photo of the nec building

About the Institute

The Wright State University & Premier Health Neuroscience Institute provides a powerful mechanism to fully integrate the biomedical research expertise of an academic institution with the clinical resources of a leading hospital system. Neuroscience is an exceptionally broad field, with literally hundreds of centers and institutes around the globe exploring highly complex problems. The Wright State & Premier Neuroscience Institute joins this endeavor with a critical focus on disorders that affect movement, and brings strong interdisciplinary teams together from multiple departments to speed the transfer of research discoveries from bench to bedside and improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.

The research component of the institute is located on the Wright State campus in a new $37 million Neuroscience and Engineering Collaboration Building which opened in April 2015. The Institute also has facilities dedicated to patient care and clinical research within Miami Valley Hospital. In addition, the partners have collaborated to create a new clinical Department of Neurology and Residency Program within the Boonshoft School of Medicine and hired new faculty physicians, all of whom practice, teach and conduct research in both locations.

A Watershed Accomplishment for the Dayton Region

As the critical centerpiece for conducting neuroscience research at Wright State, the Neuroscience Institute seeks to:

  • Promote ways to move the results of that research directly from the laboratory to the bedside
  • Provide outstanding neurological clinical care to the community
  • Create a clinical and research enterprise that will be pivotal for the region's economic recovery.

Joint research activities and related investments will have direct economic impact on the community, amounting to tens of millions of dollars over the next five years.

History

The plan to establish the institute was developed jointly by Miami Valley Hospital and Wright State University (with input from community physicians) and has been formally approved by university and hospital leadership.

The institute was formally unveiled during a joint news conference at Miami Valley Hospital on February 24, 2010.

The research arm of the institute at Wright State opened as the Comprehensive Neuroscience Center in February 2007 as an expansion on the scope and mission of the former Wright State Center for Brain Research with the goal of improving our research into neurological, developmental, cognitive, psychiatric and trauma-induced nervous system disorders.

In October 2007, Wright State University announced that it had received a prestigious Program Project Grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The $4.8 million grant was the first Program Project Grant the university received. Five university scientists associated with the Neuroscience Institute are using the grant to further their research into why full recovery is not always achieved after damaged nerves have regenerated.

1990

Small number of independent neuroscientists

2000

  • Center for Brain Research established
  • Neuroscience community and resources come together; investment made by the Kettering Fund

2005

  • Comprehensive Neuroscience Center NIH Program Project Grant (5 PIs) — $4.5 million
  • Recruitment of funded neuroscientists to create critical mass (especially to research movement disorders)

2007

  • Receives support from the Boonshoft Innovation Fund

2010

  • Neuroscience Institute-community partnership with Premier to create academic department of Neurology — $4.8 million
  • Named a University System of Ohio Center of Excellence

2013

  • NIH Program Project Grant renewed — $4.6 million
  • Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building groundbreaking

2014

  • Dayton Children's Hospital affiliates with the Neuroscience Institute to boost pediatric neuroscience research and enhance pediatric care
  • Neurology Residency Program receives accreditation

2015

  • Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building opens