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50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to redefine the realm of possibility by sending a man to the moon and returning him home safely before the decade was out.

Today we face a scientific challenge of even greater magnitude. Nearly 100 million Americans live with a disorder of the brain or central nervous system. Over 300,000 American soldiers and veterans have suffered the combat wounds of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The brain has often been called the last frontier of medicine. Though the major advances occurring in this field are numerous, they still pale in comparison to the gaps that exist in our ability to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure many of the common neurological disorders afflicting so many Americans. The human genome project, advances in biomedical computing, and brain imaging are now at the point that the confidence of the scientific community in responding to this challenge has never been greater.

Now is the time for emergency science. Now is the time for a moonshot to the mind.

The Next Frontier Conference
May 23-May 25, 2011

The Next Frontier is a new space for scientists, government, industry, academia, philanthropy, patients and families to harness vital knowledge and resources and hasten the development of treatments and cures for neurological disorders.

In addition, the conference will serve as a national call to action for dramatic increases in funding and coordination of brain research.

The inaugural Next Frontier conference features presentations from America’s preeminent researchers, clinicians, scientists and policy makers outlining a new roadmap to unlock the mysteries of the mind.

On May 25th, 2011, the 50th anniversary of JFK’s historic moonshot address, the Next Frontier hosts a special celebration gala at the John F. Kennedy Library.

Please check back soon for updates.

The Next Frontier unofficially commenced with a meeting of virtually every agency, research organization and advocacy group involved in brain and brain functions. This meeting was held on July 29, 2010 in Washington, DC and resulted in a virtually unanimous acceptance of the need to come together and elevate the discussion to illnesses of the brain as a single topic, with a focus on the need to rescue our returning soldiers and veterans from behind the enemy lines of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. More than 35 agencies initially signed on and many more have joined subsequently. Additional meetings and conversations have been held with the top scientists and research labs around the country. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical Center, MIT Broad Institute, Cold Springs Harbor, University of Michigan, Columbia University Medical Center, UCLA and the Neuropsychiatric Institute, UC Davis, and UCSF are among the many hospitals and laboratories who are enthusiastic supporters of the premise of “being of one mind for brain research.” Leaders in the field coalesce around the importance of a focus on basic science of the circuits of the brain and the impaired genes of brain illnesses that will expedite the translational research for therapies and cures for all neurological disorders. Individual scientists of note include Nobel Laureates Stanley Prusiner and James Watson, Michael Goldberg, President of the Society for Neuroscience, Jeff Lieberman, Chairman, Depart of Psychiatry –Columbia University, Steven Hyman, Provost-Harvard University, Dr. Gene Block, Chancellor of UCLA, Edward Skolnick, Executive Director of the Broad Institute, Eric Nestler, Chairman of Neuroscience, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and Huda Akil, Director of the Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute. Many more could be listed and have expressed support.

Kevin Kit Parker, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of Applied Science and Biomedical Engineering Harvard University

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Kucinich, and distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify here today. I am the Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Applied Sciences, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, with core appointments in the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to these responsibilities, I am a Major in the Rhode Island Army National Guard and have completed two combat tours in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions.
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Thomas R. Insel, M.D.
Director National Institute of Mental Health

Joel Kupersmith, M.D.
Chief Research and Development Officer Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Good morning Chairman Kucinich, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to address the current state of neuroscience research, including efforts to discover and develop new treatments and diagnostic tools for brain and nervous system disorders. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to providing innovative, evidence-based approaches to clinical treatment that will provide our Veterans with the highest quality of care.
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Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D.
Deputy Director National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Timothy Coetzee, Ph.D.
Executive Director Fast Forward, LLC

My name is Timothy Coetzee, and I am the President of Fast Forward, the venture philanthropy arm of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I am here today on behalf of the estimated 400,000 Americans and the more than 20,000 veterans who live with MS and are being treated by the Veterans Health Administration. The number of veterans affected by MS is yet more alarming given that the VA only treats about one third of our veterans. Finally, I am also here on behalf of the researchers in the United States who are engaged in discovery and development of new treatments and ultimately a cure for MS.
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William Z Potter, MD, PhD
Captain (retired)
US Public Health Service VP of Translational Neuroscience (retired), Merck Research Laboratories

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Jordan and Members of the Committee I am speaking from the perspective of a retired officer and practicing psychiatrist/researcher in the Public Health Service where I served in the Intramural Programs of the National Institutes of Health for 25 years and a just retired executive from the pharmaceutical industry. For the past 15 years I worked on discovering and developing drugs in two companies, Eli Lilly and Merck, which have had large investments in finding new drugs for brain diseases.
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John H. Morrison, Ph.D.
Dean, Basic Sciences and the Graduate School of Biological Sciences Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify, and for the committee’s interest in neuroscience research and development. I am John H. Morrison, PhD, the Dean of Basic Sciences and the Graduate School of Biological Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. I am here today on behalf of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), where I am currently Chair of the Public Education and Communication Committee, and an incoming member of the Society’s Council, its board of directors.

It is an honor to be here to discuss the potential and promise of brain research and to update the subcommittee on emerging discoveries and opportunities for greater collaboration. I will also discuss briefly why the nation, and the world, must make aggressive investment in brain research a top priority in coming years given looming health and economic trajectories that are potentially devastating.
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Terry Rauch, Ph.D.
Director Defense Medical Research and Development Program, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Department of Defense

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the efforts of the Department of Defense (DoD) to advance our understanding of neurological and psychological trauma. We greatly appreciate Congress’ strong support of our efforts to discover and develop treatments to help the many brave men and women, who have been afflicted with these debilitating disorders.
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Dr. Huda Akil, PhD
Gardner Quarton Distinguished University Professor Of Neuroscience & Psychiatry
Co-Director – The Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Jordan, and distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify here today. Understanding and treating brain disorders is a topic I care deeply about, and pursue both in my own scientific research and in my public service. I am the Gardner Quarton Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at the University of Michigan and the co-Director of its Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute. I have served as President of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) and currently serve on the Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and on the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous Systems Disorders. I also co-chair the Neuroscience Steering Committee of the Biomarkers Consortium at the Foundation for NIH.
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Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy
Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy has served 16 years in the United States House of Representatives, representing Rhode Island’s first congressional district. Congressman Kennedy has distinguished himself as a leader in Congress on issues of health care, science, veterans, technology, civil rights, and mental health. A founding member of the 21st Century Health Care Caucus, the Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus, and the Down Syndrome Caucus, Congressman Kennedy has been a tireless advocate for access to health care and advancements in medical research. Congressman Kennedy
was the author and chief House sponsor of the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, an act that expanded access to mental health services to over 100 million Americans. As a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Kennedy has led the fight for funding increases for veterans’ health care, including the provisions in the Health Care Improvement Act to enhance the quality and availability of services for soldiers and veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Recognizing and honoring the service of those who have sacrificed for our nation has been one of the primary goals of Congressman Kennedy’s tenure in Congress.

Garen Staglin
Garen Staglin is Co-Founder and Vice President of the International Mental Health Research Organization (www.imhro.org), a 501c(3) non-profit organization. During the last sixteen years, IMHRO and the Staglin’s Music Festival for Mental Health (www.music-festival.org) event have raised nearly $114 million for mental health charities and research. Garen is Co-Founder and President of Bring Change 2 Mind (www.bringchange2mind.org), a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the stigma of mental illness. Bring Change 2 Mind launched its first PSA on networks across the United States and Canada in October 2009, which was filmed by Ron Howard featuring Glenn Close and the music of John Mayer.

Garen has been an active venture capital and private equity investor for the last 30 years and currently serves on several public and private company boards. He currently also serves as a Special Advisor to two private equity firms. Garen is a graduate of UCLA, B.S.-Engineering (1966), and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, MBA (1968). He is a recipient of the Gold Spike Award, Stanford University’s highest award for volunteer service. He and his wife, Shari, and their children, Brandon and Shannon, are founders of the STAGLIN FAMILY VINEYARD, a 62 acre estate in Rutherford, California. Actively involved for 25 years in the wine industry, the Staglins’ motto is “Great Wine for Great Causes” and through their operation of their winery, business interests, and support of various charitable causes, they have indeed lived up to that philosophy. In the last ten years, causes they have chaired or donations from their wines have generated more than $740 million.

NEXT FRONTIER OF THE BRAIN CAMPAIGN AND BRAIN RESEARCH ROADMAP PRESENTED AT SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE ANNUAL MEETING

November 15th, 2010, Rutherford, CA – At a special presentation at the General Assembly, Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) introduced “The Next Frontier: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain” during the 2010 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting on November 15 in San Diego. “The Next Frontier: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain,” is a united public and private research campaign to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure all major brain disorders that afflict close to 100 million Americans today.

Congressman Kennedy has proven himself a dedicated advocate of health care reform and has co-authored legislation that places mental illness under the umbrella of health insurance. The meeting host, Society for Neuroscience, awarded him the Public Service Award in 2002 and the American Psychoanalytic Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance have distinguished his service with additional awards of recognition.

Kennedy’s address outlined the key components of the “The Next Frontier,” the title of which is a nod to President Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to conquer the vast frontier of space exploration. As with that challenge “The New Frontier: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain,” is a 10-year joint project and will officially commence at a 2-day conference at Massachusetts General Hospital on May 23 – 24 and conclude with a major address at the John F. Kennedy Library on May 25, 2011, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s space challenge. Critical components of the future of brain research as outlined by Congressman Kennedy include a Human Brain Genome Atlas Project, a Brain Disorder Genome Project, a Brain Observatory, a Human Neuro-Taxonomy Project, and the Human Connectome Project to discover the wiring map of the brain’s neural network.

Leading the need for “The New Frontier” project is America’s responsibility to the more than 360,000 American soldiers and veterans who have returned from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The Next Frontier” has built major consensus among the various entities that conduct research into specific brain diseases and will coordinate their work into one major effort. A campaign to elevate the discussion to illnesses of the brain as a single topic commenced in Washington, DC on July 29, 2010, and 35 agencies, research organizations and advocacy groups involved in brain and brain functions have signed on. Leading scientists, top research labs and universities are behind the project including, among many others, Nobel Laureates Stanley Prusiner and James Watson.

To elevate the discussion and provide national importance for this project, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Domestic Policy Subcommittee convened hearings on September 29, 2010 in Washington, DC. Copies of the testimony presented is available at www.moonshot.org.

The goal of the Campaign is to reach an incremental $5 billion in private funding over the next 10 years and at least $10 billion of federal funds in the same period.

For more information on “The Next Frontier: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain,” please visit www.moonshot.org.

The Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, begun in 1971, is the premier venue for neuroscientists from around the world to debut and share cutting-edge research and breakthroughs in the study of the brain and nervous system with colleagues from top destinations throughout North

America. Over 30,000 scientists from around the world attended.