EBRI brain research institute to get 1mn in funding

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 6 - The Rome-based European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) founded by the late Italian neurologist and 1986 Nobel Prize winner for medicine Rita Levi-Montalcini on Tuesday looked set to get one million euro in funding needed to ensure its survival after the majority reached an agreement on an amendment to a decree on regulatory deadlines currently before parliament.
    The intervention became necessary after EBRI missed out on its regular annual funding allocation in the 2024 budget.
    In late December EBRI President Antonino Cattaneo said in the absence of funding the institute established in 2002 would have to close.
    "For the first time, after more than ten years, the contribution for structural costs that the EBRI Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation has been receiving since 2012 through the Budget Law has not been renewed," said Cattaneo in a statement.
    Consequently, the institute "will have to close", he added.
    "It is a serious decision, for which the government must take responsibility," said Cattaneo.
    Established in 2002 by Rita Levi-Montalcini, EBRI uses basic research to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms that are useful for the development of new therapeutic strategies for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic pain, and neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
    It also conducts studies on autism spectrum disorders, as well as rare genetic diseases. (ANSA).