The funding of neuroscience research
Dr. David Owens is the Deputy Director of the Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a position he has served in since 2014. He joined NINDS in 2004 as a Program Director in the Repair and Plasticity Cluster where he oversaw a portfolio of grants in stem and progenitor cell biology in the development, function, and repair of the nervous system. He earned a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Columbia University where he studied cellular signaling during neocortical development and conducted postdoctoral research in developmental neurobiology at NINDS. He has been involved in a variety of NINDS and Trans-NIH activities covering a diverse range of topics including, regenerative medicine, regulatory science via FDA-NIH interactions, piloting novel funding mechanisms, and promoting basic neuroscience research.