Mission
The mission of the center
involves research, education and technology
transfer.
The research
mission of the center is to
bring to bear combined tools in physics,
mathematics, chemistry, engineering and
neuroscience to analyze the mechanisms
underlying neuronal function and to solve
the clinical problems associated with
neuronal dysfunction. This mission will
be accomplished by providing a framework to
foster interdisciplinary research between
clinicians, scientists, students and local
industry.
The education
mission of the center is to educate research engineers and
scientists with an integrated knowledge of
engineering and neuroscience capable of
solving problems in neuroscience ranging
from the molecules to the clinic. This
mission will be accomplished by providing
mentoring that span the entire range of the
neural engineering field from cellular, and
molecular to
clinical exposure and emphasizing the
integration of both engineering and
neuroscience.
Finally the center will be an outlet for
technology transfer of new ideas to be
commercialized by industrial partners.
This will be accomplished by involving
interested industrial partners in the
research of the center investigators early
in the process as well as in the educational
aspect.
Rationale
The cost to the society of
neurological disorders such as stroke,
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and
epilepsy is staggering. Stroke for example
is the third leading cause of death in this
country and its cost to the society is 40
billion dollars per year. It is clear that
the solution of many neuroscience problems
in the next century will involve coordinated
and highly interdisciplinary research
efforts between neurobiologists, engineers
and scientists. Some of the problems we are
poised to solve on this campus include the
design of new methodology for the
regeneration of nerves, the control of
epileptic seizures with electrical
stimulation, the design and testing of a
wide range of neural prostheses for a
variety of clinical disorders such as
obstructive sleep apnea, restoration of
function in paralyzed patients in the upper
and lower extremities, in the bladder, and
in the respiratory system. Outstanding
expertise also exists in the area of neuro-mechanics
whereby the scientists and engineers design
biologically-inspired control systems and
mechanisms for movements. By integrating
biology and engineering, it should soon be
possible to determine how the nervous
systems control movements and to apply these
techniques to patients with paralysis or
stroke. This integration between engineering
and neurobiology will come about only if the
efforts of expert clinicians, scientists and
engineers can be brought together and
fostered by facilitating the communications
and flow of ideas through a common center of
excellence in Neural Engineering.
