NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing neuroscience technologies to improve cognitive wellness (MO, IL)

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on a comprehensive approach to addressing systemic regional challenges through neuro-related disciplines. As the nation's population continues to age, with increased incidence of cognitive impairments, and we grow our recognition of the brain's role in broader health and wellness, the convergence of innovation from neuro-related disciplines is critical to meet current challenges to life, learning, health, and wellbeing. This project realizes that tech acceleration alone is insufficient in emerging innovation ecosystems. The activation dollars afforded by the NSF Engines Development award offer the necessary time in St. Louis to organize and assemble stakeholders across the neuro, cognition, health, education, and wellness disciplines to educate the youth, build a workforce, translate the research, launch and retain innovative companies, and implement the infrastructure for increased economic mobility through related research translation. Neuroscience continues as a frontier to drive curiosity and research, with major payoffs in technology development and advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Moreover, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other debilitating neurological diseases, as well as brain injury, stroke, and developmental brain disorders, disproportionately impact underserved communities in places like St. Louis, emphasizing the importance of a locally driven neurotech engine. This project will build on an existing St. Louis biosciences innovation ecosystem and nationally recognized research in neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, social work, education, and implementation sciences. The team has a number of opportunities for early wins in technology/product usage and job creation, including expansion of existing startups, newer technologies for research-based services, and recruiting companies with commercial products and services that match regional innovation needs. The project anticipates additions to the regional workforce from these efforts. The project's work-learn models will center the needs of the St. Louis metro's historically underserved communities and enhance investments in career pathways for economic mobility, such as focused apprenticeships. The team will train individuals from high-poverty communities to advance commercialization activities with early-stage startups. The catalytic capital to bring disparate funding opportunities together in the broadest sense of economic development and impact are difficult to find. The NSF Engines Development award period creates the opportunity to bring together groups with disparate perspectives on the neuro landscape to provide valuable stakeholder engagement that enables the team to prepare for an Engine proposal submission and generate a significant impact in the larger St. Louis region. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.