NeuroNex Research Program Workshop, San Diego, California, November 7-8, 2018

NeuroNex计划的明确目标之一是通过建立一个致力于神经技术和理论方法在广泛的神经科学界的持续发展和传播的研究人员社区，为NSF在BRAIN计划中的投资提供附加价值。这样的社区建设/扩展确保了创新的成像、记录和基因操作方法，这些方法作为BRAIN计划的一部分正在开发，可以为尽可能广泛的神经科学家所使用。此外，它允许神经技术开发人员扩展工具库，以询问生物体中的大脑和行为，而不是工具最初开发的有限的模式生物体。组织者正在努力邀请妇女和代表性不足的群体成员作为参与者。此外，会议需要广泛的跨学科互动，这将大大有助于这次会议的面对面性质。重要的是，这次研讨会是协调和调整机构间优先事项的共同努力的一部分，以利用跨学科的技术发展来应对可能是当今最大的科学挑战。了解大脑。理解行为是如何从脑回路的电和化学活动的动态模式中产生的，被普遍认为是科学中的一个基本谜团。“大脑计划”创建于2014年，旨在推动国家努力发展神经技术，以更全面地了解大脑。为了支持与美国创新与竞争力法案（公法114-329）指导的跨部门BRAIN计划相关的研究活动，NSF创建了NeuroNex活动，以确保这些创新神经技术的持续发展和广泛传播。作为该活动的一部分，2017财年资助了9个神经技术中心，2个神经理论团队和6个创新奖。本次研讨会的目的是将主要研究人员和他们的学员聚集在一起，举行首届获奖者会议。为与神经科学学会年度会议同时举行的为期一天半的会议申请资金，会议目标如下：1)介绍工具、技术和理论方面的最新进展和亮点；2)确定技术发展中的关键问题和瓶颈；3)讨论广泛传播和社区参与的机遇、障碍和挑战；4)利用不同项目之间的协同效应，推动新兴领域的发展；5)继续建设国家研究基础设施，使团队能够快速重新配置，以应对研究挑战/机遇。参与者将在小的主题小组中讨论这些问题，并将利用他们的见解来制定一套连贯的战略和目标，以实现NeuroNex计划和BRAIN计划的目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

One of the explicit goals of the NeuroNex Program is to provide added value to NSF investments in the BRAIN Initiative by building a community of researchers who are committed to the continued development and dissemination of neurotechnologies and theoretical approaches to the broad neuroscience community. Such community building/expansion ensures that the innovative imaging, recording and genetic manipulation methods that are being developed as part of the BRAIN Initiative are accessible to the broadest possible spectrum of neuroscientists. Furthermore, it allows the neurotechnology developers to expand the repertoire of tools to interrogate brain and behavior in organisms more diverse than the limited set of model organisms that the tools were developed originally. The organizers are making a strong effort to invite women and members of underrepresented groups as participants. Further, the meeting entails extensive cross-disciplinary interactions, which will be aided greatly by the face-to-face nature of this meeting. Importantly, this workshop is part of a concerted effort to coordinate and align interagency priorities to capitalize on cross-disciplinary technology developments to approach perhaps the greatest scientific challenge of the time ? understanding the brain.Understanding how behavior emerges from the dynamic patterns of electrical and chemical activity of brain circuits is universally recognized as a fundamental mystery in science. The BRAIN Initiative was created in 2014 to catalyze national efforts towards the development of neurotechnologies that are aimed at a fuller understanding of the brain. To support for research activities related to interagency BRAIN Initiative as directed by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (Public Law 114-329), NSF created the NeuroNex activity to ensure the continued development and broad dissemination of these innovative neurotechnologies. As part of this activity, 9 Neurotechnology Hubs, 2 Neurotheory teams and six Innovation awards were funded in FY2017. This workshop aims to bring together the principal investigators and their trainees for an inaugural awardees meeting. Funds are requested for a one-and-half day meeting to coincide with the Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting with the following goals: 1) Present updates and highlights of progress into tools, technologies and theories, 2) Identify key issues and bottlenecks in technology development, 3) Discuss opportunities, barriers and challenges for widespread dissemination and community engagement 4) Leverage synergies between the different projects to push forward new and emerging areas and 5) Continue to build a national research infrastructure that allows teams to quickly re-configure in response to research challenges/opportunities. The participants will discuss these issues in small thematic groups, and will use their insights to generate a coherent set of strategies and obectives towards the goals of the NeuroNex program and the BRAIN Initiative.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.