NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing neuroscience technologies to improve cognitive wellness (MO, IL)

该区域创新引擎发展奖侧重于通过神经相关学科解决系统性区域挑战的综合方法。随着国家人口的持续老龄化，认知障碍的发病率增加，我们越来越认识到大脑在更广泛的健康和保健中的作用，神经相关学科的创新融合对于应对当前生活，学习，健康和福祉的挑战至关重要。该项目认识到，在新兴的创新生态系统中，仅靠技术加速是不够的。NSF引擎开发奖提供的激活资金为圣路易斯提供了必要的时间，以组织和召集神经、认知、健康、教育和健康学科的利益相关者，教育年轻人，建立劳动力，翻译研究，启动和留住创新公司，并通过相关研究翻译实施基础设施，以增加经济流动性。神经科学仍然是推动好奇心和研究的前沿，在技术发展和人工智能和机器学习的进步方面取得了重大成果。此外，阿尔茨海默氏症、帕金森氏症和其他使人衰弱的神经系统疾病，以及脑损伤、中风和发育性大脑疾病，对圣路易斯等地区服务不足的社区造成了不成比例的影响，这凸显了当地驱动的神经技术引擎的重要性。该项目将建立在现有的圣路易斯生物科学创新生态系统和全国公认的神经病学、神经科学、精神病学、社会工作、教育和实施科学研究的基础上。该团队在技术/产品使用和创造就业机会方面有许多早期获胜的机会，包括扩大现有初创企业，更新基于研究的服务技术，以及招募具有符合区域创新需求的商业产品和服务的公司。该项目预计这些努力将增加该地区的劳动力。该项目的工作学习模式将以圣路易斯地铁历史上服务不足的社区的需求为中心，并增加对经济流动性的职业途径的投资，例如重点学徒制。该团队将培训来自高度贫困社区的个人，以推动早期初创企业的商业化活动。在最广泛的经济发展和影响意义上，很难找到将不同的融资机会结合在一起的催化资本。NSF引擎开发奖励期创造了一个机会，将神经系统领域不同观点的团队聚集在一起，提供有价值的利益相关者参与，使团队能够为引擎提案提交做准备，并在更大的圣路易斯地区产生重大影响。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。

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on a comprehensive approach to addressing systemic regional challenges through neuro-related disciplines. As the nation's population continues to age, with increased incidence of cognitive impairments, and we grow our recognition of the brain's role in broader health and wellness, the convergence of innovation from neuro-related disciplines is critical to meet current challenges to life, learning, health, and wellbeing. This project realizes that tech acceleration alone is insufficient in emerging innovation ecosystems. The activation dollars afforded by the NSF Engines Development award offer the necessary time in St. Louis to organize and assemble stakeholders across the neuro, cognition, health, education, and wellness disciplines to educate the youth, build a workforce, translate the research, launch and retain innovative companies, and implement the infrastructure for increased economic mobility through related research translation. Neuroscience continues as a frontier to drive curiosity and research, with major payoffs in technology development and advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Moreover, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other debilitating neurological diseases, as well as brain injury, stroke, and developmental brain disorders, disproportionately impact underserved communities in places like St. Louis, emphasizing the importance of a locally driven neurotech engine. This project will build on an existing St. Louis biosciences innovation ecosystem and nationally recognized research in neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, social work, education, and implementation sciences. The team has a number of opportunities for early wins in technology/product usage and job creation, including expansion of existing startups, newer technologies for research-based services, and recruiting companies with commercial products and services that match regional innovation needs. The project anticipates additions to the regional workforce from these efforts. The project's work-learn models will center the needs of the St. Louis metro's historically underserved communities and enhance investments in career pathways for economic mobility, such as focused apprenticeships. The team will train individuals from high-poverty communities to advance commercialization activities with early-stage startups. The catalytic capital to bring disparate funding opportunities together in the broadest sense of economic development and impact are difficult to find. The NSF Engines Development award period creates the opportunity to bring together groups with disparate perspectives on the neuro landscape to provide valuable stakeholder engagement that enables the team to prepare for an Engine proposal submission and generate a significant impact in the larger St. Louis region.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.