Serbian Brain Council (SBC) is a nonprofit umbrella organization (established on May 12, 2015) comprised of national associations and institutions that is engaged in the development and promotion of neuroscience for the welfare and betterment of the people with brain disorders.
The aim of the Council is to draw the attention of the academic and the general public, as well as relevant state institutions, to the importance of the development of basic and clinical research in the field of neurosciences, as well as to ensure, by integrating all levels of research, better prevention, better diagnosis and better treatment of patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric disorders. The Serbian Brain Council is the regular member of the National Brain Councils Academy (with about 20 members) and an associate member of the European Brain Council (EBC) with observer status (since Dec 2016).
Research in the field of neuroscience in Serbia, both basic as well as clinical, has more than 50 years long tradition, engaging researchers from University of Belgrade (Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, Institute for Medical Research, Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinča”), University of Novi Sad, University of Kragujevac, Serbian Academy of Sciences and many other institutions. Papers published in the field of Neurosciences in Serbia constitute a significant part of total University publications published in journals listed in the Web of Science database (in 2011-2015 a total of 609 articles were published in extenso, of which 9 papers in journals with IF > 10). In addition, both Master and Doctoral studies in the field of Neuroscience have already been initiated at the University of Belgrade.
Unfortunately, neither academic nor the general public and the main stakeholders are sufficiently familiar with the research and activities in the field of Neuroscience in Serbia. One of the most important activities of the Council is to spread awareness of the economic and social importance of the brain research and its disorders, and pointing to the increasing burden of psychiatric and neurological disorders that they carry for the society as a whole (in the health, social and financial terms). The mission of the Council is, among other things, the education of profession and public, with the scope to contribute to the improvement of patients care.