| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 504 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, UTHealth Houston researchers Dr. Nitin Tandon, |
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| 6 | 6 | | Dr. John Seymour, and Dr. Sandipan Pati have received significant |
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| 7 | 7 | | grants from the National Institutes of Health as part of its Brain |
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| 8 | 8 | | Research Through Advancing Neurotechnologies Initiative; and |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The BRAIN initiative aims to accelerate the |
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| 10 | 10 | | development and application of innovative technologies, enabling |
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| 11 | 11 | | researchers to share data in order to produce a dynamic picture of |
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| 12 | 12 | | the human brain that will show how individual cells and complex |
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| 13 | 13 | | neural circuits interact in both time and space; and |
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| 14 | 14 | | WHEREAS, The NIH awarded three grants totaling $15 million |
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| 15 | 15 | | for projects led by Dr. Tandon, professor and chair ad interim of |
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| 16 | 16 | | the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery at the McGovern |
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| 17 | 17 | | Medical School, Dr. John Seymour, associate professor of |
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| 18 | 18 | | neurosurgery with the medical school, and Dr. Sandipan Pati, |
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| 19 | 19 | | associate professor in the school's Department of Neurology; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, A project co-led by Dr. Seymour and Dr. Tandon |
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| 21 | 21 | | received a three-year grant to develop a minimally invasive device |
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| 22 | 22 | | that enables ultra-scale recordings from the human brain, allowing |
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| 23 | 23 | | for the generation of detailed brain maps that show how humans |
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| 24 | 24 | | speak; another five-year grant was awarded to Dr. Pati and |
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| 25 | 25 | | Dr. Tandon for a project that will use an innovative method, |
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| 26 | 26 | | neuromodulation, as a way to disrupt seizures that begin in the |
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| 27 | 27 | | hippocampus, the part of the brain that is critical for memory and |
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| 28 | 28 | | other functions, as an alternative to surgery; a third project led |
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| 29 | 29 | | by Dr. Tandon was funded to perform recordings from the brains of |
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| 30 | 30 | | patients with electrodes placed to localize epilepsy in order to |
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| 31 | 31 | | identify the specific roles and interactions of the brain areas |
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| 32 | 32 | | involved in reading; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Through their outstanding work at UTHealth Houston, |
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| 34 | 34 | | Dr. Tandon, Dr. Seymour, and Dr. Pati have distinguished |
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| 35 | 35 | | themselves as innovative researchers, and these prestigious grants |
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| 36 | 36 | | will help provide them with the support they need to continue their |
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| 37 | 37 | | vital work; now, therefore, be it |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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| 39 | 39 | | Legislature hereby congratulate Dr. Nitin Tandon, Dr. John |
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| 40 | 40 | | Seymour, and Dr. Sandipan Pati of UTHealth Houston on receiving |
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| 41 | 41 | | grants from the National Institutes of Health Brain Research |
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| 42 | 42 | | Through Advancing Neurotechnologies Initiative and extend to them |
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| 43 | 43 | | sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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| 44 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 45 | 45 | | prepared for Drs. Tandon, Seymour, and Pati as an expression of high |
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| 46 | 46 | | regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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| 47 | 47 | | A. Johnson of Harris |
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| 48 | 48 | | ______________________________ |
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| 49 | 49 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 50 | 50 | | I certify that H.R. No. 504 was adopted by the House on March |
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| 51 | 51 | | 16, 2023, by a non-record vote. |
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| 52 | 52 | | ______________________________ |
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| 53 | 53 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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