Policy

Restoring neurological function

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In 2002 the Council of the Academy of Medical Sciences approved the establishment of a Working Group to discuss the prospects for developing new treatments and to identify the obstacles to their implementation in neurorehabilitation. This followed an Academy scientific meeting of neuroscientists, clinical academics and NHS healthcare workers in April 2002 on the same issue.

A draft Report was circulated for consultation at the end of August 2003 then sent out for Review. The final report was published in March 2004. It recommended that:

• The NHS and academic community should collaborate to create a number of Regional Neurorehabilitation Research Centres (RNRCs) each closely associated with one or more universities.
• Recruitment, training and career structures should be improved as incentives for those undertaking or wishing to undertake research into neurorehabilitation.
• The Higher Education Funding Councils (HEFCs) and DH should provide funding, in the first instance, for 1-3 RNRCs whilst the research councils and medical research charities should provide a portfolio of enabling funds.
• A research culture should be fostered within the RNRCs to ensure knowledge is disseminated.

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Professor Richard Frackowiak FMedSci (Chairman)
Vice-Provost (Special Projects)
University College London

Professor Raymond Tallis FMedSci (Secretary)
Professor of Geriatric Medicine
University of Manchester

Dr Simon Boniface
Consultant in Neurophysiology, University of Cambridge

Professor Sir Iain Chalmers FMedSci
Editor
The James Lind Institute

Professor Steve Dunnett FMedSci
Professorial Research Fellow
University of Cardiff

Professor Janet Eyre
Professor of Paediatric Neuroscience University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

Professor Roger Lemon FMedSci
Dean & Director
Institute of Nuerology

Professor Valerie Pomeroy
Professor of Rehabilitation for Older People St George’s Hospital Medical School

Professor Ian Robertson
Director, Institute of Neuroscience
Trinity College Dublin

Professor Peter Sandercock FMedSci
Professor of Medical Neurology
University of Edinburgh

Dr Marion Walker
Senior Lecturer in Stroke Rehabilitation University of Nottingham

Professor Alan Wing
Professor of Human Movement
University of Birmingham

Secretariat

Susan Wicks
Fellowship Manager
Academy of Medical Sciences

Laurie Smith
Policy Officer
Academy of Medical Sciences

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To identify, characterise and document opportunities arising out of advances in neuroscience to improve the care of patients with neurological disability.

In order to achieve this goal the Working Group sought to:

• identify the barriers to collaboration between researchers that hinder the translation of advances in basic neuroscience into treatments that will benefit patients;
• recommend methods by which these barriers might be overcome;
• suggest research structures that would promote exploitation of advances in neuroscience and indicate ways in which the short-fall of researchers in this field might be addressed;
• identify the resources, including funds, that are requisite to achieve these objectives.

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Professor John Newsom-Davis CBE FRS FMedSci
Professor Emeritus of Clinical Neurology University of Oxford

Professor John Pickard FMedSci
Professor of Neurosurgery and Chairman University of Cambridge

Professor Nancy Rothwell FMedSci
MRC Research Professor
University of Manchester

With support from Ms Laura Spinney (Freelance science writer).

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• Restoring Neurological Function Report [379.19k]
• Restoring Neurological Function Press Release [107.59k]

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