow who attends the Forum and presents the poster be an author of the work.
For the 12 selected fellows, PAN will pay for transportation to the Forum and hotel costs during their stay in Washington. While it is not an absolute requirement, it is their hope that the fellows who attend participate in the Forum sessions on the 28th and also participate in the meetings on Capitol Hill on the 29th. PAN will not pay separately for meals, but the Forum events include all meals for those days except dinner on the 28th and 29th of February.
Interested post-doctoral fellows should submit an abstract of their work by January 3rd to Elizabeth Kwasnik, ekwasnik@parkinsonsaction.org <mailto:ekwasnik@parkinsonsaction.org> . 12 will be selected from the submissions.
Please help PAN make this new event a success!
THE BRAIN MATTERS
Being diagnosed with a neurologic disorder can be overwhelming. So can sifting through countless resources for the right answers to your important questions. Visit TheBrainMatters.org to help you and your family understand your condition and why the brain matters.
Neuroscience Funding Opportunities for Young Scientists
The ABC feels it is important for young scientists to know about the various funding opportunities available to them, particularly from alternate funding resources.
Below, we have compiled some listings from the National Institutes of Health, from patient advocacy groups, and from professional organizations, whose websites provide this information.
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Announces Seven Grants Totaling $9.4 Million for Scientific Research
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation today launched a program to advance important neuroscience and cellular engineering research. The Allen Distinguished Investigator Awards will fund seven researchers at universities and laboratories in Washington, California, Massachusetts and New York.
The grants total $9.4 million and will be paid over three years.
“A year ago, I started searching for programs with potential for major breakthroughs but which had struggled to find funding through traditional sources,” said Paul G. Allen. “The inaugural Distinguished Investigators are working on some of the most exciting research in biology and neurology and I’m proud to be able to help keep that work going.”
The grants are awarded to the institutions where the researchers work; the University of Washington, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
NIDA: http://www.nida.nih.gov/funding/
http://www.nida.nih.gov/funding/rfa.html
http://www.nida.nih.gov/funding/resfundslist.html
NINDS: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/funding_announcements/funding_opps.htm
American Headache Society: https://www.americanheadachesociety.org/about/Awards.asp
International Essential Tremor Foundation: http://www.essentialtremor.org/research/index.php
National Ataxia Foundation: http://www.ataxia.org/research/ataxia-research-grants.aspx
National Headache Foundation: http://www.headaches.org/For_Professionals/Research_Grants_%26_Fellowships
Society for Neuroscience: http://www.sfn.org/index.cfmpagename=FellowshipAndAwards§ion=professionalDevelopment
The Tourette Syndrome Association offers research grants and fellowships in all aspects of the syndrome. Details of the program can be found at: http://www.tsa-usa.org/research.html
