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© IBRO International Brain Research Organization

In this issue:Funding 2Fellows & Alumni 3Neuroscience News 4-5The Regions 6Education & Training 7IBRO’S Partnerships 8

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IBRO SPREADS THE WORDAROUND THE WORLDSecretary-General Marina Bentivoglio assesses IBRO’s global futureEyes wide open worldwide and with a global vision, IBRO looks at a rapidlychanging and growing neuroscience community. A protagonist ofcooperation in brain research across all continents, IBRO is unique, andinternationally recognized as such, in its role to develop cooperation in brainresearch worldwide. In the last decade, IBRO has obtained remarkableachievements in this direction, thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm ofneuroscientists who collaborate with and work voluntarily for IBRO aroundthe globe and to their strong belief in neuroscience without barriers.

Enduring and fruitful partnerships in all continents are at the core of IBRO’sactivities. In North America, the wonderful relationships with IBRO’s giant member,the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), are constantly growing. In Europe, the well-established partnership with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies(FENS), a giant IBRO member, has led to the organization of successful coursesfor young investigators, the joint IBRO-FENS Programme of EuropeanNeuroscience Schools (PENS). The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) has recentlyjoined in the PENS venture, which can now foster the participation of NorthAmerican students. In Asia, the partnership with the Federation of Asian-OceanianNeuroscience Societies (FAONS) has also led to the organization of successfulschools and initiatives in the very vast Asian-Pacific world region. In Latin America,IBRO has fostered the birth of the Federation of Neuroscience Associations inLatin American and the Caribbean (FALAN), founded in April 2009 under IBROauspices. In Africa, IBRO has established enduring relationships with the Societyof Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) since its foundation in 1993: more than 15years of support and close association with African neuroscience, which in recentyears has been supported by the UNESCO International Basic ScienceProgramme (IBSP) and the Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation. And IBROrelationships with supranational federations are increasing with the continuingdirect relationships with IBRO members, comprising societies, associations andgroups, in a steadily growing number of world countries.

All this helps in IBRO’s unique mission for the development of internationalcooperation, with the focus on networking and capacity-building in world regionswith special needs. IBRO’s eyes are wide open with the focus on the training ofstudents and the provision of assistance to young scientists in disadvantagedcountries of the world. We have IBRO alumni all over, a better and biggerneuroscience community, a global neuroscience community. And international isgoing intercontinental: IBRO’s initiative of ‘inter-regional’ schools and activities (i.e.with liaisons between two or more of IBRO’s six world regions) is growing and willbe further developed. This is also witnessed by the launching of the series ofKemali-IBRO Mediterranean Schools: following its agreement with the KemaliFoundation, signed in April 2008 in Naples, IBRO began in September 2009 a newventure across the continents facing the Mediterranean basin.

Towards the end of my mandate as IBRO Secretary-General, I wish to express mydeepest gratitude to all IBRO members and to neuroscientists worldwide forhaving given me the opportunity to participate in this exciting global venture andadventure. Witnessing the impact of the communication with the commonlanguage of brain research, despite the diversity of spoken languages and culturalenvironments, has been and remains a challenge, an emotion, a reward. Thanks alot to IBRO, and let’s keep going!

Marina BentivoglioSecretary-General, IBRO

IBRO's Partnerships in the World ofNeuroscience ... page 8

3rd IBRO Canadian School, Vancouver, Canada, May 2009, a multi-partner IBROschool for young researchers from across the world

IBRO Secretary-General Elect sees IBRO inunique position as worldwide organization

Pierre Magistretti, Professor and Director, Brain Mind Institute, Federal Institute of Technology(EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, is to be the next Secretary-General of IBRO. His three-year term ofoffice begins in January 2010. Echoing the major global goals of IBRO, Pierre Magistretti stated: “Iview IBRO as a real worldwide organization, with a unique position, in this respect, in theneurosciences. Along theses lines, I see as the main priority for IBRO in the coming years theexpansion and strengthening of its role to stimulate the progress of neuroscience in disadvantagedcountries. Indeed, IBRO's unique niche is to facilitate access to continuing education and trainingof the most talented young neuroscientists, especially from such countries. No other society ororganization has this as its main goal. This effort should of course be coordinated with neurosciencesocieties and federations in the ‘advantaged’ part of the world (such as Europe, North America,Japan, Australia). Indeed, while the missions of such organizations are primarily to organize andsupport neuroscience activities within their world region, they represent ideal partners for thoseIBRO's activities that are focused on the disadvantaged areas of the world, for example byfacilitating contacts, providing faculties and host laboratories for young neuroscientists. In thisregard, federations such as the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) or FAONS(Federation of Asian-Oceanian Neuroscience Societies) and large societies - especially the largest,the Society for Neuroscience - will be respected partners for such initiatives. Another priority willbe to expand the outreach activities of IBRO worldwide by inspiring and supporting them and by

providing the necessary documentation to facilitate the public understanding of neuroscience. This is an essential activity forestablishing a fruitful dialogue with society, the media and policy-makers. I am particularly committed to these activities in whichI have been personally involved for several years. IBRO should ensure that such materials are available in as many languages aspossible besides English. Here again, partnerships with national neuroscience societies and with organizations such as the DanaAlliance for Brain Initiatives will be extremely important.”

Pierre Magistretti

Kemali-IBROpartnership holdsfirst schoolA partnership between the Dargut andMilena Kemali Foundation for Basicand Clinical Neurosciences (DMKF) andIBRO was forged in April 2008. The collaboration focuses on capacity-building in the Mediterranean region, withthe objective to overcome cultural orpolitical 'barriers' in this area. The FirstKemali-IBRO School of Neuroscience washeld at the Stazione Zoologica "AntonDohrn" and the Kemali Foundation,Naples, Italy, Sept 21-30, 2009. Itrepresented the first of a series of schoolsto foster networking across borders incountries of the Mediterranean basin andto embrace the European and AfricanIBRO Regional Committees.

Neuroscience Journal TOCs e-mailedto all IBRO members

Yun-Quing Li and Marina Bentivoglio (centre) with colleagues, 4th Military MedicalUniversity, Xi’an, China

2nd Regional Teaching Course,Addis Ababa, Ethiop: a joint

EFNS, WFN, IBRO collaboration

Elsevier, The Boulevard, Langford Lane,Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK

IBRO’S FUNDING2010 - 2011

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IBRO welcomes applicantsfor 2010-2011IBRO’s Funding Programme promotes neuroscience,especially in less well-funded countries, by providingsupport to high-quality neuroscientists from diversegeographic and scientific areas (US/Canada Regionexcluded).

Research Fellowships: support for work abroad ingood laboratoriesReturn Home Fellowships: aid for researcherstrained overseas who wish to return to their homecountriesStudentships: support for short stays in goodoverseas laboratoriesTravel Grants: support participation at internationalneuroscience meetingsSymposia & Workshops: partial funding ofneuroscience events to encourage researchparticularly in resource-restricted regionsPublic Education Events: increase public awarenessof the brain worldwide through events related to brainresearch and its application to diseases of the brain

All funding information on the IBRO web sitehttp://funding.ibro.info

Executive CommitteePresidentCarlos Belmonte (Spain)Secretary-GeneralMarina Bentivoglio (Italy)TreasurerSteve Redman (Australia)

Regional Committee ChairsAbdul Mohammed (Africa)Hitoshi Okamoto (Asia/Pacific)Ryszard Przewlocki (Central &Eastern Europe)Osvaldo Uchitel (Latin America)Carol Barnes (US/Canada)Monica Di Luca (Western Europe)

IBRO Secretariat255 Rue Saint-Honoré75001 Paris, FrancePhone:+33-1-46-47-92-92Fax: +33-1-46-47-42-50Executive DirectorStephanie de La Rochefoucauldibro3@wanadoo.fr

Director of ProgrammesRobynn Rockstad-Rexibro4@wanadoo.fr

IBRO Web SiteWebmaster & Head of ITAnte Padjenante.padjen@mcgill.caSenior EditorAndrée Blakemoreandree.blakemore@dpag.ox.ac.uk'IBRO News'Editor in ChiefAndree Blakemoreandree.blakemore@dpag.ox.ac.uk

Symposia &Workshopsrecipients2009Africa RegionIhunwo (South Africa): 17thConference of the Int'l Federation ofAssociations of Anatomists, Aug 2009 Asia Pacific RegionAlbright (India): Workshop onCognitive Neuroscience, Feb 2009 Central & Eastern Europe RegionKostovic (Croatia): Neuroimaging andNeurogenomics of DevelopmentalDisorders, April 2009

Balaban (Russian Federation): IX EastEuropean Regional Int'l ConferenceSimpler Nervous Systems, Sept 2009Kaczmarek (Poland): Molecular Viewof a Synapse and its Surroundings,Sept 2009Sergeeva (Russian Federation): 2ndInternational Conference onNeuroimaging and Neurodynamics,Sept 2009 Latin America RegionAndrés Coke (Chile): MotivatedBehaviours, Stress and Addiction,Jan 2009Segura-Aguilar (Chile): VINeurotoxicity Society Meeting,April 2009Rotstein (Argentina): Neuron-GlialInteractions in Synapse Formation,Sept 2009Mato (Argentina): School J. A. BalseiroModeling in Neuroscience, Oct 2009Hernandez-Cruz (Mexico): 15thInternational Symposium onChromaffin Cell Biology, Nov 2009 Western Europe RegionPanzica (Italy): 5th Int'l Meeting onSteroids and Nervous System,Feb 2009 Geula (Cyprus): 5th Int'l Conference ofAlzheimer's Disease and RelatedDisorders, May 2009Kofler (Austria): Neuropeptide Festival2009, July 2009

Winner of Albert J. AguayoFellowship announcedThe Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) and the Institute ofNeurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA) of the Canadian Institutesof Health Research (CIHR) in partnership with IBRO announced the award of thenewly created Albert J. Aguayo Fellowship to Rolando Avilés Reyes of the CellularBiology and Neuroscience Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Buenos Aires University,Argentina. The Fellowship, named after Dr Albert J. Aguayo, past President andpast Secretary-General of IBRO, marks Dr Aguayo's outstanding contribution toneuroscience in Quebec, Canada and the world. The purpose of the fellowship isto provide the opportunity for young researchers from developing countriesto spend a three-month term in a Quebec laboratory or research centre in orderto enhance their training and career development in the field of

neuroscience research.

Rolando Avilés Reyes will spend threemonths in the host laboratory of Dr PhilBarker, Neurological Institute andHospital, Mc Gill University, Montreal.Rolando's research interests are insleep apnea and while in Montreal hehopes to learn certain molecularbiology techniques and apply protocolsthat will answer specific neurosciencequestions. He will also work on thesecondary effects of intermittenthypoxia from which sleep apneapatients suffer. Roland will work inMontreal from March to June 2010,

when he will return to his Buenos Aires laboratory. There he intends to analyse theNFKB role in sleep apnea, at the same time using the molecular biology techniqueshe has learned in Montreal.

Roland Avilés Reyes

Santiago, Chile, workshop, Jan 2009

Young scientists reap benefitsof Return Home FellowshipsIn 2006 and 2007 research neuroscientists Elaine Gavioli (Brazil) and GuillermoLanuza (Argentina) won IBRO Return Home Fellowships to enable them to set uplabs in their own countries.

Elaine Gavioli returned to Brazil in 2006, having spent two years as a postdoc atthe Dept of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Pharmacology,Università di Ferrara (Italy), where she worked with Prof. Girolamo Calo’, an expert

in in vitro and in vivopharmacological characterizationof novel peptidergic systems. Shewas appointed professor in thePost-Graduate Programme inHealth Sciences at theUniversidade do Extremo SulCatarinense (Criciuma, Brazil), hashad numerous collaborations, andhas been able to set up herown lab working in the fieldof neuropeptides.

Guillermo Lanuza was working on neuronal development at Martyn Goulding’s lab,Dept of Molecular Neurobiology, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA,USA, when he was awarded a ReturnHome Fellowship in 2007. He movedback to Argentina in April 2008 andreturned to the Fundación InstitutoLeloir in Buenos Aires as a junior groupleader. His research is aimed atanswering how distinct types ofneurons with specialized functionsdifferentiate during development. Hehas recruited two students and onepostdoc who contribute significantly tothe work. The first instalment of hisReturn Home award was used forsetting up the lab, acquiring basicequipment and consumable reagents.

Elaine (2nd left) and her group)

PENS: Programme of EuropeanNeuroscience Schools

An IBRO-FENS (Federation of Neuroscience Societies) collaboration,PENS aims to enrich the neuroscience education of students and young

investigators throughout Europe. Faculty from around the world participate.PENS web site: mars.glia.mdc-berlin.de/pens

Brain Research Organization

Guillermo Lanuza

The IBROReporter

For the latestneuroscience news andevents e-mailed monthly

to all members.Please keep your

membership updated atwww.ibro.info

NEWS FROM OURFELLOWS AND ALUMNI

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The IBRO Alumni ProgrammeSusan Sara, Alumni Programme Chair, reportsIBRO alumni speak at SfN 2008: Three distinguished IBRO alumni who had attended CHSL or MBL neuroscience summercourses at CSHL or MBL summarized their recent research at the IBRO social during the SfN 2008 meeting in Washington,DC, November 2008. Their participation at the schools was sponsored by the IAC-USNC/IBRO and each recounted how theschool experience had impacted on her scientific career.

Guang Yang (China) attended the MBL course on Neurobiology in 2003. Apostdoc at New York University, she described her experiments using in vivoimaging of new spines formed in response to sensory experience. Maria Castello(Uruguay), attended the MBL course on Neural Systems and Behavior in 2004. Hersubsequent studies in development of sensory-motor neural networks usingweakly electric fish as a model clearly reflect her school experience. Maria de laPaz Fernandez (Argentina, attended the CSHL course on Neurobiology ofDrosophilia in 2005 and related her current interesting results on gustatoryperception, courtship and aggression in that species.

The IBRO Alumni Committee in collaboration with the IAC-USNC is organizing asimilar event at the SfN 2009 meeting in Chicago. It will be a satellite event thatwill combine a mini-symposium with a social reception for all IBRO Alumni andfaculty, IBRO volunteers and friends of IBRO. Four alumni of CSHL and MBL,representing four continents, will make a brief presentation their work. This will befollowed by a party with music from the IBRO regions. We are looking forward to welcoming the IBRO community on Sunday,October 18, 2009 at 6pm. All alumni who are registered on the IBRO Alumni web site will receive an invitation, so please makesure that your registration is up to date and remind your fellow alumni to register. http://alumni.ibro.info

More alumni events: Neuroscientific societies from Latin America, Caribbean and the Iberian Peninsula assembled togetherfor the I IBRO-LARC Congress of Neurosciences (I NeuroLatAm), in Buzios, Brazil, September 1-4, 2008. A successful alumnisymposium was held at the Congress; speakers, all IBRO Alumni, were: Emanuel Mora (Cuba), Biodiversity as a usefulneuroethological tool in Latin America; Sebastián Curti (Uruguay), Electrophysiological specializations of primary auditory

afferents to the Mauthner cell; Rui Daniel S. Prediger (Brazil), Role of Cellular PrionProtein (PrPc) in cognitive function; Magdalena Sanhueza (Chile), Oscillatoryactivity in the olfactory amygdala; Ramiro Freudenthal (Argentina), NF-kappaB inmemory consolidation and neural plasticity.

The alumni of the African region will have their opportunity to be heard at theSociety of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,in December 2009. Young scientists who have attended IBRO schools in the ARCregion or have had IBRO fellowships from the region will recount how their IBROexperience has impacted on their careers and helped them to develop theirteaching and research in their home countries.

Guang Yang, Maria Castello andMaria de la Paz Fernandez

Alumni symposium participants(Susan Sara centre), Buzios

IBRO Research Fellow from Poland atBrain Imaging Research Centre, Scotland

IBRO Fellow for 2007-8, Bartosz Karaszewski worked on metabolicdisturbances in brain ischemic regions at the Medical University ofGdansk, Poland. He then carried out clinical work on neurologicaldiseases as well as experimental projects at the Medical Universityof Gdansk, the Institut National de la Santé et de la RechercheScientifique (INSERM), Paris, the University of Oslo, and the BrainImaging Research Centre for Scotland, Div. of ClinicalNeurosciences, University of Edinburgh, where he took up hisIBRO Research Fellowship. Dr Karaszewski’s work focused onbrain metabolic disturbances following acute ischemic stroke;magnetic resonance techniques in neurology; administration and invivo molecular imaging of stem cells transplanted to brain ortransfused on experimental model of acute ischemic stroke;qualitative and quantitative neurochemical analysis; brainchemistry changes in hypoxic stress; and experimental modelingof brain ischemic/hypoxic injury. Part of his time in Edinburghinvolved the organization of the project: patient recruitmentprocess; magnetic resonance imaging protocols; blood collectionprotocols and material storage; collection of the scientific data andmaterial from patients in the study; organization of the experimentalsub-study. During his fellowship, Dr Karaszewski gainedexperience in human brain imaging techniques and data analysis;genetic analysis of human samples; stroke management (practicein Scottish clinical stroke system, working with British patients);transgenic animals preparation techniques, experimental methods

of in vivo neuroimaging, animal brain surgery. Prof. Joanna Wardlaw, Director of the SFC Brain Imaging Research Centre, wasDr Karaszewski’s main supervisor and he is grateful to Prof. Martin Dennis and Dr Malcolm Macleod for their help with hisresearch Bartosz Karaszewski while at Edinburgh.

Bartosz Karaszewski

Nigerian Research Fellowspends year at Penn StateCollege of MedicineJames O. Olopade, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria reports: I was awardedan IBRO Research Fellowship in 2007 and I reported to Dr James Connor’s lab,Dept of Neurosurgery, Penn State College of Medicine, USA in February 2008 towork for one year on aspects of vanadium toxicity in the brain. In the year there Ilearned about such procedures as immunohistochemistry, atomic absorptionspectrophotometry, cellular oxidative stress analysis, apoptosis assay, myelinquantification, western blotting and an array of in vivo experiments. My work incollaboration with other lab members revealed some novel findings, eg: primaryoligodendrocytes were far more sensitive (LD 50 of less than 100uM) to vanadiumwhen compared to matured oligodendrocytes and astrocytes (LD 50 of 150-200uM) in cultures; developmental exposure of neonates to vanadium leads todestruction of oligodendrocytes with concurrent astrogliosis in white matter tracts.I am now back in Nigeria and have been given lab space as an Assistant Professorat the Comparative Anatomy, Environmental Toxicologyand Neuroscience Unit, Dept of Veterinary Anatomy,University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. I am alsopreparing a Fogarty grant with my mentor Dr Connor sothat the research and experience during the IBROResearch Fellowship can used in Nigeria in collaborationwith the Connor lab. Our focus now is to look at theinteractions between iron deficiency and vanadiumtoxicity both experimentally and epidemiologically. James Olopade

CSHL summer coursefellows reportThe Joint Society for Neuroscience International Affairs Committee/National Academyof Sciences Committee to the International Brain Research Organization (IAC-USNC/IBRO US/Canada) in collaboration with IBRO sponsor students to participatein courses at the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA, USA and ColdSpring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA. The students are allIBRO alumni, having taken part either in IBRO Neuroscience Schools or the VisitingLecture Team Programme. Aniko Ludanyi (Hungary) and Claudia M. Garcia-Peña(Mexico) describe their experiences on courses at CSHL in 2008.

Aniko Ludanyi, Institute of Experminetal Medicine, Hungarian Academy ofSciences, Budapest, Hungary: In 2008, I had the great honour of participating in theAdvanced Techniques in Molecular Neuroscience course at CSHL, thanks to thefinancial support of IBRO. I work on the fine anatomical structure of theendocannabinoid system in the hippocampus; the methods we use are principallydescriptive. I wanted to gain a more complex view of the endocannabionid system, soI needed to investigate functional aspects of this system by the help of molecular

manipulations. The course was a great opportunity for meto learn new skills from experts and to network with a lotof interesting people. The practical modules of the coursecovered up-to-date experimental techniques, like the useof viral and BAC vectors, RNAi technique and single cellPCR techniques. Each module was supervised by skilfuland enthusiastic scientists, to whom we could turn if weneeded practical help or had a question to discuss. Basedon my skills from the ATMN course, we have started doingexperiments by which to examine the in vivo localizationand function of proteins of the endocannabinoid system.The course instructors also gave detailed lectures toexplain the theoretical background of the methods. Theinvited speakers gave fascinating lectures, and listening to

them has not only expanded my scope in neuroscience, but has also inspired me toaim high and to do unique and valuable work. Finally, I wish to thank IBRO for theaward that enabled me to attend the CSHL course.

Claudia Garcia-Peña, Biomedical Science Program, Neurobiology Institute,UNAM, Campus Juriquilla, Mexico: Wonderful things happened to me on theATMB course in 2008. I learned techniques that allowed me to visualize and recordbiological phenomena in vivo, such as cell migration,cell proliferation, and many other aspects in mouseembryos, adult mice, tadpoles. The molecular biologyprocedures that I learned helped me understand howto obtain RNA and DNA fragments and how to disruptthe translation process with interference RNA.Besides the scientific aspects, I learned aboutdifferent cultures, different traditions from differentcountries such as Korea, China, India, Italy, Brazil,Ukraine, Romania, Germany, Serbia and, of course,the USA. The diversity of people enriched my mindand my soul. Thanks for everything!

Aniko Ludanyi

Claudia Garcia-Peña

IBRO members: please update your details in the IBRO Membersdatabase for the latest information about IBRO’s activities: www.ibro.info

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Women in World Neuroscience Programme Judy Illes, Chair of IBRO’s newWomen in World Neuroscience(WWN) Programme, set the pacewhen she announced theCommittee’s Position Statementearlier this year: “Women in WorldNeuroscience was formed toenhance opportunities for work andcareer development, mentoring,and networking for women inneuroscience. Our vision is for animproved environment for careeradvancement in neuroscience forwomen in all regions of the worldwith special attention to women indeveloping countries, and in all aspects of the neuroscience endeavor.” Thecommittee met for the first time during the SfN Meeting in Washington, DC,November 2008, when it made a number of recommendations to further itsmission. At the meeting there was significant discussion about how to encouragegirls and young women to pursue interests in science, particularly in cultures inwhich there are social inequities. Notions of what makes a good mentor werediscussed. It was agreed that educating senior scientists and decision-makers inthe challenges that women face and suggesting actions that can be taken to createa gender-friendly workplace will be critical in removing obstacles currently facingwomen in neuroscience. IBRO members from around the world, all keenly awareof the need to improve the situation for women scientists, have formed WWNsubcommittees to cover such issues as development, outreach, awards, needsassessment, conferences, socials and press. Sharon Hyrnkow, Orly Weinreb andConnie Atwell are due special recognition for their extra efforts in helping to shapeand lead the initiatives of the Committee.

Women in World Neuroscience at the SfNMeeting, Washington, DC, 2008

Increasing public awareness in neuroscienceIBRO’s Public Education Committee, chaired by ElspethMcLachlan, continues to spread the word by promotingbrain events around the world in a bid to increaseawareness of the brain and the impact of research onneurological disease worldwide. Through the BrainCampaign, the committee, in partnership with DABI(Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives), SfN (Society forNeuroscience), EDAB (European Dana Alliance for theBrain) and FENS (Federation of European NeuroscienceAssociations), encourages and supports brain awarenessevents. IBRO provides awards in countries outside North

America and Europerepresented in itsAfrican, Asia-Pacific,Central and EasternEurope, and LatinAmerican regions. Most of these events are held during Brain Awareness Week, held eachMarch, which has evolved into a powerful global initiative with more than 2,000 partnersfrom diverse institutions and associations as well as community groups in 76 countries.

IBRO also funds the organization of local and national Brain Bee competitions, inpreparation for sending national winners to the International Brain Bee competition runby Dr Norbert Myslinski (University of Maryland, USA). In addition, IBRO has translatedthe booklet Neuroscience: Science of the Brain into 17 widely spoken languages, andis currently engaged in additional translations. Current projects include translatingbasic information about neuroscience for the general public in many countries andextending the recent SfN initiative to increase the quality and availability ofneuroscience material in Wikipedia through its web sites in languages other thanEnglish. Brain Campaign web site: www.braincampaign.org

THE BRAIN CAMPAIGN

Demonstrating cells in Mangalore, India

Brain child, Perth, Australia

Carlos Belmonte, President of IBRO,Professor in the University MiguelHernandez and founder of centres ofexcellence for the study ofneurosciences, was awarded theNational Prize in Biomedical Researchby the Spanish Government in Marchthis year. The National Prize inBiomedical Research “GregorioMarañon” was created by the SpanishGovernment in 2001 together withsimilar Prizes in other scientific fields,including Biology, Physics and EarthSciences, Mathematics, Chemistry,Natural Resources, Engineering,Technology, Humanities, and Law and Economics. The Prizes are awarded everytwo years to Spanish scientists “who have performed outstanding research ofinternational relevance and contributed to the advancement of Science,technology transfer and progress of humankind.” Professor Belmonte washonoured for “his brilliant scientific work and his significant contribution towardsthe promotion of biomedical research in Spain and in the international arena.”Carlos Belmonte founded and directed the Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicantein 1986 and served as director for over 20 years. The Institute has become themain neuroscience research centre in Spain, where more than 280 people work.Professor Belmonte is a member the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, theAcademia Europea, and the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz.

Carlos Belmonte awardedSpanish National Prize in Biomedical Research

Carlos Belmonte

IBRO to assist WHO in revision ofDiseases of the Nervous SystemThe World Health Organization (WHO) has started the procedure for revision of theInternational Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 Chapter VI: Diseases of theNervous System. IBRO has been requested to participate and has nominatedKrister Kristensson (WERC member) to represent IBRO. Suggestions for inclusionin the coming ICD-11 of entries that may be lacking or insufficiently dealt with inthe present edition are welcome. For such suggestions, send a title and a short (2-3 sentence) definition to the IBRO representative in the International AdvisoryGroup: Krister Kristensson, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (e-mail:krister.kristensson@ki.se).

Animals in Research Committee holds eventsaround the worldCommittee Chair Sharon Juliano reports: The Animals in Research Committee held its Second Workshop on the ethicalissues in animal experimentation at the Institute of Biophysics, Yerevan, Armenia, October 22-23, 2008. Lecture topicsincluded the fundamentals of animal care, the scale of invasiveness in experimental procedures, and implementation ofEuropean directives. The Armenian scientific community received strong support from IBRO on its way to modernizingArmenian science. At the end of June 2009, committee member Pedro Maldonado participated in the Ege BiennialInternational Neuroscience Graduate Summer School, Izmir, Turkey and gave a plenary lecture, Good Conduct ofExperimental Research: New Perspectives, Codes and Practices in Animal Research. He also presented a workshopduring the school. In October 2009, another of our team, Sarah Pallas, participated in the Ricardo Miledi NeuroscienceTraining Program to be presented in Queretaro, Mexico, accompanied by the Director of AAALAC International(Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care). After an impressive workshop last year inQueretaro, Mexico, the team was invited back to give a larger presentation within the structure of the Miledi TrainingProgram and in conjunction with the Instituta Neurobiologica, UNAM, Queretaro. They presented a two-day workshop forthe Miledi students and members of the university. In December 2009, the Committee will coordinate a symposium at theSociety of Neuroscience in Africa (SONA) Congress in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The symposium will discuss animal andhuman ethics (The Value of Ethics in Conducting Research).

NEUROSCIENCENEWS FROM IBRO

IBRO congratulates Rita Levi-Montalcini on her 100th yearRita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel laureate, celebrated her 100th birthday in April thisyear. Promoter of science in Italy and supporter of women in science,Rita Levi-Montalcini achieved a career of distinction. In 1986 she wasawarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, shared withher colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of Nerve Growth Factor. In 2002IBRO received a generous donation from the Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation tocreate two fellowships for young women neuroscientists from Africa. TheFoundation, established by Rita Levi-Montalcini and her late sister Paola, iscommitted to the education of African girls and young women.The fellowships are ongoing and have been most successful.Rita Levi- Montalcini once said: "It is imperative to help the young, especiallywomen, working in places where there is little support for science."

Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen,Rome, April 22, 2009

NEUROSCIENCENEWS FROM IBRO

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Increase in IBRO’s affiliatedorganizationsPakistan Society of Basic and AppliedNeuroscience is IBRO’s 84th affiliated member

The Pakistan Society of Basic and Applied Neuroscience (PSBAN) is IBRO’slatest affiliated organization (AO), bringing the total number of AOs to 84.The Society is represented by Prof. Dr. Kaneez Fatima Shad, Secretary ofthe Society. PSBAN was launched at the Dr. Panjwani Center for MolecularMedicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical andBiological Sciences, University of Karachi, Pakistan in 2007 and registeredin May 2008.

A message from the Chief EditorOle Petter Ottersen reports: A primary goal of any science journal is to attract the best manuscripts from the leadinglaboratories and to improve further these manuscripts through a fair and competent peer review process. We know thatthe physical appearance of the journal is important, as is the quality of the publishing services and the reviewing andeditorial procedures are important. Neuroscience scores high on these counts, as judged by authors' satisfactionsurveys. But even more critical is the speed by which the manuscripts are handled. Every scientist would like to seethat a decision is made as swiftly as possible. Thus a short time to first decision represents a major competitiveadvantage for any journal. Neuroscience decided in 2005 that a primary goal of the journal was to cut down the timeto first decision to 30 days. This goal was reached in 2006 and the time to first decision has remained under 30 daysever since. In 2007 Neuroscience launched a new category of paper: Neuroscience Forefront Reviews. They are byinvitation only and will be written by leading scientists who have introduced new concepts, models or methods inneurobiology. We hope that the Forefront Reviews will emerge as reference papers in the respective fields. The ForefrontReviews will be an addition to the regular reviews.

Imaging team win Neuroscience Cover CompetitionThe winning cover of IBRO’s annual Neuroscience cover competition for 2008 is from an article by F. Luo, T.R.Seifert, R. Edalji, R.W. Loebbert, V.P. Hradil, J. Harlan, M. Schmidt, V. Nimmrich, B.F. Cox, and G.B. Fox, of theAbbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL , USA. The article, 'Non-invasive characterization of -amyloid1-40 vasoactivityby functional magnetic resonance imaging in mice', published in Neuroscience, Vol. 155, Issue 1 (2008), 263-269.Co-author Dr Gerard Fox described the research: "The main objective of our Experimental Imaging team, locatedwithin Advanced Technology at Abbott Laboratories, is to develop, apply and translate non-invasive in vivo imagingin a focused manner to directly impact and de-risk preclinical drug discovery programs, and to effectively translatethese capabilities to clinical programs across our pharmaceutical division. This paper represents an application offMRI that allows us to assess the functional effects of exogenous amyloid beta administration and it is this point thatwe attempted to convey on the cover image.”

Neuroscience the journal

IBRO Information SystemsThe purpose of IBRO Information Systems is to support of IBRO’sfundamental mission - to serve more than 45000 IBRO members throughmore than 20 programmes guided by some 300 committee members, theGoverning Council representing 85 affiliated organizations, and the coreadministration. The major areas of support include:

• Identifying, coordinating and securing the distribution of information andservices to the IBRO community, in particular, the maintenance of web sites,all interactive data collection for IBRO schools and funding programmes, ahelpline for members at large (help@ibro.info) and the analysis of datahelping the IBRO governance to understand the numerous activities ofIBRO.• Maintaining the secure, state-of-the-art and cost-effective infrastructurewith a continuous pursuit for the best choices for growth. • Establishing strategic development planning within the budgetary andhuman resource constraint taking into consideration the lifecycle ofproducts and services.

IBRO members: please update your details in the IBRO Members databasefor the latest information about IBRO’s activities.

Honours for distinguished neuroscientistsand IBRO membersGeorge Paxinos, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute and University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, wasadmitted to the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) in May this year. Prof. Paxinos is Chair of IBRO’s World Congress andRegional Meetings Committee. He is distinguished as a neuroscientist on construction of brain and spinal cord atlases.As quoted from the Australian Academy of Science: “Election to the Fellowship recognises a career that has significantlyadvanced the world's store of scientific knowledge.”

Ying Shing Chan, University of Hong Kong and Chair, IBRO Asia Pacific Regional Committee, 2002-8, was awarded the firstAustralian Neuroscience Society (ANS) Medallion at a ceremony at the SfN meeting in Washington, DC, 2008. The Medallionwas awarded in appreciation of Prof. Chan's services to neuroscience in the Asia Pacific region of the world. ANS PresidentDavid Vaney stated: "The Society appreciates the seminal contributions that YS has made to the Asia Pacific RegionalCommittee of IBRO … we also appreciate his long service to the Executive Committee of the Federation of Asian-OceanianNeuroscience Societies (FAONS).”

Sten Grillner, Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, was awarded the Kavli Prize for Neurosciencein September 2008 in Oslo, Norway. He was one of three scientists who won the neuroscience prize: the other two were PaskoRakic, Yale University School of Medicine, US and Thomas Jessell, Columbia University, US. Sten Grillner is Chair of IBRO'sMemberships and Partnerships Committee and is also President-Elect of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies(FENS). The Kavli Prizes are awarded in the research fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Their founder isthe Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist Fred Kavli.

Young Investigator Visiting Program

The Organizing Committee of the 8th IBRO World Congress ofNeuroscience, to be held in Florence, Italy, July 14-19, 2011, is to launch aTraining Program for selected young investigators from countries withlimited resources. The Program will arrange, on the occasion of the 8thIBRO World Congress, one-month stays in European laboratories, whichwill allow guest young investigators to meet senior and junior scientists andbecome familiar with the laboratory’s environment, facilities and techniquesin different fields of brain research, and to favour future exchanges andnetworking. Lodging expenses and travel fare to or from Florence (beforeor after the Congress) will be covered by the Young Investigator VisitingProgram. The application will be launched in 2009, and the call forapplications and application forms will be available on the Congress website www.ibro2011.org and on the IBRO web site www.ibro.info. For moreinformation contact the Chair of the Young Investigator Visiting ProgramCommittee, Micaela Morelli: morelli@unica.it

8th IBRO World Congress ofNeuroscience, Florence, Italy,July 14-19, 2011

six

IBRO’s Regions continue to develop and expand their neuroscience networks

Official Master Program, Seville, Spain

IBRO is able through its six Regions to give neuroscientists in different partsof the world a direct voice in defining their needs and priorities in researchand science education. The Regional Committees identify and prioritizespecific activities relevant to their individual Region.

Africa Regional Committee (ARC): Chair Abdul Mohammed. ANeuroimmunology School was held at the College of Medicine of the SuezCanal University, Ismailia, Egypt, Nov 24-Dec 3, 2008 (organizers: YasserWazir, Nilesh Patel and Krister Kristensson) and supported by UNESCO andARC IBRO. The main topic was infectious diseases of the brain, highlyprevalent in the African continent. AnAdvanced Behavioural NeuroscienceSchool (organizers: A. Mohammed andN. Patel) was held at ICIPE (InternationalCentre of Insect Physiology andEcology), Nairobi, Kenya, Dec 13-20,2008. The focus was to provide detailedinformation on methodology and runningexperiments, collect and analyse data,and present the results of theirexperiments. A highlight of the students’presentation was the talk by Rita Levi-Montalcini Fellow 2008, CatherineGatome, on Neurogenesis in Fruit-eatingBats. The Association pour la Promotiondes Neurosciences (APRONES) held its2nd International Congress inKinshasa, DR Congo, May 25-26, 2009, in collaboration with the CongoleseLeague against Epilepsy and the League against Hypertension. The congresswith the themes Epilepsy and Stroke was organized under the auspices ofPresident Joseph Kabila (organizers: P.M.K. Luabeya and T. Kayembe). Asymposium Environmental Toxicant-induced Neurodegeneration was heldin Kinshasa (DR Congo), May 28, 2009, organized by the NeuroscienceEducation Forum (NEF) and sponsored by IBRO. The organizers also receivedsubstantial financial support from the Center for Research on Occupationaland Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at the Oregon Health and SciencesUniversity. The symposium brought together an international team ofspeakers; participants included 15 young doctoral candidates from Congoleseuniversities and research centres. The 2nd Regional Teaching Course (RTC)in the Neurological Sciences in Sub-Saharan Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,June 24-27, 2009, was a joint collaboration between EFNS, WFN and IBROand hosted by the Neurology Dept (G. Zenebe), Addis Ababa University (AAU)and the Association of Neurological Sciences of Ethiopia at the Black LionHospital in Addis. European and African faculty members shared theirknowledge and experience, encouraging neurologists in training to excellencein practice and research. An IBRO school Infections and Brain Dysfunction:Sleep, Epilepsy and Behaviour took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, August25-30, 2009 (organizers: A.K. Njamnshi and K. Kristensson). A neuroscienceschool focusing on Clinical Neurophysiology and Diseases of the NervousSystem was organized at the Nemba Hospital Training Centre, GakenkeDistrict, Rwanda, August 31-Sept 5, 2009 (organizers: P.M.K. Luabeya, D.Katumbay-Tshiala and R. Kalaria).

Asia Pacific Regional Committee (APRC): Chair Hitoshi Okamoto. (A)Schools: Our structured 3-tier programmes provide different learningplatforms for young neuroscientists at different stages of their career. 1.Associate Schools: 5-day, lectures, group discussion (on relevant journalarticles) and demonstration of selected techniques. a) 12th Associate School(Shanghai, China), June 16–21, 2008. Co-sponsored by International Societyfor Neurochemistry and Asia-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (organizer:Yi-Zhun Zhu, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, China). 27 students werefrom Bangladesh, China, India, Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.Students also attended the 8th Biennial Scientific Meeting of the Asian-PacificSociety for Neurochemistry. 2. Schools: 2-week school, lectures, tutorials andwell-defined lab projects (25 students). a) 10th IBRO School ofNeuroscience (Kolkata, India), Dec 29, 2008-Jan 8, 2009 (organizer:Kochupurackal P Mohanakumar, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology). b) 11thIBRO School of Neuroscience (Hong Kong, China), Jan 7-17, 2009 (organizer:Prof. Wing-Ho Yung, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Prof. Ken K.L.Yung, Hong Kong Baptist University). Twenty-four participants also presentedtheir own research work at the 6th Asian Biophysics Association Symposiumcum Annual Scientific Conference of the Hong Kong Society of Neurosciences(Hong Kong, Jan 12-15, 2009). 3. Advanced Schools: Emphasis on problem-based learning in the design of research projects using state-of-the-arttechnology of the host institute. a) 3rd IBRO Advanced School ofNeuroscience (Osaka, Japan), July 14–25, 2008. Co-sponsored by GlobalCenter of Excellence Summer School, Osaka University (organizer: IzumiOhzawa, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University). Someparticipants attended RIKEN BSI Summer School after the school. b) ANS-IBRO Australasian-Asia-Pacific Summer School on Neuroethology (ANUKioloa Coastal Campus, Australia), Jan 20-27, 2009 (organizer: Jan M. Hemmiand Jochen Zeil, Australia National University); co-sponsored by the AustralianNeuroscience Society. Participants had a chance to present their ownresearch work at the ANS Annual Conference held in Canberra (Jan 27-30,2009). (B) Exchange Fellowship Scheme: Four candidates (from China,Hong Kong and India) were awarded fellowships.

Central and Eastern Europe Regional Committee (CEERC): Chair RyszardPrzewlocki. Our committee continues to encourage and support educationalprogrammes within the region with special emphasis on empoweringnetworking between young neuroscientists. To facilitate access to region-specific information, a new CEERC site was created within the IBRO web siteand is maintained by committee members. The committee has supported

meetings of the national neuroscience societies with international participationfrom the region, e.g. the 12th Meeting of the Hungarian NeuroscienceSociety, Budapest, Hungary, Jan 22-24, 2009. We supported internationalconferences and symposia organized in the region: an international symposiumNeuroimaging of Developmental Disorders, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Sept 12-16, 2008, with scientists from more than 14 countries; an IBRO/UNESCOWorkshop: Animal Issues in Scientific Research, Yerevan, Armenia, Oct 22-23,2008; and a large conference on Mechanisms of the Neuronal andNeuroendocrine Regulations, Moscow, Nov 24-26, 2008, organized by theKoltzov Institute of Developmental Biology RAS, the Pavlov RussianPhysiology Society and the Dept of Biological Sciences of the RussianAcademy of Sciences. We supported the Slovenian SiNAPSA NeuroscienceConference with an Educational Workshop on Memory, Ljubljana, Sept 26-29, 2009; the 9th International Congress of the Polish NeuroscienceSociety, Wierzba, Poland, Sept 1-6, 2009, the first FENS Featured RegionalMeeting; and Sleep as a Window to the World of Wakefulness, Rostov-on-Don, Sept 21-22, 2009, organized by the Russian Somnological Society (RSS)and sponsored by the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation (RHSF).CEERC also supported students from the CEERC Mediterranean region toparticipate in the First Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School ofNeuroscience on the neuroscience of synapse, Naples, Italy, Sept 21-30,2009. A collaborative effort between CEERC and WERC has resulted inestablishing a successful PENS schools programme. The co-operation shouldbe further strengthened by activation of interregional networking and mobilityof young scientists. This aim could be achieved by promoting short researchgoal-directed visits between labs. The programme will allow young scientiststo carry out collaborative studies, learn new techniques, and write joint papersand grant applications. One of the programme objectives is to attract younginvestigators from the WERC region to visit and work in CEERC labs.

Latin America Regional Committee (LARC): Chair Osvaldo Uchitel. (1)Schools: IV IBRO School of Neuroscience, Brazil, Aug. 25-Sept. 11, 2008,focused on stem cells, developmental neuroscience and plasticity, andcognitive neuroscience, carried out in connection with NEUROLATAM (seebelow). The 5th Latin American IBRO-LARC Annual School of Neuroscience,Argentina, Dec. 1-15, 2008, focused on protein folding and aggregation inneurons: from development to disease. The now traditional regional 14th LatinAmerican School of Neurosciences, Uruguay, March 16-April 3, 2009, focusedon several aspects of neuroscience. (2) Courses, workshops and symposia:Fifteen events were carried out in connection with NEUROLATAM. Thefollowing events were approved for the second semester of 2009: MotivatedBehavior, Stress and Addiction: From Molecules to Behavior (Chile); Molecular& Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Damage: Therapeutic Approaches (Chile);Molecular Basis of Neurodegeneration (Cuba); Psychotropic, Recreative andTherapeutic Drugs (Argentina); 15th International Symposium on ChromaffinCell Biology (Mexico); Mother-Child Relationships (Uruguay); and New Trendsin Motor Learning and Brain Plasticity (Argentina). (3) Intraregional exchangeawards: This programme supports travel of students and postdocs to regionalmeetings or to research/training stays in other labs within the region. In thesecond semester of 2008, out of 155 applications 82 were approved forattendance to NEUROLATAM with extra funds from IBRO Central to LARCand three were approved for research/training lab stays. In 2009, 18 awardsfor attendance to meetings and six for research/training stays were granted.(4) NEUROLATAM: The 1st Neuroscience Congress of Latin America, theCaribbean and the Iberian Peninsula (NEUROLATAM) was held in Buzios,Brazil, Sept. 1-4, 2008 with great success. Much of LARC funding normallyallocated to activities throughout the year was awarded to activities inconnection with NEUROLATAM. IBRO Central also made a specialcontribution to this congress. (5) FALAN: Following a decision taken at

NEUROLATAM, representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, CostaRica, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela founded the Federation ofNeuroscience Societies of Latin America and the Caribbean (FALAN) inMontevideo, Uruguay, April 2, 2009, during the 14th Latin American School ofNeurosciences, with special support from IBRO Central. The first electedPresident of FALAN is Rommy von Bernhardi (Chile). (6) LARC: The annualLARC committee meeting was held at the same time in Uruguay. Newmembers joined the committee, which now comprises Osvaldo Uchitel (Chair),Horacio Vanegas (Vice-Chair), Mario Guido (Treasurer), Alonso Fernandez-Guasti, Dora Fix Ventura, Luiz Carlos de Lima Silveira, Alejandro Munera andFernando Torrealba.

US/Canada Regional Committee (IAC-USNC): Chair Carol Barnes. TheSociety for Neuroscience (SfN), the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the

Canadian Association for Neuroscience (CAN) and the Canadian Institute ofNeuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA) of the CanadianInstitutes of Health Research (CIHR) worked with the IAC-USNC on a numberof activities to further IBRO’s objectives. Financial support for the committee’sactivities is provided by the National Institutes of Health NeuroscienceBlueprint and SfN, as well as IBRO and specific activity supporters. Coursesand workshops in other regions: The IAC-USNC supported the 5th EgeBiennial International Neuroscience Graduate Summer School, Neuro-GlialInteractions from Womb to Tomb in Health & Disease, Izmir, Turkey, June 29-July 3, 2009. The course was targeted at junior scientists and aimed toadvance the knowledge and technical skills of neuroscientists from Turkey,the Balkans, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Turkic States, and theBlack Sea Region. The next Teaching Tools Workshop will be held in Egypt inDecember 2009 in conjunction with the SONA conference. As in past years,the Grass Foundation and SfN will continue to support the Ricardo MilediProgram. A course entitled Miledi's Contributions to Translational Science:Basic Neurobiology and Clinical Aspects will be held at Universidad NacionalAutónoma de México, Juriquilla, Queretaro, Sept 14-Oct 9, 2009. IBRO NorthAmerican Schools: The committee worked with IBRO’s Board of Schoolsand the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and Cold Spring HarborLaboratory (CSHL) to identify highly qualified research trainees (IBRO alumni)to participate in summer neuroscience courses there. Eight students fromHungary, India, Latin America and South Africa were awarded funds. The 3rdCanadian IBRO School in Neurodegeneration and Regeneration was held inVancouver, May 24-June 3, 2009. Twelve students from seven differentcountries attended the course, with students from the Asia Pacific regionenrolling for the first time since the school began. Travel Fellowships: Inaddition to the CSHL, MBL and Ricardo Miledi travel fellowships, SfNsupported 30 students from resource-restricted countries to present theirresearch at SfN 2009, Chicago, IL. Committee Realignment: The IAC-USNC(International Affairs Committee-US National Committee for IBRO) hasseparated into two committees. The programmes and activities supported bythe IAC-USNC are continuing, but will be carried out by either the Society forNeuroscience’s International Affairs Committee or by IBRO’s US-CanadaRegional Committee. Each committee remains dedicated to the disseminationof knowledge to the world's neuroscientists, the promotion of research andprofessional training activities across international borders, and theenhancement of public awareness of neuroscience worldwide.

Western Europe Regional Committee (WERC): Chair Monica Di Luca. TheWERC aims to foster neuroscience in Western European countries, promotingmobility in and out of Europe and sustaining educational programmes. In 2009many initiatives, conferences and schools were supported to generate aEuropean platform for exchanges for our young colleagues. We supportedthe 3rd Edition of the Official Master Program on Neurosciences andBehavioral Biology, Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain, organized byJosé Delgado García. The school provides Spanish-speaking postgraduatestudents with adequate training to obtain a PhD in Neuroscience andBehavioral Biology. The Pablo de Olavide University also provides the wholelegal framework necessary to extend validation of the corresponding officialdegrees to all the foreign universities and institutions collaborating with theprogram. We awarded travel grants to PhD students and young postdocsattending the 5th International Meeting Steroids and Nervous System,Torino, Italy, Feb 14-18, 2009, organized by R. Melcangi and G. C. Panzica,and the symposium New Frontiers in Neurophotonics, Bordeaux, France,Oct 20-23, 2008, organized by Daniel Choquet, a new programme coveringnon-linear optics for neuroscience, new probes for imaging, high-resolutionimaging of neuronal structures and functions, and nanoscale organization ofthe synapse. New initiatives launched in 2009: The InEUROPE (IntraEuropeanMobility Project) funds study visits to European institutions by researchersworking in Europe to acquire new methods or specific techniques that arenecessary for their work. This project is a close collaboration between CEERCand WERC and will be open soon for application. WERC supported aprogramme for training and short visits of young investigators from countrieswith limited resources in European laboratories; this will take effect at theIBRO Congress 2011 in Florence, Italy. WERC helped the committee (M.Morelli and M. Pizzi, Italian Society of Neuroscience, and L. Fagni, FrenchSociety of Neurosciences) to create a network of European Institutionsoffering training for young investigators and to disseminate the initiatives inresearch and academic institutions in less well-funded countries. Finally,WERC continued its cooperation with CEERC and FENS (Federation ofEuropean Neuroscience Societies) on the PENS (Programme of EuropeanNeuroscience Schools) committee, whose primary goal under the guidance ofRoberto Caminiti is to organize the PENS schools.

NEWS FROM THEREGIONS 2008-2009

Rita Levi-Montalcini FellowCatherine Gatome speaks

in Nairobi

Foundation of FALAN

EDUCATION & TRAINING2008-2009

w w w . i b r o . i n f o seven

Advanced School on Neuroethology, Canberra

IBRO has unique expertise and experience in training programmesthat focus on fostering international contacts in brain research. Since1999, IBRO has run a Neuroscience Schools Programme, organizedby the committees of the IBRO’s six Regions of the world and aimedat creating interactive networks among students and teachers duringtraining courses. Twenty-nine schools are planned for 2009; aselection of reports for 2008-09 follows.

Africa Region

Workshop on Chronobiology and Sleep: Ouarzazate, Morocco,Oct 20-27, 2008. The school was a joint venture between IBRO,UNESCO IBRO-IBSP (International Basic Sciences Programme) andthe International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN) and was also inpartnership with the Province of Ouarzazate. Students were fromEgypt, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, DRC, Kenya, Senegal andSouth Africa. The workshop included two days of lectures open tothe public at the Palais des Congrès, Ourzazate, with wideparticipation of school students. Afternoons were devoted totechnical workshops on video track recording of the study of animalactivity and behaviour and neuronal stimulation using The NerveNetwork Software (Dr Sernagor), and workshops on experimentdesign, statistical analysis and setting up a lab in Africa. A three-hour session was spent on 10-min presentations by each student.A 90-min session dealt with resources available to students in Africafrom IBRO and ISN programmes.

Neuroimmunology of Disease Course: Ismailia, Egypt, Nov 24-Dec 3, 2008. Thirty students came from South Africa, Kenya,Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Yemen and Egypt. The first part ofthe school was devoted to basic immunology covering thefundamentals of innate and adaptive immune responses,cytokines/chemokines and signalling molecules in immune defence.Lab work included ELISA, immunofluorescence and immune fixationtechniques for selection of monoclonal bands. The second partpresented an overview of the basics of the nervous system and itsinteraction with the immune system in health and disease, includingthe immune-mediated disorders of the nervous system. Labdemonstrations involved perfusion and brain dissection,immunohistochemistry of brain sections, culture of nervous tissues,and ionic channel analyses. A UNESCO IBRO-IBSP partnership.

School on Behavioural Neuroscience: Nairobi, Kenya, Dec 13-20,2008. Students from Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda,Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Cameroon attended the school whichcovered the principles and use of different lab techniques andmethodology in quantitative studies in behaviour. Theappropriateness of the different methods in assessing differentbehavioural and emotional states were included as well asexperimental design, relevant statistical analysis, paper writing,publication process, and elements of proposal writing. The students ran experiments, collected and analysed data and presented theresults. An INMHA/UNESCO IBRO-IBSP partnership.

Asia Pacific Region

IBRO School of Neuroscience: Hong Kong, Jan 6-17, 2009. TheHong Kong Society of Neuroscience hosted an IBRO School ofNeuroscience with the purpose of providing a platform for seniorPhD students and junior postdoctoral fellows in the Asia Pacificregion to meet in an environment where they could acquireknowledge of both theoretical and technological advances in keyareas of neuroscience research. Attending were 23 participants fromsix countries in the Asia Pacific region.

IBRO-ANS (Australian Neuroscience Society) AdvancedNeuroscience School on Neuroethology: Australian NationalUniversity, Canberra, Australia, Jan 20-27, 2009, in conjunction withthe 2009 ANS Meeting in Canberra, Jan 27-30, 2009.Neuroethologists seek to understand biodiversity from theperspective of neural systems and behaviour. The IBRO-ANS Schoolaimed to provide a forum for the next generation of neuroscientistsfrom across the Australasian and Asia Pacific region to meet andinteract with established neuroethologists from around the world andto get an overview of current neuroethological research in Australia.

Latin America Region

5th Latin American IBRO/LARC-INMHA Annual School ofNeurosciences: Protein Folding and Aggregation in Neurons: FromDevelopment to Disease, Córdoba y Rosario, Argentina, Dec 3-17,2008. In the last few years, a growing body of evidence has emergedthat points to protein misfolding, aggregation and accumulation askey pathogenic events common to most (if not all)neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists from America and Europefocused their teaching on the molecular mechanisms ofneurodegenerative disorders using a multidisciplinary approach. Up-to-date scientific information and state of the art technologies werepresented in the context of protein misfolding and neuronaldysfunction. The course included intense theoretical and practicalsessions and interaction between scientists and students wasencouraged in all academic activities as well as in other dailyactivities that were organized for all participants, such as a sessionfor students’ presentations and round tables.

Latin American Advanced School of Neuroscience: Montevideo,Uruguay, March 16-April 3, 2009. The school was directed byFederico Dajas and Omar Macadar; participants included 28graduate students from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba,Peru, Venezuela, Spain and Uruguay and 40 lecturers. The schoolencompassed the field of neuroscience from cellular and synapticphysiology to systems and behaviour. The lectures included: basicneurophysiology, development and neurogenesis, glia-neuroninteractions, neurodegeneration and neuroprotection, neuralsystems underlying behaviour, and neuroethology. Students carriedout hands-on work and learned different techniques: intracellularrecording, patch clamp, extracellular field recording, cell culture,microdialysis, molecular analysis, immunohistochemistry, hypoxia-ischemia models, behavioural experiments, and modeling. Otheractivities included specialized scientific meetings with local andinvited scientists; round tables on animal care and how to developa scientific career in Latin America; two mini-symposia ‘NeuralCodes and Plasticity’ and ‘Neurodegeneration andNeuroprotection’. The school was sponsored by the InternationalSociety for Neurochemistry (ISN), Agencia Nacional de Investigacióne Innovación (ANII), International Society for Neuroethology (ISN),Programa de Desarrollo de Ciencias Básicas (PEDECIBA), ComisiónSectorial de Investigación Científica (CSIC-UdelaR), Labimed SA,Sociedad de Neurociencias del Uruguay (SNU), and SociedadUruguaya de Biociencias (SUB).

US/Canada

3rd Canadian IBRO School of Neuroscience: Neurodegenerationand Regeneration, Vancouver, Canada, May 24-June 3, 2009.Twelve students from Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, China, India,Morocco, Kenya and Cuba enrolled in the school. There was astrong emphasis on teaching comparative strategies most efficientlyto model neuro-degeneration and apply combinatorial regenerativestrategies. Students were encouraged at each stage to considerhumanistic and ethical principles into their training. The facultycomprised a team of neuroscientists/clinician-scientists bridgingbetween basic science and clinical medicine; they emphasized thepower of collaboration in advancing understanding ofneurodegenerative disease pathology and designing novel repairstrategies. A variety of clinical (PET, MRI) and scientific (confocal, 2-photon) imaging approaches were taught and demonstrated. Thecourse included intense theoretical and practical sessions, andinteraction between scientists and students was promoted in allacademic activities as well as in other daily activities, such as asession for students’ presentations and round tables. National andinternational sponsors were IBRO, Montreal Neurological Institute,Canadian Association of Neurosciences (CAN), INMHA (Canada),IAC-USNC (North American IBRO Regional Committee).

Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe Regions

The Western Europe Regional Committee (WERC), the Central &Eastern Regional Committee (CEERC) and the Federation ofEuropean Neuroscience Societies (FENS) continue theirsuccessful collaboration in the organization of the Programme ofEuropean Neuroscience Schools (PENS). There were sevenschools planned for 2009: Training in Sleep Research and SleepMedicine, Bertinoro, Italy, May 8-13, 2009; European PainSchool, Siena, Italy, June 13-20, 2009; Stress, Drug Addictionand Eating Disorders, Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 21-28, 2009;Metabolic Aspects of Chronic Brain Diseases, Günzburg,Germany, July 9-5, 2009; Advanced Course in ComputationalNeuroscience, Freiburg, Germany, August 3-28, 2009;Neurodevelopmental Programming and Phenotypic Plasticity,Rhodes, Greece, Sept 6-13, 2009; Synaptic Mechanisms andSynaptopathies, Bordeaux, France, Sept 13-Oct 2, 2009

Visiting and Lecture Team Programme

The Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP) runs lecture coursesfor young neuroscience students in less well-funded, often remoteparts of the world. The programme is run by a team of internationalneuroscientists and organized in collaboration with local andregional neuroscience associations. The Grass Foundation has beenthe major partner in funding VLTP courses since 2003.

San José, Costa Rica, July 30-August 6, 2008. Eighty studentsfrom eight Caribbean countries attended the lecture course thataimed to expose them to modern techniques and multidisciplinaryapproaches to study the brain. There were 30 international faculty.The course followed the usual VLTP format: daily one-hour small-group sessions, each group led by one of the VLTP lecturers.Lecturers led a daily 1-2 hour tutorial on how to present 10-min talksfor international meetings.

Asunción, Paraguay, Sept 3-5, 2008. The 40 students participatingwere in the third, fourth and fifth years of medical school and werekeen to learn about modern research on the nervous system. Eachmorning there were three lectures, with the aim of showing studentshow to carry out experiments with limited resources as well aspresenting interesting advances in neurobiology. Each day lecturersmet with three or four groups and carried out experiments.The lecturers discussed the concept of double-blind experiments,how to evaluate data, how to plan the next experiments.

Expansion of Neuroscience Schools around the World

Ouarzazate workshop

Montevideo School

eight

IBRO’S PARTNERSHIPSIN THE WORLD OF NEUROSCIENCE

IBRO in continuingcollaboration withEFNS and WFNRaj Kalaria, former Africa RegionalCommittee (ARC) Chair, reports on ahealthy clinical-basic partnership:“IBRO Africa has been forging stronglinks with the major neurologicalfederations to promote cl inicalneurosciences in Afr ica. Ourcollaboration with the World Federationof Neurology (WFN) and the EuropeanFederation of Neurological Societies(EFNS) continues to thrive. An initiativeled by EFNS President Jacques DeReuck (Belgium) reached anothermilestone in June 2009 with the 2ndRegional Teaching Course (RTC) in theNeurological Sciences with the themesStroke and Epilepsy in Sub-SaharanAfrica, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,June 24-27, 2009; it was a joint co-operation between EFNS, WFN andIBRO and hosted by the NeurologyDept (G. Zenebe), Addis AbabaUniversity (AAU) and the Association ofNeurological Sciences of Ethiopia atthe Black Lion Hospital in Addis.European and African faculty membersshared the i r knowledge andexperience, encouraging neurologistsin training towards excellence inpractice and research. IBRO ARC-SONA has also renewed links withPAANS (Pan African Association ofNeurological Sciences) with the intentof making the African Journal ofNeurological Sciences a more robustpublication. The event was madepossible by generous contributionsfrom UNESCO and IBRO.”

SfN and IBRO work together incommitment to disadvantaged countriesAs part of the group working with the IBRO US/Canada Regional Committee (IAC-USNC), the Society for Neuroscience(SfN) has been involved in a number of activities over the last year, including the 1st Teaching Tools School andNeuroscience Workshop, Saly, Senegal, June 2008; the 2nd Teaching Tools School and Neuroscience Workshop,Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Dec, 2009; 2nd Canadian IBRO School, Montreal, Canada, May, 2008; and the 3rd IBROCanadian School, Vancouver, Canada, May 2009. SfN Travel Grants were awarded to IBRO alumni to participate in theSfN Annual Meeting 2008 as well as MBL (Marine Biology Laboratory) and CSHL (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)summer courses. SfN also contributed funding for one IBRO Return Home Fellowship.

Carol Barnes, Past President and Chair, International Affairs Committee, Society for Neuroscience, commented: “TheIAC-USNC and SfN are pleased with the results of another year of successful collaboration with IBRO in support ofour common goal of advancing neuroscience in developing countries. With the recent enhancements to SfN’sinternational strategy and changes to committee structure, we look forward to a new phase in SfN’s ongoing closecollaboration with IBRO, one that maximizes our organizations’ unique and complementary strengths in pursuit of ourrespective missions.”

UNESCO IBSP-IBRO in Africa, 2008-2010 A partnership between UNESCO’s International BasicSciences Programme (IBSP) and IBRO was formed a year agowith the aim of developing and sustaining brain researchacross the African continent. In March 2009 in Paris, theUNESCO Director General published a report, TheDevelopment and Outcomes of the International BasicSciences Programme, in which is described “the developmentof the IBRO/UNESCO African Neuroscience Network thatseeks to establish effective research collaboration betweennational institutions, increase the quantity and quality ofneuroscience training in Africa, facilitate the access of Africantrainees to schools and courses organized in other regionsand encourage and support the return to their home countryof well-trained African researchers.” The enterprise,sometimes also involving other partners (European Federationof Neurological Societies, World Federation of Neurology, Society for Neuroscience, Institute of Neurosciences, MentalHealth and Addiction) has proved to be highly successful with schools and workshops being held across Africa, fromSenegal to Morocco, Rwanda to Ghana, DR Congo to Egypt.

Neurosciencenetworking inLatin AmericaThe foundation of the Federation ofNeuroscience Societies of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean (FALAN) inMontevideo, Uruguay on April 2, 2009was witnessed by IBRO Secretary-General Marina Bentivoglio and markedthe beginning of a new liaison betweenthe Federation and IBRO. OsvaldoUchitel, Latin America RegionalCommittee (LARC) Chair, predicts:“FALAN will soon play a prominent rolei n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h eneurosciences in Latin America bybecoming an international voice toincrease awareness on the subject.FALAN’s main goals are focused infostering the interaction between thescientific communities in our continentby creating networks and organizingmeetings with significant participationof students and young scientists.”

Rommy von Bernhardi, President ofFALAN, commented: “IBRO’s knowhowand administrative organization will bevery valuable for the establishment ofFALAN’s structure and initial activities.IBRO will also be needed partially tosupport some activities, especiallythose oriented to the empowerment ofthe smaller neuroscience communitiesthat lack resources. FALAN expects topromote development of neurosciencein the underrepresented countries byorganizing regional thematic advancedcourses taught by neuroscientists fromthe region."

Asia Pacific energy in brain researchOn her visit to Japan, Korea and China in July, Secretary-General MarinaBentivoglio met many distinguished neuroscientists and experienced firsthand theimpressive development of neuroscience in those countries. At RIKEN Institute,near Tokyo, Japan, Prof. Bentivoglio met Tadaharu Tsumoto, President of theJapan Neuroscience Society (JNS), who expressed a highly positive view of IBRO’sworldwide activities. Prof. Tsumoto represents JNS, a distinguished member ofIBRO, on the IBRO Governing Council. IBRO congratulates JNS for its growth,welcomes its plans to promote internationalization and collaboration.

With a large number of academic institutions having set neuroscience as a priorityin the life sciences, and with very active exchanges between Japanese andChinese neuroscience communities, brain research is flourishing in South Korea.In Seoul Marina Bentivoglio met Prof. Yoo-Hun Suh, Director, the NeuroscienceResearch Institute, the Cognitive Science Institute, and the National CreativeResearch Institute Center for Alzheimer’s Dementia, also a member of IBRO’s AsiaPacific Regional Committee, and Prof. Kyungjin Kim, Director of a nationwideresearch program, the 21st Frontier Program in Neuroscience. President of theKorean Society for Brain and Neural Science, an affiliated member of IBRO. Opento collaboration, Korean neuroscience will strengthen its ties with IBRO ininternational initiatives. In addition to the Korean Society for Brain and NeuralScience, the Societies for Brain Imaging and for Neurodegenerative Diseases (Prof.Yoo-Hun Sun is President of the latter) have been founded in South Korea in recentyears, bridging the basic and translational neurosciences. IBRO looks withadmiration and high expectations at the growing Korean neuroscience community,with which joint ventures will increasingly be established.

The rapidly expanding neuroscience community in China is becoming a “Dragon”of Chinese science and maintains strong ties with IBRO, with whom it has been aclose partner since IBRO’s foundation. Ever keen to strengthen internationalcooperation, China has hosted many IBRO activities (especially IBRO schools)both on the mainland and in Hong Kong. Emerging onto the Asian and global stageof brain research, Chinese institutions are now recruiting Chinese investigatorstrained abroad (Europe, USA, Japan) as well as foreign scientists. In Beijing, Xi’an,Hangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong, where centres of excellence have beenestablished, Prof. Bentivoglio met many Chinese neuroscientists who play leadingroles in Chinese neuroscience. IBRO will stand close by the “Neuro-Dragon” as it

plays an increasing role in IBRO activities inthe pursuit for worldwide cooperation in brain

research. She also received a warm welcome from colleagues of the TaiwaneseSociety for Neuroscience, with fruitful discussions about the present and futurework on brain research in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Tainan.

Former APRC Chair Ying Shing Chan describes the importance of partnership:“IBRO-APRC has through its schools created learning platforms for training youngneuroscientists; it also maintains a close interaction with the Federation of Asian-Oceanian Neuroscience Societies (FAONS). IBRO’s role in our region has escalatedsteadily thanks to the enthusiasm of newly elected leaders of nationalneuroscience societies in the region.”

Ismailia School: IBRO Secretary-General MarinaBentivoglio centre at table

PENS, FENSand EuropeAcross Europe there is a large networkingfactor emerging. PENS (Programme ofEuropean Neuroscience Schools) is a jointIBRO/FENS (Federation of EuropeanNeuroscience Societies) programme thatnot only trains students and younginvestigators throughout Europe, but alsoassists the development of neuroscienceoutside Europe by training promisingstudents who intend to return to their homecountries. FENS President HelmutKettenman says: “FENS sees itself as partand partner of IBRO. Our commoninitiative, the PENS schools, is acontinuous success and a highlight ofFENS activities.” The Western EuropeRegional Committee (WERC) and Central &Eastern Europe Committee (WERC) workwith FENS in the running of the PENSschools; the successful collaborationcontinues. CEERC Chair RyszardPrzewlocki says of this collaborative effort(CEERC/WERC) that “the co-operationshould be further strengthened byactivation of interregional networking andmobility of young scientists. This could beachieved by promoting short research visitsbetween labs.” In her report on WERCactivities (see p. 6), Monica Di Lucadescribes the new project InEUROPE(IntraEuropean Mobility Project), whichfunds study visits to European institutionsby European researchers to acquire newtechniques, as “a close collaborationbetween CEERC and WERC.”

The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) hasrecently joined the European network: SfN,FENS (Federation of EuropeanNeuroscience Societies), IBRO and PENSare organizing the first joint PENS-SfNSchool in Naples, Italy, March 2010:http://mars.glia.mdc-berlin.de/pens

Kyungjin Kim, Marina Bentivoglioand Yoo-Hun Suh, Seoul, Korea

Marina Bentivoglio with Qunyuan Xu, CapitalMedical University, Beijing, China

Masao Ito (RIKEN) and HitoshiOkamoto (APRC Chair), Tokyo, Japan