Murali Doraiswamy, MBBS, professor of psychiatry and director of the Neurocognitive Disorders Program, has been appointed to serve as the chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Brain Research.
Neuroscience is increasingly prominent on the global agenda. Currently, two of the world’s largest multidisciplinary science projects are the BRAIN Initiative in the United States and the Human Brain Project in the European Union.
Understanding the human brain is one of the greatest challenges of modern science, and advances in this field have the potential to revolutionize technology as well as the health of the brain.
Research has shown that brain health is a necessary part of human health in all its facets. However, business investment in brain therapeutics for all areas of brain health and disease continues to fall. At the same time, with a rapidly ageing world population, the already huge financial burden of brain disease will continue to grow.
In response to this, the World Economic Forum established the Global Agenda Council on Brain Research. The council will discuss current barriers to investment in brain health, advocate for spurring new investment in brain research and identify emerging brain technologies that will shape our future.
Doraiswamy is a leading expert in the area of healthy brain aging and has been involved closely in the development of many of the tests and treatments widely used today for Alzheimer’s disease. He is a member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences as well as the Duke Center for the Study of Aging.