JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Brown University-based research group won a $1 million grant at Israel’s inaugural international brain technology conference.

Israeli President Shimon Peres presented the Breakthrough Research and Innovation in Neurotechnology, or BRAIN, prize this week to Brain Gate Research and Development to create robotic arms controlled by neural sensors.

The award was handed out in Tel Aviv at the conference, called Brain Tech Israel. Finalists were chosen from 70 projects from 11 countries.

The Brown group, led by neuroscientist John Donoghue, collaborates with several institutions throughout the United States.

Israel Brain Technologies, a non-profit organization inspired by Peres’ desire to make Israel a global leader in brain research, hosted the conference.