HSE Creates ‘Transfer of Neurocognitive Technologies’ Consortium
HSE, the Pirogov National Medical and Surgical Centre, and the Centre for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation of the Moscow Healthcare Department have signed an agreement on cooperation and the creation of a ‘neuro-consortium’ under the name ‘Transfer of Neurocognitive Technologies’. The new body will boost the development and implementation of advanced solutions in neurotechnology aimed at maintaining and improving people's health. The agreement was signed for five years, and the consortium is open to new participants.
The idea to create a consortium arose from a natural desire to implement the developments of the HSE neurocluster (the Centre for Language and Brain, the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Psychology) into the clinical practice of partners. Thus, the Centre for Language and Brain has been collaborating with the Pirogov National Medical Centre and the Centre for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation for ten years. This collaboration has resulted in fundamental research on the brain basis of speech pathology and language representation in the brain, as well as diagnostic tools for speech and other cognitive functions in adults and children. In partnership with doctors, HSE researchers have developed programs for speech correction combined with brain stimulation after a stroke and protocols for intraoperative speech mapping that allow it to be preserved during neurosurgical interventions.
HSE conducts such research as part of the strategic project ‘Human Brain Resilience: Neurocognitive Technologies for Adaptation, Learning, Development and Rehabilitation in a Changing Environment’ of the Priority 2030 programme. Within the framework of the new consortium, research results will be tested and introduced into real clinical routine. The consortium aims to create a system of partnerships and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of neuroscience, one of the priority areas of the university. This cooperation includes research and practical activities, as well as additional initiatives for the development of neurotechnologies in Russia: the creation of common databases, jointly-authored scientific publications and reports, and the organisation of educational and scientific events. The consortium plans to publish books and articles, media projects, and exhibitions dedicated to neurotechnologies and the achievements of Russian scientists in medicine and neuroscience.
‘We agreed on several important aspects of our cooperation. We plan to conduct scientific research, identify interesting and promising fields of studies, and create joint project teams. Working in such interdisciplinary groups is one of the main ways to find non-trivial solutions and attract talented young people to science,’ says Olga Dragoy, Director of the HSE Centre for Language and Brain.
Key practical tasks include testing neurotechnological solutions in medical institutions, developing new neurotechnologies, and introducing them into clinical practice.
‘Medical centres have the right conditions for testing the clinically oriented solutions that we create at HSE, as well as for introducing neurotechnologies into clinical routine—the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of neurocognitive disorders in children and adults,’ emphasises Olga Dragoy.
Roman Cheremin
‘There is always a certain gap between fundamental science and everyday practice. They are separated by various legal, financial, informational, and psychological barriers. The global goal of informal cooperation between those sectors is to destroy such barriers, to shorten as much as possible the track from the birth of brand new scientific ideas, discoveries, and inventions to the moment when they become active and efficient in medical practice and work for the benefit of the patient,’ comments Roman Cheremin, Director of the Centre for Speech Pathology and Neurorehabilitation in Moscow. ‘I am certain that the birth of the new consortium will allow us to solve such problems. Achievements in the field of interdisciplinary interaction should become available to all interested parties as quickly as possible, providing them with up-to-date information, multiplying the efforts of Russian scientists and practitioners on the path of technological breakthroughs in national applied science. And this is also where we pin our hopes and expectations of working as part of the new association.’
Oleg Karpov
‘The Pirogov National Medical and Surgical Centre is a multidisciplinary institution that is engaged in medical activities and medical science in a large number of scientific fields. However, our doctors alone will not be able to achieve the goals and objectives that they set for themselves. It makes a lot of sense for neuroscience, which combines several disciplines that study neural processes in a variety of aspects and manifestations. As part of scientific cooperation with HSE in the field of neuroscience, we have already obtained promising results. And now we really need collaboration with scientists and practitioners from other institutions. The new consortium will allow us not only to advance in fundamental sciences, but also to actively introduce the developments of HSE University and partners into our clinical practice,’ says General Director of the Pirogov National Medical and Surgical Centre Oleg Karpov.
The consortium is open to other organisations joining it. To participate, please send a written application from the candidate organisation to HSE University.
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