Neurotech Collider Lab Announces Award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging for Promoting Research and Innovation in Alzheimer’s Disease
By: Niki Borghei and Keith McAleer
We are thrilled to announce that the Neurotech Collider Lab has been honored with an award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA) REDI Program. This accolade recognizes our ongoing commitment to advancing research and training initiatives aimed at supporting individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
This award will be used to fund a new initiative, IMPRINT: Immersive Methods for Promoting Research and Innovation through Novel Training. This groundbreaking program will recruit participants from four leading campuses, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCSF, and UC Merced, bringing together top talent to develop innovative solutions tailored to the lived experiences and diverse socioeconomic conditions of Alzheimer’s patients.
The program is designed to train 12-15 graduate students and postdocs from diverse backgrounds and disciplines over the course of one academic year. IMPRINT aims to attract applicants who represent a broad socio-demographic background, particularly from underrepresented communities. The course will start with an overview of socio-economic and environmental factors affecting brain health and explore innovative solutions like digital phenotyping for early detection and prevention. It will use data science tools (e.g., ML, AI, data visualization) to uncover root causes and combine patient-centric, technical, and ethical approaches to develop evidence-based interventions for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. The program will also include immersive workshops, strategic sessions on FDA product development and prototyping, and dynamic pitch events to transform innovative ideas into actionable strategies.
Gail Gannon, Director of the Neurotech Collider Lab and co-Project Director, emphasized the program’s impact: “This award propels our mission to the next level, enabling us to foster a new generation of innovators who are equipped to address one of the most pressing health challenges of our time. IMPRINT will not only catalyze breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s care but also create a blueprint for how interdisciplinary collaboration can accelerate progress in neurotechnology.”
Susan Jenkins, Managing Director of the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub and co-Project Director, echoed this sentiment: “The NIH’s support for IMPRINT is a testament to the innovative spirit driving our community. We are excited to see the transformative ideas that will emerge from this program, directly benefiting those who need it most—patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s.”
Set to launch in September 2024, IMPRINT represents a significant leap forward in the intersection of neurotechnology, healthcare innovation, and patient advocacy.
Stay tuned for more details as we prepare to embark on this vital initiative.
About Neurotech Collider Lab
The Neurotech Collider Lab is an interdisciplinary initiative presented by the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub and Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at UC Berkeley. It serves as a node for navigating and shaping the evolving landscape of neurotechnology through innovative approaches to collaboration and problem-solving.
Instagram: @neurotechcollider
Twitter: @neuralxlab
LinkedIn: Neurotech Collider Lab
About Bakar BioEnginuity Hub
The Bakar BioEnginuity Hub is a home for entrepreneurship that connects Bay Area innovators with UC Berkeley’s unique entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Bakar BioEnginuity Hub is the home of Bakar Labs, a startup incubator with state of the art facilities, and the BBH campus programs which inspire ambitious entrepreneurs in our community to solve hard problems together.
About Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology
The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) is a global innovation hub headquartered at UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering, where aspiring entrepreneurs take deep dives into the world of technology entrepreneurship and embark on the path to developing exciting new ventures. The center offers a suite of courses and programs for students, executives and global innovators.
