.png)
BRAIN Initiative
On April 2, 2013, President Obama announced a bold new research initiative, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. The BRAIN Initiative® ultimately aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and prevent many diseases of the brain. The BRAIN Initiative is a collaborative effort among many government agencies and private sector partners.
Official White House photograph of NIH Director Dr. Francis
Collins and President Barack Obama announcing the BRAIN Initiative. By Chuck Kennedy via Wikimedia Commons
The BRAIN Initiative® seeks to deepen understanding of the inner workings of the human mind and to improve how we treat, prevent, and cure disorders of the brain. Visit the BRAIN Initiative’s home page for more information on key goals, impact, and events.
ABC's BRAIN Initiative Resources
​​Why is the BRAIN Initiative Important? Review this two-page summary on The BRAIN Initiative to learn more about their scientific advances and priority areas for the future. 
​
Dear Colleague Letters for FY26 BRAIN Initiative Funding
-
ABC worked with the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus Co-Chairs, Representatives Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), on a Dear Colleague letter in support of the BRAIN Initiative. 35 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives signed the letter asking the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) to prioritize the BRAIN Initiative in FY 2026.
-
ABC worked with bipartisan Senate champions, Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), on another Dear Colleague letter in support of the BRAIN Initiative. 24 bipartisan Senators signed the letter urging the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee to provide robust, dedicated funding for the BRAIN Initiative in FY 2026.
​
Community Sign-on Letter to Support the BRAIN Initiative (Submitted April 16, 2025) ​
​
ABC Submits FY26 BRAIN Funding Letter (Submitted November 24, 2025)
Understanding the BRAIN Initiative's Budget
Each year, the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative, or The BRAIN Initiative®, receives its budget from the United States Congress. The NIH BRAIN Initiative is made up of, and managed by, 10 Institutes and Centers (IC) at NIH, whose missions and current research portfolios both complement and benefit from the goals of the BRAIN Initiative.
ABC is a Proud Member of the the BRAIN Initiative Alliance!
The American Brain Coalition is thrilled to become the newest member of the BRAIN Initiative Alliance (View Press Release). Comprised of federal and non-federal members and affiliates, the BRAIN Initiative Alliance mission is to coordinate and facilitate communications from its members related to the BRAIN Initiative.Visit the BRAIN Alliance site for more information on how each Alliance member is contributing to this coordinated effort.
The ABC participates in the following way:
BRAIN Initiative Briefings
The ABC has linked up with the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus when it was established in 2010 to promote a better understanding of how the brain develops, functions, and ages. The Caucus also seeks to raise awareness about the millions of Americans afflicted with neurological disorders or mental illnesses. The ABC has hosted and organized a series of Congressional Neuroscience Caucus briefings to educate members of Congress, their staffers, and the public on the importance of the BRAIN Initiative, and its unprecedented public-private partnership to revolutionize our understanding of the human brain.
Congressional BRAIN Investigators Receptions and Fairs
The ABC, along with other BIA NGO partners and the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus, have organized fairs and receptions bringing BRAIN Initiative-funded investigators to Capitol Hill to demonstrate progress and breakthroughs in brain science by events featuring interactive neuroscience exhibits, and sharing exciting stories about investigators’ work untangling the mysteries of our body’s most complex organ.
​
BRAIN Initiative Educational Outreach
The ABC continues to host panels and webinars to educate the brain-related patient advocacy community on the importance of the BRAIN Initiative, highlighting the collaboration involving public,  private, federal, and global partners; the goal to develop new technologies to explore how the brain’s cells and circuits interact, and how basic research is the foundation for all great breakthrough discoveries; focus on high impact, high priority research including tools that help researchers understand brain function; and the importance of future neuroscience research as the work to unravel the mysteries of the most complicated structure in the know universe has only just begun.  
Advocating for Federal Investment in the BRAIN Initiative
The ABC actively advocates for federal funding of the BRAIN Initiative, providing the brain-related patient advocacy community with the resources needed to speak with Congress and articulate the importance of BRAIN Initiative funding, as well as circulating community sign-on letters and other resources.