Brian Barnett

We need to take a national investment in the health of our nation seriously. The President’s new Precision Medicine Initiative needs to coordinate with the existing BRAIN Initiative, develop a technology roadmap, and boost its funding in order to make good on the promise of personalized medical treatments for all. A piecemeal approach, with modest investment in personalized medicine and an even smaller, separate investment in understanding the brain, are completely insufficient means to achieving success.

The listed investments for the Precision Medicine Initiative are focused on administrative and infrastructural processes, which are only one piece of puzzle. These infrastructure investments are just as applicable to the BRAIN Initiative because neuroscience research is facing its own issues in data acquisition and interoperability. Serious coordination between these two Initiatives will make big data biology a reality.

Achieving personalized medicine and unlocking the mysteries of the brain will absolutely require new tools. Infrastructure is important, but these systems alone will not lead to success. Data sharing is no substitute for new research tools and technologies. We need improvements in genetic analysis and high resolution imaging technologies if we want to improve our level of care for our loved ones. A roadmap for the research directions of these Initiatives will provide insight into the kinds of technologies that can be developed and then enable even more successful research.

With the right investment, the Precision Medicine Initiative and the BRAIN Initiative will be great pathways to our better future. The President’s proposed 2016 budget puts only 1% of all discretionary spending into science funding. A total investment that matches America’s previous national investment successes (including the Apollo program and the National Nanotechnology Initiative) would require at least $4 billion per year. This is 20 times more than what we are currently investing in each field of neuroscience and personalized medicine. The time is now to build on these initiatives and to ensure their success. Coordinating the BRAIN Initiative and the Precision Medicine Initiative, developing impactful new technologies, and investing heavily in neuroscience and biology are the only way to deliver personalized medicine to each of us.