Five R.I. institutions forge neuroscience agreement

DR. TIMOTHY J. Babineau, president and CEO of Lifespan, said
DR. TIMOTHY J. Babineau, president and CEO of Lifespan, said "the big complicated problems are only solved through collaboration." On Friday, Lifespan, Brown University, Care New England, the University of Rhode Island, and the Providence VA Medical Center announce that they have forged a neuroscience research agreement. / COURTESY LIFESPAN

PROVIDENCE – Five Rhode Island institutions engaged in brain science research have agreed to work collaboratively to enhance their collective critical mass and attract research funding.
Lifespan, Brown University, Care New England, the University of Rhode Island, and the Providence VA Medical Center have forged a neuroscience research agreement that could yield such benefits as the co-funding of pilot grant programs, cross-institutional appointments, educational opportunities for researchers and staff, and the sharing of resources, the parties said Friday in a joint press release.
“The big complicated problems are only solved through collaboration,” Timothy J. Babineau, president and CEO of Lifespan told Providence Business News, referring to such diseases as Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.
“In the neuroscience space, it’s a relatively new phenomenon, and it doesn’t happen by accident,” he said. “I’m unaware of a statewide collaboration in neuroscience anywhere else. In this instance, the smallness of our state is an advantage, I believe.”
The institutions’ leaders believe collaboration will result in larger, more comprehensive research projects, with institutions leveraging each other’s neuroscience work at six different locations:

  • Lifespan’s Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute;
  • The Brown Institute for Brain Science;
  • URI’s George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience;
  • The Providence VA Medical Center’s Center of Excellence for Neuro-restoration and Neuro-technology;
  • Care New England’s psychiatry research at Butler Hospital and its autism work at Women & Infants Hospital.

The agreement, which took about a year to craft, evolved from a conversation about two years ago between Babineau, Ryan institute founder Thomas M. Ryan, who launched the institute with his wife, Cathy, and URI President David M. Dooley after the Ryan institute was announced, Babineau said. Ryan is former chairman and CEO of CVS Health.
When various scientists were later invited to contribute ideas, John Robson, administrative director at the NPNI and associate director of the BIBS, suggested researchers have an “opportunity to make this a statewide initiative,” Babineau said.
Calling the agreement a “major milestone,” Babineau said, “The stars are lining up on the economic side and scientific side [for] industry grants. It’s really about making sure we’re always keeping patients at the forefront, and improved patient care.”
Dooley; Brown President Christina H. Paxson; Dennis Keefe, president and CEO of CNE; and Dr. Susan MacKenzie, director of the VA, said they were excited to partner in this area.
“The challenges of mental health and brain disease in Rhode Island and the world demand not just that we make progress, but that we make a real, positive difference in the lives of people,” Paxson said.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and the state’s federal delegation expressed their support for the collaboration, seeing it as a critical scientific and economic boost to the state. U.S. Sens. Jack F. Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Reps. James Langevin and David N. Cicilline offered a joint statement.
“We are committed to ensuring Rhode Island is a national leader in neuroscience research and our veterans have access to cutting-edge care,” the Congressional delegation said. “This [memorandum of understanding] will allow these institutions to leverage their strengths and resources to enhance their research capabilities and ultimately improve care for patients.”

No posts to display