HISTORY

HOW WAS BNI CREATED?

The Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI) is a nonprofit private organization housed within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile.

BNI emerged from a ten-year collaborative process of associative research projects. Where scientists who were part of the Millennium Center for Integrated Neurosciences (CENI) and later the Neural Morphogenesis Center (NEMO) found it natural to apply when the Millennium Institute opened the call. Their individual and group research trajectory made them stand out and secure funding to establish the Biomedical Neuroscience Institute in 2011.

Neurological and psychiatric diseases affect thousands of people in Chile. Furthermore, the increase in life expectancy heightens the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases, emphasizing the importance of brain and disease research in the country. Chile has a significant history in neurosciences, leading this group to embrace the responsibility of continuing the tradition that has been established for years. Gathering a group of basic and clinical neuroscientists, alongside mathematicians from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile, their objective is to conduct top-tier scientific research, train new researchers, contribute to technology and education, and establish an active community of internationally recognized researchers. This will require building up a significant presence.

Today, BNI is a unique center in Chile and a reference center in the region due to its 14 laboratories, production of over 40 high-impact publications annually, and consolidated international scientific collaboration networks spanning the northern hemisphere and Latin America. In addition, BNI organizes courses and scientific meetings.