Journalistic disclosure of technologies for prevention and treatment of brain diseases at CEPID BRAINN (Research Institute of neuroscience and Neurotechnology)

• Grant number: 15/17922-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: January 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Journalism and Publishing
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Bastos Cunha
• Grantee: Erik Nardini Medina
• Host Institution: Núcleo de Desenvolvimento da Criatividade (NUDECRI). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil

Abstract

The curiosity of the population by the brain may contribute to the scientific dissemination of a sub-theme as important as the brain itself: diseases that are manifested on it.Having CEPID BRAINN (Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology) as the main study object of this project, and taking advantage of the interest that the nervous system arouses in society, this project aims to disseminate scientific advances made by BRAINN regarding new technologies, drugs and progress in the treatment of diseases such as stroke and epilepsy.Stroke is the leading cause of death in Brazil and responsible for 68,000 deaths per year in the country. Epilepsy is present in the life of over fifty million people worldwide.Well structured, the dissemination of such theme to the media, both specialist science magazine and general content newspapers, acts as one of the most efficient ways to increase the diffusion of knowledge for a broader audience than just researchers and their peers.The strategy proposed in this project explores science communication methods providing easy access to a topic that, due to their complexity or even certain taboo of society to talk about diseases, especially stroke and epilepsy, ends up being restricted to specific occasions such as the World Stroke Day, held annually on October 29, and the World Epilepsy Day, held annually in February. The project aims to disseminate scientific knowledge and cutting-edge studies in the areas of genetics, neurobiology, pharmacology, neuroimaging, computer science, robotics, physics and engineering.