New ‘NeuroInsight’ Fellowship Program Awarded €4.7M

A new research training program called NeuroInsight is seeking to teach scientists in the data analytics and neuroscience skills needed to research Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.

The program received a €4.7 million ($5.64 million) grant from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND, a European fund that provides financial support for researcher training and career development programs.

“As a society, and particularly in our healthcare systems, we are generating more and more data, insights from which can help us better understand and treat neurological disease,” Gianpiero Cavalleri, PhD, professor of genetics at RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, in Ireland, and the program’s lead, said in a press release.

NeuroInsight will provide two-year fellowships to 33 experienced scientists from around the world who are conducting research into neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and motor neuron disease. Fellows will train in fields such as precision medicine and artificial intelligence.

“This programme is about training and equipping the next generation of researchers to safely and effectively engage with these datasets in a manner that positively impacts on the lives of people with neurological conditions,” Cavalleri said.

The training program will build upon the health and data expertise of the two Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) centers and plans to include patient input in all project designs.

Additionally, participants will spend part of their fellowship in hospital or industry settings, working to make their findings applicable as treatments, devices, and diagnostics that might directly improve the lives of those impacted by neurological disorders.

FutureNeuro — the SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Disease, hosted by the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences — established the NeuroInsight Fellowship Program, in collaboration with Insight, the SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics.

“Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence are now at the core of much of our work, our leisure and our health activities though it is not always obvious and apparent that they are being used in our day-to-day lives,” said Alan Smeaton, PhD, academic lead for NeuroInsight from the Insight center.

FutureNeuro and Insight have extensive experience in research training programs, having supported more than 500 researchers in neuroscience and data analytics technologies.

“This collaboration will influence the lives of many people living with neurological conditions for years to come,” said Mark Ferguson, PhD, SFI director general and chief scientific adviser to the government of Ireland.

To express interest in the NeuroInsight program, go here.