International brain initiatives: progress, challenges and opportunities

This session gives an overview of the major brain projects which have been launched around the world, and provides details about their scope and aims. The topics cover the Blue Brain Project, a European based project building biologically detailed digital reconstructions and simulations of the rodent, and ultimately the human brain; the Chinese brain initiative China Brain, which is focused on developmental, psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders with the aim to find treatments primarily for Alzheimer's disease and autism; the US BRAIN (US Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative) launched by President Obama; the elucidating of mouse and human cortical cell types and the construction of Brain Observatory led by the Allen Institute for Brain Science; the Japanese Brain/MINDS (Brain Mapping by Innovative Neurotechnologies for Disease Studies); the European CENTER-TBI project (Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI).

About Panellists:
Prof. Mu-ming Poo, Dean of Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Prof. Hideyuki Okano, Dean, Keio University School of Medicine
Prof. Henry Markram, Director, Blue Brain Project
Dr. Christof Koch, CSO, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Dr. Catherine Berens, Head of Sector Neuroscience, European Commission, DG Research and Innovation
Prof. David Menon, Head, Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge
Prof. Terry Sejnowski, Head of Computational Neurobiology Lab, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

About Chairs:
Prof. John Donoghue, Director, Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering
Prof. Nancy Ip, Dean of Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology