New Horizons in Human Brain Imaging: A Focus on Brain Networks and Connectivity

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The quest to understand fundamental brain connectivity in the context of neuroimaging has received international levels of interest - most notably from countries around the Pacific. Under this R13 proposal (NIH PA-08-149), we seek support to cover the partial costs of a 3-day international meeting of leading researchers from North America and Pacific Rim regions entitled "New Horizons in Human Brain Imaging: A Focus on Brain Networks and Connectivity". The meeting will be comprised of key themes important to the next era of neuroimaging science and address the research and clinical motivations for the research using rapidly evolving methods for measuring and understanding functional and structural brain connectivity. In particular, the meeting will focus specifically on attainable means by which investigators from these nations may maximize collaborative effort in addressing the scientific and clinical challenges facing this dynamic and multi-disciplinary field. Thirty speakers are expected to provide insight into the basic and clinical neuroscience of brain networks and connectivity. Additionally, two to four small studentships will be award to students in each participating country, adjudicated based on desire to attend, financial need, suitability of the meeting for their research training, and on the basis of letters of recommendation from senior colleagues and mentors. A total of twenty studentships will be awarded. Meeting participants will enjoy formal scientific sessions during the meeting, have the opportunity to interact with the invited speakers during informal functions, and provide valuable feedback on their experiences to meeting organizers. This R13 meeting proposal speaks directly to the NIH's recent interests in the mapping of human brain connectivity, its mission to broaden participation across disciplinary boundaries, its goals in promoting international collaborations, and the open exchange of scientific knowledge, data, and resources. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Brain connectivity as measured using neuroimaging is rapidly becoming a major theme for research that is forming the basis for the next era of neuroscience research into brain health and disease. This interest toward understanding fundamental brain networks exists at an international level - notably from researchers around the Pacific Rim. This meeting seeks to gather leading neuroscientists from Pacific Rim countries to share ideas, data, and potentially resources toward the characterization, analysis, and modeling of brain functional and structural connectivity using neuroimaging. The meeting seeks to provide a vision for the future of human brain imaging in the context of brain networks and connectivity that will have direct impact on brain research, clinical medicine, and public health in the US and abroad.