Many of the most talented graduates in computational neuroscience, computer science or related fields are being recruited by industrial research groups that are interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence (such as Google/DeepMind, Amazon, Intel and Facebook), or by large pharmaceutical companies that have begun to appreciate the need for computation. Such graduates thrive in these positions, which maintain many of the benefits characteristic of academic environments—including a focus on basic discovery—but also offer the resources and incentives of industry.

In parallel, there is great need and opportunity for neuroscientists and computational researchers to help develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools for mental health. This has manifested in the burgeoning fields of computational psychiatry and neurology. However, most of the progress in these fields has been purely academic, with little incentive and few opportunities to translate research into clinical applications. This translational gap is what we are trying to bridge with the BRAINSTORM program.

Brown University is home to leading researchers in computational neuroscience investigating fundamental questions of brain computation, world leaders in artificial intelligence and physician scientists using cutting-edge approaches to understand the mechanisms underlying complex disorders. The University is ideally located at the heart of a larger BioMed, med tech and start-up ecosystem in the Boston/Providence area, providing the perfect ground for translational efforts in science.

Further, Brown's Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science provides a rich nexus of interdisciplinary collaborations amongst computational brain scientists, physician-scientists, engineers, designers, entrepreneurially minded students, and others. BRAINSTORM is a program within the Carney Institute.

Frederike Petzschner and Michael Frank, the program directors, have pioneered the development of the fields of computational psychiatry and neurology. Petzschner has been organizing the world’s largest course in computational psychiatry since 2015. Frank is a 2021 recipient of the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences for pioneering work in this field, and he is spearheading Brown's Center for Computational Brain Science at the Carney Institute.

Are you a Brown University researcher who is interested in becoming a BRAINSTORM innovator? Email us with a brief description of your project (1 page) and a motivation letter (2 pages) where you describe why you think you/your project is a great fit for the program and how your project can be translated into a real-world application and have a positive impact on mental health.