BRAIN Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) and Neuroethics Working Group (NEWG) Meeting – August 2025

Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) 
Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) and Neuroethics Working Group (NEWG)
Joint Meeting 
August 27, 2025  

On August 27, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) and Neuroethics Working Group (NEWG) met virtually to share updates and discuss planning for the future of the BRAIN Initiative.

Susan Weiss, PhD, Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) Designated Federal Official, and Nina Hsu, PhD, Neuroethics Working Group (NEWG) Designated Federal Official, gave the welcome address and provided an overview of the meeting. Next, Nita Farahany, JD, PhD, NEWG Co-Chair, shared updates for NEWG. NEWG conducted two recent workshops to discuss ethical considerations for the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and neuroscience. These workshops focused on ethical considerations related to data sharing efforts that leverage brain foundation models and digital twins. NEWG members have been involved in several other initiatives, including career services initiatives in partnership with the Dana Foundation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting on the ethics of neurotechnology, and the Uniform Laws Commission process to determine whether there should be uniform state laws to govern neural data. Dr. Farahany also introduced new NEWG Co-Chair Amy McGuire, JD, PhD, who encouraged meeting attendees to consider ethical and policy issues related to the future of the BRAIN Initiative.

John Ngai, PhD, Director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative, presented updates on the BRAIN Initiative. Dr. Ngai introduced a new MCWG member—Pradeep Ramulu, MD, PhD, NEI representative—and provided an overview of BRAIN Initiative’s scientific program teams. Then Dr. Ngai provided an update on the BRAIN Initiative’s budget and programs. Dr. Ngai shared details about the upcoming Society for Neuroscience Toolmakers Showcase, scheduled for November 16, 7-9:30PM, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.  He highlighted the Brain Behavior Quantification and Synchronization (BBQS) program, which aims to develop new tools and approaches to record behavior and synchronize these measures with brain activity. He also provided more information on BBQS, including the BBQS Consortium kickoff meeting held on July 15-17 at MIT, and shared an article[1] describing the impact of the BRAIN Circuit Programs. The article showed a dramatic increase in support for large, multidisciplinary neuroscience teams and collective research practices over the BRAIN Initiative’s first decade, highlighting the BRAIN Initiative’s role as a model for neuroscience funding and team-based research.

Next, Dr. Ngai shared new scientific findings and developments from the Armamentarium for Precision Brain Cell Access, a BRAIN Initiative Transformative Project which aims to provide tools for brain cell type-specific access and manipulation, which has supported projects to develop, optimize, and disseminate access tools. Earlier this year, the Armamentarium published a series of nine joint papers in Cell Press journals. Dr. Ngai highlighted a specific paper from the series that describes CellREADR[2], a new technology that uses target cells’ RNA editing machinery to activate reporter expression and enable monitoring and manipulation of those cells. Other research updates include a new high-resolution MRI scanner[3] built to maximize imaging performance in a shorter  time period, which may support human connectomics work in programs like BRAIN Connectivity Across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS); and insights into how biological and artificial intelligence systems engage in social interactions.[4] Dr. Ngai then opened the forum for discussion with MCWG and NEWG members. Members discussed the timeline for issuing of new Research Funding Announcements (RFAs); the importance of funding both large consortium projects and smaller exploratory projects; the role of regulation in developing new neurotechnologies; and the availability of funding for proteomics research.

Dr. Ngai transitioned next to a presentation and discussion about the NIH BRAIN Initiative Research Roadmap, an effort to assess the BRAIN Initiative’s progress and devise a path for continuing innovation. In its first decade, the BRAIN Initiative has made significant progress in characterizing the building blocks of the brain, advancing systems neuroscience, monitoring and modulating neural activity, and more. BRAIN-funded researchers have produced six major publication packages[5] in Nature, Science, and Cell Press, with at least two more packages expected by 2026. The BRAIN Research Roadmap was initiated in March 2024 to develop a vision for the second decade of the BRAIN Initiative. The development of Research Roadmap included three phases: ideation with NIH program staff; distillation of staff input into four innovation domains; and sharing the vision for broader input. The four innovation domains include:

• The BRAIN Knowledgebase. The BRAIN Initiative seeks to overcome data fragmentation across BRAIN Initiative projects and enable data analysis, integration, and reuse by creating a data commons for large consortium data. This effort will maximize scientific return on investment, enable discoveries, reduce barriers to data access and analysis, and create sustainable and adaptable infrastructure for future projects.
• Precision Molecular Circuit Therapies. The BRAIN Initiative seeks to precisely and safely modulate dysfunctional brain circuits by leveraging circuitry data and the Armamentarium for Precision Brain Cell Access to identify and de-risk optimal circuit targets. This effort will support the need for on-demand modulation at cell type and circuit level specificity while considering industry activity, regulatory science gaps, and ethical implications.
• Accelerating Human Neuroscience. The BRAIN Initiative seeks to de-risk innovation and enable safe, targeted, effective clinical treatments through first-in-human and early feasibility studies of neuromodulation devices. This effort will bridge animal and human neuroscience, accelerate technology development, and harmonize data standards across human neuroscience projects.
• BRAIN NeuroAI. The BRAIN Initiative seeks to create brain-inspired and ethically grounded predictive models that learn and adapt. This effort will leverage biological principles and brain-body learning to develop more efficient computational models, with an emphasis on adaptive health applications.

These innovation domains emphasize unmet needs in neuroscience research, potential impacts on neuroscience and human health, alignment with the BRAIN Initiative’s mission and strengths, and integration of neuroethics. The implementation, scaling, and commercialization of Research Roadmap outputs will require strategic collaboration across government, industry, and philanthropy.

Following Dr. Ngai’s presentation, MCWG and NEWG members engaged in a discussion about the Research Roadmap. Members made several suggestions to ensure the success of the Research Roadmap, including:

• Funding projects that require Knowledgebase data while the database is being developed to ensure that the design accommodates relevant use cases
• Using multimodal datasets from simpler model organisms as a starting point in building the Knowledgebase, then scaling to larger and more complex organisms
• Assessing current NIH repository efforts to identify opportunities to improve uptake of the Knowledgebase
• Focusing on the “why” behind neural circuits in order to accommodate natural differences across individuals for precision molecular circuit therapies
• Considering downstream impacts of circuit changes and the possibility of circuit rewiring following therapeutic interventions
• Developing noninvasive and non-genetic technologies that can meet regulatory requirements and are easily scalable
• Developing tools for fundamental knowledge alongside the development of tools for clinical purposes
• Horizon scanning to identify concrete goals and backcasting to determine processes to achieve those goals
• Testing AI models throughout model building to ensure that the models are functioning properly
• Accountability to ensure that ethical considerations are thoughtfully integrated in a manner that shifts from conceptual framework to practical implementation

Members also discussed the importance of collaboration across the neuroscience ecosystem. Examples include collaboration between information technologists and researchers for the Knowledgebase, engagement with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and nonprofit organizations to develop and de-risk neurotechnologies, and collaboration across NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) to standardize language used to describe brain disorders across fields. Members also highlighted the importance of dialogue between basic and translational scientists to promote knowledge exchange, as well as proactive engagement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address regulatory requirements and determine research priorities for Research Roadmap projects.

The BRAIN Initiative Research Roadmap is available for review at the links provided below. For more on the joint MCWG/NEWG meeting, view the video recording. 

The next NEWG meeting will be held on Thursday, January 29, 2026. 

The next MCWG meeting will be held on Friday, January 30, 2026.