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Douglas Weber, PhD
Professor
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Emily Caporello, PhD
Director, NINDS Small Business Program
NINDS
National Institutes of Health
Rockville, Maryland, United States
Tracey Wheeler, PhD
Program Officer
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation
Oakton, Virginia, United States
Nick Langhals, MSE, PhD
Supervisory Program Director
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
North Bethesda, Maryland, United States
John Propst, PhD, MBA
Head of Incubator Program
Nexus Neurotech Ventures
San Francisco, California, United States
Lu Zhang
Founder & Managing Partner of
Fusion Fund
California, California, United States
As federal funding priorities appear to shift strikingly away from the BRAIN Initiative and other traditional grant mechanisms, neurotechnology faces a reckoning. With the burden of supporting neuroscience and neurotechnology innovation increasingly falling to private venture and philanthropic capital, academia must rethink the targets, goals, and purpose of research. This session brings together leading private funders to discuss what they look for, what academic researchers must do differently, and how the neurotech field can adapt to a future where public support is no longer guaranteed. The stakes—for scientific progress and patient impact—have never been higher.