Our team in the Bioethics Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine is leading an NIH BRAIN Initiative-funded project exploring responsible neurotechnology innovation (1R01MH130519). From 2022 to 2024, we conducted over 100 in-depth interviews with stakeholders—including researchers, clinicians, academic administrators, industry representatives, and patients—to understand the ethical and practical challenges that arise in industry-academic partnerships as they develop and commercialize brain technologies.

We identified key ethical and practical tensions in these partnerships and strategies for managing these tensions by systematically engaging six core stakeholder groups:

– Academic Administrators: These include professionals responsible for technology transfer, intellectual property, conflicts of interest, and research contracts. While their shared mission is to support innovation and protect institutional integrity, internal tensions can arise—for example, between promoting entrepreneurial activity and managing risk.

– Neurotechnology Researchers: These individuals often work at the intersection of academia and industry, managing dual roles that may involve both scientific discovery and commercial development. They face tensions around data transparency, authorship, and balancing academic independence with industry timelines and deliverables.

– Neurotechnology Industry Leaders: These stakeholders are focused on developing, scaling, and commercializing neurotechnologies. Their challenge lies in aligning commercial objectives with responsible research practices and navigating trust-building with academic and clinical partners.

– Clinicians: Physicians and surgeons are responsible for integrating neurotechnologies into patient care. They must evaluate whether new technologies are evidence-based and appropriate, while managing relationships with companies and research teams—raising concerns about impartiality and patient trust.

– Patients & Research Participants: Individuals in this group are directly affected by brain technology development and deployment. Their primary concerns include informed consent, safety, inclusion, and the clarity of their role—especially in settings where research and clinical care may blur.

– Ethics Scholars: This group contributes critical frameworks for understanding the broader social, legal, and ethical implications of neurotechnologies. They help bridge theory and practice by advising on best practices, oversight structures, and related considerations in partnership decisions.

We have built upon our research findings to develop this toolkit: a set of stakeholder-informed resources aimed at supporting responsible neurotechnology innovation. This toolkit complements ongoing neuroethics efforts by providing concrete, practical tools for navigating real-world collaboration challenges at the intersection of neuroscience, industry, and patient care. Through this multi-stakeholder approach, this toolkit can support partnerships that are both scientifically productive and ethically grounded.

Relevant Publications

Our project has generated several publications that provide additional details about stakeholder views regarding industry-academic partnerships and neurotechnology research and commercialization. Links to publications forthcoming.