Big news out of Rice this morning! Our new Brain Institute is launching - with the goal of having a concrete impact on the brain health of our local Houston community.
news.rice.edu/news/2025/ri...https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/rice-launches-brain-institute-accelerate-discoveries-brain-science-and-health
There are three main research pillars - one builds on Rice’s strength in neuroengineering, a second focuses on cellular/molecular neuroscience. But I am most excited about the third pillar - which I am going co-direct - called Brain and Society.
Oct 29, 2025 23:03The idea behind Brain and Society is that neuroscience discovery should lead to improvement in human lives. We have to study human brains, doing tasks that are real-world relevant to humans, while understanding the contexts in which humans live, and the variability (and its sources) across humans.
We have to understand the different paths to impact - pharma and neurotech for sure, but also policy, the built environment, and other approaches that could be more scaleable and equitable. Neuroscience has been hyper focused on only a few paths to impact - let’s try more different things!
Our biggest and most exciting swing is the Brain economy. My co-director Harris Eyre has been leading an international effort that starts with the (obvious to me) statement that our brains are our greatest asset and then thinks about how we should invest/change policy to center this asset.
Brain and Society includes fantastic cognitive and affective neuroscientists, and amazing scholars who know the kinds of things we need to know to build the path to impact. We will partner with the World Economic Forum and the Center for Houston’s Future and others to accomplish our broad vision
The first big public event is March 12-14, a Rice De Lange conference on the future of neuroscience as it starts to impact society. The De Lange awarded by the Scientia Institute for it to be free and open to the public. Join us in Houston in March! More information to come!
