Management

The Alberto Santos Dumont Association for Research Support - AASDAP, is responsible for the administration of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience of Natal (ELS-IINN). AASDAP is an Organization of the Civil Society of Public Interest (OSCIP), recognized and accredited by the Brazilian Ministry of Justice. AASDAP raises and manages public and private funds designed to support a variety of scientific research and social projects in Brazil.

Future Projects

AASDAP intends to use the campus of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (ELS-IINN) to attract public and private investments in order to transform the metropolitan region of Natal into the Brazilian “City of the Brain.” Currently, neuroscience comprises a premier segment of the biotechnology industry worldwide. As a result, a variety of traditional and emerging biomedical companies in the US and Europe are shifting their focus to basic and applied brain research. Our goal is to attract local and foreign investors to Rio Grande do Norte and create the Brazilian “City of the Brain,” an ambitious project in which the implementation of the Brain Campus, originally conceived and promoted by AASDAP, and currently being built, will have a key role. In it, the development of neuroscience research, which is today the main segment of the biotechnology industry in the world, will enable Brazil to be on equal terms with the leading and emerging center all over the world, such as the USA, Europe and Japan. Managing public and private resources intended to sponsor scientific research and social projects in Brazil, AASDAP wants to go on attracting foreign and domestic investors to Macaíba, Natal and other regions our country. This action is critical because the success of the ELS-IINN is also vital for AASDAP future similar projects in North and Northeast as well as in other Brazilian regions

In terms of social development, the ELS-IINN is inaugurating two components of an educational complex which will serve to produce and host a variety of integrated activities and educational projects, such as science education programs for youth and adults, and activities involving sports, health, culture and leisure. These facilities will expand the opportunities for local citizens to participate in social and cultural programs, and provide an important step in overcoming the current barriers of social, educational and technological exclusion.

Private and Public Support

The ELS-IINN is grateful for the continuous support provided by the Brazilian Ministries of Science and Technology, Health, and Education, by contracts and grants from the Financiadora de Projetos Agency (FINEP), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), and also for the donations from Duke University, EPFL, Edmond J. Safra Foundation and the Sirio-Libanes Hospital of São Paulo. The ELS-IINN’s mission is also supported through a long-term partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande of Norte