Prof. Monica Di Luca, President of the European Brain Council (EBC), addressed the preparations for the Horizon Europe programme and highlighted the importance of adopting a R&I mission related to the brain in a recent article in the Parliament Magazine.
In June 2018, the European Commission submitted proposals for a mission-oriented and impact-focussed Framework Programme for 2021-2027, entitled Horizon Europe. The proposals introduced the concept of R&I mission which are likely to be bold, inspirational, targeted and measurable goals that should be reached within a given timeframe.
EBC has launched various initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the societal benefits of adopting a brain mission and has published the statement “Understand – Fix – Enhance: The space race of the 21st century” which provides guidance to decisionmakers on how to design a mission on the brain.
Against this backdrop, Prof. Di Luca highlighted that “Without significantly expanding existing efforts, brain disorders will quickly turn into a ticking time bomb. We hope that our mission proposal will alert everyone to this threat and help galvanise actions to confront the rising tide of brain disorders.”
Prof. Di Luca’s article was published together with a contribution from MEP Jerzy Buzek (EPP, PL) who spoke out in favour of adopting a brain mission and underlined that “It is my strong hope that promoting brain research and brain health becomes one of the large-scale European “missions” currently being devised. I could not imagine a better and more fascinating mission than to truly understand the brain, and, consequently, better understand who we are”.
The full article can be accessed here.