News
Competitive Research Culture Standing in the Way of Progress
On Monday, October 29th, Peter Chiarelli, a recently retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff for the Army, addressed an auditorium full of researchers and clinicians. He was addressing the second annual Augusta Research Symposium on Advances in Warrior Care, with a focus on research and care for injured troops.
He said 60 to 80 percent of those with a brain injury in the army also suffered PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, yet these troops are frequently released without knowing where to find future care. “There is no support system to help them,” he said.
The biggest issue in Chiarelli’s eyes however, is the way researchers have built a culture of competition rather than collaboration. This is why he is pushing the One Mind for Research project, hoping to raise $100-million over three years to fund research into brain issues and mental illness, and plans to share all of its data through an online portal, so others will have access to it.
For more from the Augusta Research Symposium, and Peter Chiarelli’s speech, read Tom Corwin’s first-hand account from the Augusta Chronicle.
