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$ Y$ 0 $ ! R o) d o) ! ! & o) ! | F t J i | | | .$ .$ | | | $ o) | | | | | | | | | n w : Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies FY2009 National Science Foundation Appropriations
Introduction
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am Eve Marder, Ph.D., President of the (SfN) and the Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of at Brandeis University. It is my honor to submit this testimony on behalf of SfN in support of the National Science Foundation.
My research focuses on understanding how circuit function arises from the intrinsic properties of individual neurons and their synaptic connections. Of particular interest is the extent to which similar circuit outputs can be generated by multiple mechanisms, both in different individual animals, or in the same animal over its lifetime. To address this, my lab studies the central pattern generating circuits in the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system, such as those found in crabs and lobsters. Central pattern generators are groups of neurons found in vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems responsible for the generation of specific rhythmic behaviors such as walking, swimming, and breathing. I am the recipient of federal support from the National Institutes of Health, and from the National Science Foundation for research and the training of the next generation of scientists.
FY 2009 Budget Request
The Administration requests a budget of $6.85 billion for NSF in FY2009, a 13 percent increase from FY2008. The administrations request for the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account, where all NSF grant funding resides, is $5.59 billion, an increase of 16 percent from FY2008. The scientific community applauds this strong support for the agency it is a crucial step in keeping the U.S. competitive in science and technology.
SfN is advocating a budget of $7.33 billion for NSF in FY2009, the amount authorized by the House in the America COMPETES Act. This represents a 20.8 percent increase for NSF. While this increase seems large, we ask that the Subcommittee consider the following:
NSF accounts for nearly 25 percent of federal support of basic research at U.S. academic institutions.
This is effectively a two-year increase. NSF received an increase of just 1.3 percent for FY2008 after Congress passed much larger amounts in their spending bills.
In some cases, directorates not covered under the American Competitiveness Initative actually saw funding decreases in the last fiscal year, including the Biological Sciences Directorate (-2.9 percent).
SfN supports such dramatic budgetary action because it represents a necessary step in the advancement of physics, computer science, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, as well as biology. These fields, and scientists trained in them, are crucial for us to understand the brain and the way it controls behavior. Through NSF grants and cooperative agreements with colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, and other research organizations throughout the United States, neuroscientists can continue to conduct the basic research that advances scientific knowledge and leads to tomorrows treatments and cures. Additionally, SfN recognizes the leadership role that NSF plays in driving innovation in science education.
Basic Research Fundamental Science
Continued investment in basic research at NSF is essential to laying the groundwork for discoveries that will inspire scientific pursuit and technological innovation for future generations. As reflected in the America COMPETES Act, aggressive investment in technology and scientific research is crucial to ensure America sustains its global leadership and competitiveness. Science is now a truly global enterprise that has the potential to revolutionize the human experience, health and activity the question is whether America will maintain its role leading the next generation of scientific advances.
Future scientific progress requires the kinds of quantitative and interdisciplinary training that NSF fosters. NSF programs such as the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program(IGERT) are producing a cohort of scientists who have learned to work cooperatively, and have learned to learn across disciplinary boundaries, ensuring that the work-force is provided highly trained scientists who are unafraid of the challenges of the future.
NSF-funded biologists and neuroscientists are discovering fundamental mechanisms important to understanding how humans and other animals behave, develop, communicate, learn, and process information. Understanding the neuroscience of animal diversity is necessary as we confront environmental and agricultural changes in the future. NSF-funded physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers have done ground-breaking work that enables the analysis of EEG data, the development of brain prosthetic devices, and other technologies that will assist in the rapid diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and stroke. NSF-funded statisticians are developing new methods for analysis of the large amounts of genome data, on humans and other organisms, and developing better statistical tools for looking at the effects of the environment on human and animal populations. NSF-funded chemists have developed new methods that allows for the extremely accurate measurement of very small amounts of brain hormones
Indeed, many of the new findings in neuroscience can be traced back to fundamental work in these other fields that has contributed to new technologies of all kinds. This allows us to carry out new kinds of experiments not imaginable even 5-10 years ago. Consider these recent advances in neuroscience made possible by discoveries in other fields:
Artificial Cochlea NSF-funded researchers at the University of Michigan developed an artificial cochlea to assist the hearing-impaired. The device, made mainly of Pyrex glass, silicone oil and silicon nitride, works by converting vibrations into electrical pulses that the brain is able to process. Via cochlear implants, nearly 120,000 people have had partial hearing restored.
Brain Mapping Scientists at the College of William and Mary used NSF funding to create real-time, dynamic maps of patients brains to be used during neurosurgery. Computers use images taken prior to surgery combined with live data feeds from the patients brain during the procedure to show changes and assist neurosurgeons with quicker, more accurate medical procedures that will result in lives saved.
These discoveries have great potential to improve the lives of Americans and almost certainly would not have been made without the strong commitment to interdisciplinary research at NSF.
What is the ?
The is a nonprofit membership organization of basic scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system. Recognizing the field's tremendous potential, the Society was formed in 1969 with less than 500 members. Today, SfNs membership numbers more than 38,000 and it is the world's largest organization of scientists devoted to the study of the brain. advances the understanding of human thought, emotion, and behavior. Our member neuroscientists work to understand animal and human nervous systems, how they develop, learn, and how they interact with their environment. Our membership includes investigators from backgrounds as diverse as physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, biology, biochemistry, and psychology, brought together to understand all aspects of brain function, from molecules and genes to cognition.
SfN is devoted to education about the latest advances in brain research, and to raising awareness of the need to make neuroscience research a funding priority. Many SfN members are committed to developing educational innovations that take advantage of new neuroscience research.
Conclusion
The scope of the challenge of understanding the human mind requires a bold approach and the ability to undertake high-risk, high-reward projects. With proper funding, the NSF can do both. By laying the groundwork for revolutionary discoveries and advances in neuroscience with interdisciplinary research, NSF is poised to keep the U.S. competitive in the 21st century and beyond.
We urge the subcommittee to support and approve a 20.8 percent increase to the NSF budget for FY2009. Thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony.
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