In the second installment of this three-part series, Dr. Stacey Clardy and Max Goldman discuss neuroscience research and the BRAIN Initiative.

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Show transcript:

Dr. Stacey Clardy:

Hi, this is Stacey Clardy. We are going to continue with our three-part series today about the top advocacy issues covered at Neurology on the Hill 2026 in Washington, DC. Again, as many of you know, this is the AAN's annual advocacy fly-in event. Neurologists come from all over the US to Washington and meet with elected representatives to discuss issues of high importance to allow us to continue providing high-quality care to patients in the US with neurological diseases.

In the first minute, we discuss the topic of Medicare, and I have with me again, Max Goldman, director of Congressional Affairs from the AAN legislative team, to talk to us about issue number two, which is neuroscience research, and specifically the BRAIN Initiative. Max, what are we going to discuss about neuroscience research? What do we need to happen in order to continue doing high-quality research?

Max Goldman:

So, this one is so important, and there's this wonderful program at the NIH called The BRAIN Initiative. This was founded in 2013, really reinforced in 2016 with the 21st Century Cures Act. It's just funding for basic research into how the brain works, right? And the idea behind this is that if we can understand how the brain works, we can find the next generation of treatment or cures for neurological conditions, psychiatric conditions, and issues that go through the brain.

This year, we are in a precarious position. Mandatory funding for this program is expiring, and so we're going to lose a lot of money and a lot of opportunities to provide more grants to people to figure out how the brain works. So, what we are doing on Neurology on the Hill is we're asking members of Congress to support $468 million in funding in fiscal year 2027 for the BRAIN Initiative, so we can keep up the good work and keep working towards the next generation of treatments and cures for neurological conditions.

Dr. Stacey Clardy:

So important. Thank you, Max. To learn more about this issue and the other two issues, you can go to AAN.com. Click on advocacy. And stick with us for the third Neurology Minute, where we will get to the final issue to be discussed, telehealth.