PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: <\/p>\n
22-Oct-2014 <\/p>\n
Contact: David J Cameron david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu<\/a> 617-432-0441 Harvard Medical School @HarvardHealth<\/p>\n The Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering, a collaborative program between Harvard Medical School and the cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, has announced a new set of grants worth $3.6 million for five research projects. This is a further strengthening of the partnership between Harvard and Swiss scientists begun in 2010. <\/p>\n Three of the five projects will pursue new methods to diagnose and treat hearing loss. A fourth project focuses on the dynamics of brain networks in children with autism, and the fifth concentrates on cell transplantation strategies that could reverse certain forms of blindness. <\/p>\n The research projects were all selected for their scientific quality, the novelty of the approach proposed and the potential for genuine clinical impact. Three of them are a continuation of successful research projects from the Bertarelli Program focusing on novel approaches to understanding or treating sensory disorders. <\/p>\n To promote collaborations between U.S.- and Swiss-based scientists as well as between neuroscientists and engineers, the funding conditions stipulate that each project be an equal collaboration between Harvard and EPFL. This incentivized researchers to find new collaborators with complementary skills, leading in turn to new interdisciplinary projects that combine technologies and approaches in novel ways. <\/p>\n \"We are delighted at the continued generosity of the Bertarelli Foundation,\" said Jeffrey S. Flier, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. \"This type of forward-thinking support is exactly what's needed to help us continue to unravel the profound complexities of the human brain.\" <\/p>\n David Corey, HMS professor of neurobiology and director of the Bertarelli Program for Harvard Medical School, said, \"The past 40 years of basic research in neuroscience have produced an extraordinary understanding of how the brain works and how it can malfunction in neurological and psychiatric disease. We are now at a point where we can use this understanding to treat these devastating diseases. The Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering combines basic neuroscience with the technology and problem-solving focus of engineering to accelerate the delivery of new treatments to the clinic.\" <\/p>\n Commenting on the new research, Ernesto Bertarelli, co-chair of the Bertarelli Foundation, said, \"When my family and I had the vision for this program, it was based upon bringing together scientists and medical specialists from different disciplines and countries to really push the boundaries of neuroscience and neuroengineering, creating a melting-pot of different talents, passions and visions united by a commitment to find ground-breaking ways to treat people and to make their lives better. What has been achieved since 2011 is highly encouraging. What might be achieved with these new research projects is just as exciting.\" Bertarelli, a graduate of Harvard Business School, is also a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n See the original post here:<\/p>\n Tackling blindness, deafness through neuroengineering<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 22-Oct-2014 Contact: David J Cameron david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu<\/a> 617-432-0441 Harvard Medical School @HarvardHealth The Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering, a collaborative program between Harvard Medical School and the cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, has announced a new set of grants worth $3.6 million for five research projects. This is a further strengthening of the partnership between Harvard and Swiss scientists begun in 2010. Three of the five projects will pursue new methods to diagnose and treat hearing loss Continue reading