Big, big news for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Very, VERY proud of our Administration for recognizing a critical need; it would seem the passionate ongoing efforts to increase awareness are yielding benefits.

Referring to it as “the next great American project,” yesterday, President Obama introduced the country to the BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies). This $100 million initiative will focus on developing and using new technologies to study the most intricate workings of the brain.

Obama said, “As humans we can identify galaxies light years away, we can study particles smaller than an atom, but we still haven’t unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter sitting between our ears.”

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, underscores the importance of studying the brain pointing to the billions of dollars being spent on health care for not only Alzheimer’s and other dementias, but also conditions like autism, stroke, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injuries.

Watch the President’s full speech in the video below, and read more about the initiative in this article from CBS News.