Cal-BRAIN: A Neurotechnology Program for California

Ralph J. Greenspan, Ph.D., UC San Diego, Horst Simon, Ph.D., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Cal-BRAIN (the California Blueprint for Research to Advance Innovations in Neuroscience) will establish a coordinated statewide program to award research grants and support, and integrate the search and convergence on new technologies capable of monitoring wide-scale activity in the brain.

Goal: Develop new technologies to revolutionize the understanding of the brain
in health and disease by improving our ability to monitor and analyze brain activity.

Impacts: Advances for diagnosis and treatment assessment for all brain disorders, development of more effective neural prosthetic devices. A broad range of engineering and environmental applications, where sensitive, miniature, and intelligent systems can fulfill functions currently impossible with existing devices, or where brain-based design can enhance the capabilities of computer chips, architectures, networks, and robotics. Cal-BRAIN will also train a new genera:on of interdisciplinary scientists
and engineers, positioning California to pioneer the new tech sector of Neurotechnology, which will spur growth in economic activity and job creation.