20 Years of the European Brain Counciladmin_ebc2022-03-23T13:43:06+00:00

20 years of uniting the brain community

It has been exactly 20 years ago that the European Brain Council was founded as a non-profit organisation based in Brussels. Our mission is to unite the brain community and promote brain research with the goal of improving the lives of these who live with brain conditions, neurological and mental alike.

The significant burden of brain disorders on society explains the growing societal need to expand brain research in Europe. Only through continued and coordinated support can it be hoped that real solutions will be found. With the aim to speak with one voice, EBC stands as the platform to foster cooperation between its member organisations and other stakeholders, consistently promoting dialogue between scientists, industry and society.

Discover the EBC’s key milestones of the past 2 decades in the timeline below!

Foundation of the European Brain Council

22/03/2002

Twenty years ago, the European Brain Council (EBC) was formed on 22 March 2002. The brain child of Prof. Jes Olesen, EBC was the answer to the need for increased unity within the brain community, building a more connected network of key players in the brain space — scientists, clinicians, patients, industry — encompassing basic…

Birth of National Brain Councils

01/01/2005

National Brain Councils (NBCs) are independent and multidisciplinary councils that unite scientific organisations of neuroscientists, psychiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, patients’ associations, as well as the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, in order to speak with one strong voice on behalf of the whole of the “brain space”. EBC realizes that the best results are created in…

EBC Consensus Document on Brain Research in Europe

18/03/2006

In 2006, EBC published a Consensus Document on European Brain Research, detailing the needs and achievements of brain research in Europe and presenting proposals for future research programs. The document underwent a major revision in 2011 and another one in 2015. Read them all: Consensus Document on European Brain Research 2015 Consensus Document on European…

“Cost of Disorders of the Brain in Europe” Studies

01/05/2007

This study, first published in 2005, aimed at estimating the Cost of Brain Disorders in Europe. The report consisted of two parts: the first presenting an overall estimate of the cost of brain disorders in Europe; the second presenting summaries of the epidemiological and economic evidence for the different groups of diseases that form the…

EBC’s Year of the Brain

01/10/2014

EBC’s Year of the Brain campaign ran through the academic year 2014-2015, with the vision‘To protect, preserve, develop and nurture our most vital asset: The Brain’ via three key aims: To educate society about how to nurture and protect the brain and prevent brain disease. To improve care and treatment access for those affected by brain…

Launch of the “Value of Treatment for Brain Disorders in Europe”

27/01/2016

The Value of Treatment for Brain Disorders (VOT) is a health economics and outcomes research project coordinated by the European Brain Council (EBC), conceptualised in 2015 and launched with nine case studies in 2016: schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, headache, normal pressure hydrocephalus, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, restless legs syndrome and stroke. The Value of Treatment…

Launch of the Declaration on Good Off-Label Use Practice

27/09/2016

The use of medicines off-label is often a necessity in areas of unmet medical need. As shown by a study commissioned by the European Commission on the off-label use of medicinal products in the European Union (EU), the prevalence of off-label use in the EU in both the paediatric and adult population is high in…

Launch of the #ILoveMyBrain campaign

25/01/2017

EBC created the #ILoveMyBrain logo as a communication tool for promoting and connecting all the work being done to promote brain health and prevent and treat brain disorders in Europe. Different organisations, researchers, patients and carers are working on different conditions – Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Traumatic Brain Injury, Epilepsy, Mental Illness are only a few…

Launch of the Value of Treatment results and policy white paper

22/06/2017

On 22 June 2017, the European Brain Council (EBC) released the Value of Treatment (VoT) 2015-2017 Research Project Policy White Paper with case studies findings and policy recommendations, at a final conference organized under the auspices of the Maltese EU Presidency. Starting from case studies data analysis covering a wide range of brain disorders and…

EBC releases “Suicide in Europe: Facts and Recommendations”

10/09/2017

The European Brain Council marked World Suicide Prevention Day 2017 with the release of a policy summary of Facts and Recommendations on Suicide in Europe, produced by an EBC-convened working group of experts. More than 150,000 people in Europe die by suicide every year. Increased attention needs to be paid to those who are taking their…

EBC and GAMIAN-Europe launch Expert Policy Paper, ‘Bridging the Gap: Optimising transition from child to adult mental healthcare’

21/11/2017

On 21 November 2017, GAMIAN-Europe and the European Brain Council launched an Expert Policy Paper entitled ‘Bridging the Gap: Optimising transition from child to adult mental healthcare’ at a meeting in the European Parliament. The Expert Policy Paper suggests simple measures that aim to ensure young adults, who may require continued care, receive the support they need….

Launch of RETHINKING MS

01/03/2018

The European Brain Council (EBC) launched RETHINKING MS in 2018, calling for change in how MS care and support is organised. Building on the findings from the 2017 Value of Treatment report, this pan-European policy narrative identifies key challenges in MS care and makes recommendations for how they can be addressed. The project aims to create…

Launch of the EBC Brain Mission

23/04/2018

On 23 April 2018, the European Brain Council launched its Brain Mission, focused on Understand. Fix. Enhance. The target of the proposed Brain Mission was to call for increased support of research to decrease the enormous burden of brain disorders (neurological and mental alike) through better understanding of the physiology of the brain and disease…

EBC Joins EU-Funded MULTI-ACT project

01/05/2018

In May 2018, the EU-funded MULTI-ACT project kicked off, aiming to increase the impact of health research on people with brain diseases kicks off today. It will create and implement a new model allowing for the effective cooperation of all relevant stakeholders and be applicable in defining the scope of health research and innovation as well…

EBC releases statement “Counting down to zero: Towards a future with underfunded health research?”

09/07/2018

In July 2018, EBC released a statement “Counting down to zero: Towards a future with underfunded health research?” which called on the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to increase the budget of the “Horizon Europe” programme to at least €120 billion. EBC welcomed the increase of the overall draft budget but firmly…

EBC joins EU-Funded AD Detect-Prevent Project

01/11/2018

In November 2018, the EU-funded “AD Detect and Prevent” project kicked off, led by the Danish digital therapeutics company Brain+, pursuing the ambitious aim of developing a digital tool to improve the detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) prior to the possible onset of dementia and combining this with lifestyle programmes for reducing lifestyle risk related…

Launch of the European Brain Research Area (EBRA) project

01/11/2018

Launched on 1 November 2018, the European Brain Council (EBC)-coordinated EU project The European Brain Research Area (EBRA), was designed to respond to the Horizon 2020 call SC1-HCO-10-2018, entitled‚ ‘Coordinating European brain research and developing global initiatives’. The highly diversified nature of European public research represents a considerable obstacle in the European Research Area, especially in the field of brain research….

EBC Event on Enhanced Engagement Through Public-Private Partnerships

21/11/2018

On 21 November 2018, EBC held one of its largest events yet, as part of its Value of Innovation series: “Enhanced engagement through public-private partnerships: sustaining therapeutic innovation to address patient needs“. The event was an excellent showcase of the latest initiatives of EBC members and partners to key stakeholders, highlighting collaboration, innovation and multi-stakeholder engagement. This event…

Launch of ‘A sustainable approach to depression: moving from words to actions’ Policy Report

05/12/2018

As part of the Words to Action working group, EBC took part in the production of a policy paper on major depression, entitled ‘A sustainable approach to depression: moving from words to actions’. Over 35 million people are estimated to be living with depression in Europe with a cost 30% higher than that of stroke….

EBC Election Manifesto for the 2019 European Elections

23/05/2019

In the lead up to the 2019 European elections, EBC released its Election Manifesto, a call and reminder to MEPs for an improved quality of life for Europeans living with brain conditions. The Manifesto called on Members of the European Parliament to guide the EU to the role of global leader in brain research, sustain EU…

EBC Joins EU-Funded PRIME Project

17/01/2020

The EU-funded PRIME Project – where EBC is a partner – kicked off in January 2020, working to explore how common molecular mechanisms may link metabolic disorders, especially type 2 diabetes and obesity, with brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism spectrum disorders. The 5-year long project (January 2020 – 31 December…

EBC Sessions at Digitalscience@UNGA75

30/09/2020

The sciencedigital@UNGA75 series of virtual side events organised within the context of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA75) was held from 24 September to 2 October 2020. The central theme of these activities was to advance awareness of the role and contribution of science and digital technologies to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals…

Launch of the Brain Innovation Days

13/10/2020

The Brain Innovation Days launched virtually on 13 October 2020, kicking off one full year of a packed brain innovation agenda. The belief driving the formation of the Days is that enhanced multi-stakeholder engagement in the brain ecosystem is needed to foster dialogue, exchange knowledge, accelerate investment in research and innovation, facilitate business development and…

EBC Joins EU-Funded BRAINTEASER project

28/01/2021

In January 2021, EBC joined the BRAINTEASER project, which kicked off in partnership with 11 partners, a multidisciplinary gender-balanced consortium from academia, industry, clinical settings and the non-profit sector coming from six European countries. BRAINTEASER intends to become an open, significant success story of how, in the modern healthcare scenario, the integration of clinical knowledge, technical…

EBC Launches Policy Roadmap, “Fostering Innovation, Improving Outcomes”

16/03/2021

The European Brain Council released its Policy Roadmap ‘Brain Health in Europe: Fostering Innovation, Improving Outcomes’ on the occasion of Brain Awareness Week 2021, calling for the establishment of an EU-wide and public health combined Brain Plan. The Roadmap stressed that today, more than ever, EU health stakeholders need to come together and ensure that…

European Brain Summit

12/10/2021

The European Brain Council and the EBRAINS Research Infrastructure held the first European Brain Summit, a joint event that took place on 12th October 2021 in Brussels, in conjunction with the Brain Innovation Days. This was a unique opportunity to explore the challenge of understanding the brain and the role that Europe should continue to play in this…

2nd Round of Value of Treatment Releases Case Study Results & Calls to Action

14/03/2022

On the occasion of Brain Awareness Week 2022, the second round of the Value of Treatment project released results and calls to action. The Value of Treatment for Brain Disorders (VOT) is a health economics and outcomes research project launched in 2015, with the objective to identify treatment gaps (or barriers to care) along the care…