Plenary Sessions

• The BRAIN Initiative
• Inflammatory Diseases
• The Cancer Moonshot

Plenary Session I – The BRAIN Initiative

The BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) was launched in 2013 as a collaborative, public-private research partnership with the goal of facilitating the development and application of innovative technologies to understand brain function. Inspired by the Human Genome Project and born out of a Grand Challenge, the BRAIN Initiative seeks to revolutionize our understanding of the human brain. This session will provide an overview of neuroscience and neurotechnology research directions being pursued within the NIH Intramural Research Program as well as offer a panel discussion that will cover past activities and future directions of this innovative new program.

Moderator: Dietmar Plenz, Ph.D. (NIMH)

• The BRAIN initiative: from local to global brain activity with single-cell resolution
  Dietmar Plenz, Ph.D. (NIMH)
• Measuring the latency connectome
  Peter J. Basser, Ph.D. (NICHD)
• Population coding in auditory cortex
  Patrick Kanold, Ph.D. (University of Maryland)
• Panel discussion:
  The BRAIN initiative: progress through interdisciplinary team building in the neurosciences
  Speakers and Special Guest Gregory Farber, Ph.D., co-leader, BRAIN Initiative Coordination Team, Director, Office of Technology Development and Coordination, NIMH

Plenary Session II – Inflammatory Diseases

As our understanding of innate immune mechanisms and their relationship to adaptive immunity has become clearer, we have grown to appreciate how inflammation lies at the heart of nearly all diseases. We now see that, on many levels, all cells are “immune” cells and that inflammation and metabolism are intrinsically linked, a revolutionary concept that is opening new pathways to cures. This session explores the broad impact of inflammatory mechanisms on a broad range of disorders and their treatment.

Moderator: John J. O’Shea, M.D. (NIAMS)

• New molecular mechanisms of T cell signaling in the healthy and diseased immune system
  Michael J. Lenardo, M.D. (NIAID)
• Is the right flavor of inflammation the key to successful cancer therapy?
  Romina Goldszmid, Ph.D. (NCI-CCR)
• Targeting the innate immune system to prevent organ damage in systemic autoimmunity
  Mariana J. Kaplan, M.D. (NIAMS)

Plenary Session III – The Cancer Moonshot

The Cancer Moonshot was launched in 2016 with the stated goal of achieving in five years what would otherwise take a decade of cancer research. To identify those areas of cancer research that were poised for acceleration, a Blue Ribbon Panel was convened with representatives from across the cancer continuum. The panel developed a series of recommendations designed to accelerate our understanding of cancer. This session will review those recommendations, describe the extramural programs that are being established, and highlight three of the intramural programs that are being launched as part of the Cancer Moonshot.

Moderator: Dinah Singer, Ph.D. (NCI-CCR)

• One- vs two-dose HPV vaccine trial
  Aimée R. Kreimer, Ph.D. (NCI-DCEG)
• Rare tumor initiative
  Brigitte C. Widemann, M.D. (NCI-CCR)
• Population screening for cancer predisposition genes (CPGs)
  Maria Isabel Achatz, M.D., Ph.D. (NCI-DCEG)

This page was last updated on Monday, March 15, 2021