Harvard Medical School and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) launch joint neurological disabilities program

Two of the world’s leading universities are joining forces to combine neuroscience and engineering in order to alleviate human suffering caused by such neurological disabilities as paralysis and deafness. Scientists, engineers, and clinicians at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) will collaborate on six pioneering neuroengineering projects made possible thanks to a $3.6 million grant from the Bertarelli Foundation. Bringing together the best of U.S. medical science and Swiss bioengineering expertise, the researchers will employ the latest technologies in gene therapy, flexible electronics, optical imaging and humanmachine interfaces to repair spinal injuries and hearing loss.

The collaboration launch will be celebrated at Harvard this weekend, the 28th and 29th of October, with a scientific symposium called “Neuroengineering Approaches to Sensory and Motor Disorders” that will bring together some of the world’s pioneers in the field. Ernesto Bertarelli, chairman of the Bertarelli Foundation, adds: "I am glad that the Bertarelli Foundation contributes to bring together eminents international scientists from two very prestigious institutions to achieve tangible results in the fight against disability. This partnership is a perfect illustration of how we see philanthropy: a moral concern to help and the opportunity to make a difference. The partnership between Harvard and EPFL is a real source of inspiration on how to respond to the challenges of medicine and patient care."

“There have been huge advances in our basic understanding of the brain and the senses,” said David Corey, Director of the Bertarelli Program at Harvard Medical School, “but they have not been applied to neurological problems as quickly as we would like. This unique program will combine research advances in neuroscience with the special technologies and strategies of engineers, to speed new treatments to the clinic.”

“This is a unique chance to bring bioengineering solutions to clinical trials by combining HMS’s vast resources and skills at their university hospitals and EPFL’s distinctive combination of life science and engineering facilities,” says Patrick Aebischer, President of EPFL, one of Europe’s premiere universities for engineering, technology, and computer science.