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© IBRO International Brain Research Organization

In this issue:Funding 2

Fellows & Alumni 3

Neuroscience News 4-5

Regions & Training 6-7

IBRO’S Initiatives 8

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

As IBRO celebrates its 50th year in 2011, the organization – along with the Italian Society of Neuroscience (SINS) – invitesthe world’s neuroscientists to Florence, Italy, for the 8th IBRO World Congress, taking place July 14-18. Hosted once everyfour years in collaboration with an IBRO member society, the IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience is a seminal, worldwideevent reflecting IBRO’s core mission of promoting international collaboration and exchange of scientific information.

THE WORLD’S NEUROSCIENTISTSTO CONVENE IN FLORENCE IN 2011IBRO celebrates its 50th year with the 8th IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience

“IBRO is the major international society for neuroscience, as itsscientific interests are very broad and its core mission is todiffuse neuroscience throughout the entire world, beyondnational interests,” said Domenico Pellegrini, the executivesecretary of the 2011 IBRO World Congress. “We look forwardto hosting neuroscientists from all countries at the IBRO WorldCongress in Florence, one of the most historic and beautifulcities in the world.”

“The target participants are neuroscientists of every age and level, from allcountries in the world,” said Dr. Pelligrini. “In particular, the IBRO meeting willgive the opportunity to scientists and students from countries with limitedresources to present their scientific achievements, to meet their more expert andsenior colleagues, to establish collaborations and to plan exchange visits.”

To this aim, a large programme has been launched for young people to take theopportunity to spend one month in European Laboratories in the period of themeeting. The Young Investigator Programme, organized by the IBRO CongressCommittee, will arrange visits of selected young scientists from countries withlimited resources in European laboratories for one month in conjunction with theIBRO meeting.

“The Young Investigators Programme was a key factor in selecting Florence asthe site the IBRO World Congress in 2011,” said IBRO President CarlosBelmonte. “We are pleased with the Florence Organizing Comittee’s efforts inreaching out to regions of the world that need assistance, and interfacing withlaboratories across Europe to provide valuable training opportunities. Inaddition, IBRO has also set aside a fund to help as many deservingneuroscientists as possible with travel to Florence to attend the IBRO WorldCongress.”

Florence, a literal open-air museum that was the heart of the ItalianRenaissance, is regarded by many as the art capital of Italy and was declared aWorld Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Attendees will enjoy the beautifulskyline outlined by the domes of the many Florentine churches on the way tothe congress centre, strolling along the same streets Michelangelo and Dantewalked through in their time. The gardens and palaces, together with the Uffizi’spaintings, will provide a magnificent background for this meeting.

The IBRO 2011 World Congress will take place at the Fortezza da Basso, aMedicean fortress located in the heart of Florence, within walking distance tomajor hotels, the central train station, museums and tourist attractions. MostCongress delegates will be accommodated within walking distance of thefortress, ranging from 5-star hotels to budget/student accommodation.For more information on the meeting, please visit the IBRO World Congress2011 Web site: www.ibro2011.org.

Important Dates

IBRO Travel Grantsapplication deadline:February 1, 2011

Abstract submission closed:March 31, 2011

Early Registration deadline(with discounted rate):March 31, 2011

Deadline for onlineregistration: June 15, 2011

Carlos Belmonte, IBRO President

Carlos Belmonte elected forsecond term as IBRO President,sets sights on formalizinginter-regional activitiesThe IBRO Governing Council has elected Dr. Carlos Belmonte, who ranuncontested, for a second term as IBRO President. During his term in office asIBRO Secretary-General from 1998-2001, Dr. Belmonte made several lastingcontributions, including the reorganization of IBRO into six regions based on

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The scientific content will span all aspects of international neuroscience, withthe following plenary lectures:

Fifty Years of IBROAlbert Aguayo (McGill University, Canada)

The neurobiology of pain and its controlAllan I. Basbaum (University of California, San Francisco, USA)

Molecular genetics of neurodegenerative dementiasChristine van Broeckhoven (University of Antwerp, Belgium)

Optical technologies for probing neural signals and systemsKarl Deisseroth (Stanford University, USA)

Motivational value in the human brainRay J. Dolan (University College London, UK)

Regulation and function of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampal formationFred H. Gage (Salk Institute, USA)

Defining the neuronal circuitry of fearAndreas Lüthi (University of Basel, Switzerland)

Visualizing circuits in the developing visual systemJoshua R. Sanes (Harvard University, USA)

Local control of synaptic functionErin M. Schuman (Max Planck Institute, Germany)

Useful signals from the motor cortexAndrew B. Schwartz (University of Pittsburgh, USA)

In addition, 20 symposia and 40 workshops will round out the educationalprogramme, as well as poster presentations and satellite meetings.

Visit the IBROWorld Congress

Web site:www.ibro2011.org

IBROannounces its2011 ResearchFellowsIBRO has awarded three promisingyoung researchers with one-yearresearch fellowships in order tobroaden the scope of theirneuroscience training by workingabroad in high-quality laboratories:

Cecilia Hanzel: 2011IBRO ResearchFellowDuring her fellowshipat McGill University(Canada), CeciliaHanzel, from Argentina,will explore the role of the intracellularA peptides in an early inflammationprocess in Alzheimer’s disease.

Shruti Baijal: 2011Rita Levi-MontalciniResearch FellowThe fellowship willallow Shruti Baijal,from India, to getextensive experiencewith fMRI at the University of Miami(USA) and will advance her theoreticalbackground on executive control.

Yohannes Woldeamanuel,2011 John G NichollsFellowYohannes Woldeamanual,from Ethiopia, willperform research at theAlbert Einstein Collegeof Medicine (USA) that he hopes willsomeday help to improve outcomes inneonatal status epilepticus.

IBRO’S FUNDING2010 - 2011

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InEurope IBRO-APRC PROLAB IBRO-LARC Exchange Short StaysFellowships

To facilitate within Europe within the Asia- among Latin normally withinlaboratory (the Western Pacific Region American and the Latinexchanges… Europe and Caribbean America Region

Central & NeuroscienceEastern Europe research groupsregions)

Available to… Ph.D. students Postdoctoral Ph.D. students Priority givenand post- fellows, junior and post- to doctoraldoctoral faculty, and doctoral students andfellows senior Ph.D. fellows postdocs

students with agood publicationrecord

Age Limit 35 45 No age limit 40

Length of stay Up to four Four to Three to Not specifiedweeks six months six months

Funding Up to 3000 Up to US Up to 3000 Up to 1000 available euros $8,500 euros euros

PresidentCarlos Belmonte (Spain)

Secretary-GeneralPierre Magistretti (Switzerland)

TreasurerSteve Redman (Australia)

Treasurer-ElectQuentin Pittman (Canada)

Regional Committee ChairsAbdul Mohammed (Africa)Hitoshi Okamoto (Asia/Pacific)Ryszard Przewlocki (Central &Eastern Europe)Osvaldo Uchitel (Latin America)Gregory Quirk (U.S./Canada)Juan Lerma (Western Europe)

IBRO Secretariat255 rue Saint-Honoré 75001 Paris, FrancePhone: +33 1 46 47 92 92Fax: +33 1 46 47 42 50

Executive DirectorStephanie de La Rochefoucauldstephanie@ibro.info

Director of Programmes& CommunicationsRobynn Rockstad-Rexrobynn@ibro.info

IBRO Webmaster & Head of ITAnte Padjenante.padjen@mcgill.ca

IBRO News Editor in ChiefRobynn Rockstad-Rexrobynn@ibro.info

Symposia &Workshopsrecipients 2010Asia Pacific RegionGhose (India): Third SERC School inNeurosciences – Imaging the NervousSystem, December 2009 McLachlan (Australia): CurrentNeuroscience Research across theAsia-Pacific Region, February 2010

Latin America RegionCardona Gomez (Colombia): VIIEncuentro Nacional de Neurociencias,April 2010Castelló (Uruguay): Workshop inFluorescence Microscopy, March 2010Palacios (Chile): Latin AmericanSummer School in ComputationalNeuroscience, January 2010Roque (Brazil): LASCON 2010,January 2010

Western Europe RegionMartínez García (Spain): ECCN6:Adaptive Function and BrainEvolution, April 2010Sallet (United Kingdom): Motivationaland Cognitive Control, June 2010

IBRO Travel Awards give hundredsan opportunity to network andpresent research abroadOne of the ways in which IBRO helps enhance the careers of promisingneuroscientists – as well as to connect researchers across borders and regions –is through the funding of travel grants. Through a competitive process, funds areawarded to high-quality neuroscientists from diverse geographic and scientificareas who wish to participate at international meetings and events.

In the past two years, IBRO has provided funding support to more than 350neuroscientists through our various funding programmes. Through its InternationalTravel Grant Programme alone, IBRO has funded the travel of more than 90 youngneuroscience researchers in 2009-10 to present their research, gain valuableinsights and connect with others in an international setting.

International BrainResearch Organization

For more information on IBRO's fundingprogrammes: http://funding.ibro.info

New laboratory exchange programmesstrengthen regional collaboration

In the past year, several of IBRO’s regions have initiated laboratory exchangeprogrammes, either within their region or between regions. These exchangesprovide opportunities for young neuroscience researchers from diversegeographic and scientific areas to broaden the scope of their training.Funding is provided to defray the cost of travel and to subsidize living costs.Following are four IBRO regional exchange programmes currently running.Applications are made online. Since the rules for each programme differ,please refer to the IBRO Web site for the most up-to-date information andapplication deadlines.

IBRO’s International Travel Grafts Programme awardeescross the globe to participate in international meetings

IBRO Neuroscience Schoolsexpand around the worldIBRO has unique expertise and experience in training programmes that focus onfostering international contacts in brain research. Since 2000 IBRO has organizedmore than 150 Neuroscience Schools, which create interactive networks amongstudents and teachers during training courses. As a result, IBRO Alumni total morethan 4000, who keep in touch with each other via the IBRO Web site and theirFacebook page. The growth of the IBRO Schools Programme reflects the highdemand for neuroscience training in developing parts of the world. The ability torespond to this increasing demand is made possible due to the dedication andgenerous spirit of IBRO’s volunteers and partners, which include UNESCO, SfNFENS, NIH, ISN, and INMHA, among others. Many past participants of IBRO’straining programmes are now established scientists and are giving back by servingas faculty members in IBRO Schools, contributing to the development of the nextgeneration of neuroscientists in their region.

IBRO Schools per year

IBRO (the International Brain Research Organization) is theglobal neuroscience federation dedicated to the promotion ofneuroscience and communication between brain researchersaround the world, with special emphasis on assisting young

investigators in the developing world. Incorporated in1961, IBRO now counts 84 member societies in 61 countries

around the world, with a membership of more than75,000 neuroscientists.

NEWS FROM OURFELLOWS AND ALUMNI

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IBRO Alumni in the spotlightThe IBRO Alumni Committee has kept its alumni in the spotlight by continuing to organize symposia at regionaland international meetings. The symposia provide a showcase from which to highlight the achievements ofsome of the young scientists who have benefited from IBRO support in the form of fellowships and travelgrants and, in particular, those who have attended IBRO schools. These presentations focus on their scientificachievements and also on how the school experience has impacted their careers and influenced the directionof their research.

Last year at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago, USA, the IBRO community heard how their ColdSpring Harbor and Woods Hole School experience boosted the careers of four scholars who attended, throughthe generosity of the SfN International Affairs Committee/US National Committee. At this year’s meeting inSan Diego, the focus was on three young scientists: Valeria Della-Maggiore (Argentina), who has receivedReturn Home funding from IBRO, enabling her to establish her own laboratories in her home country afterhaving spent several years of postdoctoral study abroad; and the other two – Musa Mabandla (South Africa)and Jing-Ning Zhu (China) – who are alumni of the IBRO Schools Programme. This event was followed by aparty for friends of IBRO and all IBRO Alumni.

In December 2009, IBRO Alumni from the ARC region contributed a symposium to the recent Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) meeting in Sharm el Sheikh,Egypt. The symposium was entitled “Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neurological Disorders: Contributions of IBRO Alumni in the African Region.”Contributors were MS Abubakar (Nigeria), Michael Kihara (Kenya), Sunday Bisong (Nigeria), and Samir Aboucha (Morocco). And at the Federation of EuropeanNeuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum in Amsterdam, in July 2010, the IBRO Alumni Symposium featured contributions from those who have attended FENS/IBROschools in Europe. The title of this event was "Encoding dynamic information in neuronal circuits," with contributions from Magor Lörincz (Portugal), Johannes Letzkus(Switzerland), Claire Wyart (USA) and Paolo Massobrio (Italy). The educational programme was followed by a party held for all FENS/IBRO Schools Alumni.

“We are looking ahead to Florence and the 2011 IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience,” said IBRO Alumni Committee Chair Susan Sara. "There we will continue thetradition of showcasing the scientific achievements of our alumni through a symposium, and we are planning a special social occasion where faculty and students ofIBRO Schools around the world can meet, renew old friendships and make new contacts within our burgeoning Alumni community.”

Michael Kihara, Samir Aboucha, Susan Sara, MSAbubakar, Sunday Bisong, in Egypt.

IBRO Return Home funding recipient shareschallenges, successes from ArgentinaAlberto Javier Ramos returned to Argentina after his postdoctoral experience in Canada with just enough funds to coveressential equipment for his lab. At the time, he was obtaining exciting new results from working with several new molecularand cell biology techniques that he learned in Canada, which hadnever before been used in his institute, nor were these novelapproaches common in Argentinean labs. But lack of additionalfunding had prevented Ramos from continuing using thesetechniques in order to complete and confirm his results.

“This extremely complicated situation was making me seriouslyconsider the possibilities of moving again to a foreign country tofully develop my career,” said Ramos. “I really wanted to stay inArgentina and contribute somehow to the development of thecountry. IBRO helped me many times with travel grants and awardsthat allowed me to travel and take part in several meetings aroundthe world, and so I thought getting this IBRO [Return Home] grantwould make an essential difference, allowing me to workindependently in my own country.”

“I feel that the synergy achieved by thedifferent IBRO programmes is largely improving and modernizing the way of doing neuroscience in Latin America.”

When Ramos received a $15,000 Return Home funding award fromIBRO, he used the money to buy equipment and reagents neededto continue his work, as well as to upgrade an old electronmicroscopy lab that he received. Ramos upgraded this space to amulti-purpose laboratory where he and his students performdifferent techniques from molecular biology to neuroanatomy.

“The IBRO Return Home funding really made an essential contribution to keep my lab up and running,” said Ramos. “Inaddition, travel grants from IBRO allowed my students and me to travel to meetings, to visit labs to learn techniques and toparticipate in the Schools. I feel that the synergy achieved by the different IBRO programmes is largely improving andmodernizing the way of doing neuroscience in Latin America.”

As a result of their research, Ramos’s research team at the Institute for Cell Biology and Neuroscience at the University ofBuenos Aires has recently published their second article, appearing in the Journal of Neurochemistry. In addition, Ramoslearned last December that his research team just received their first large grant from ANPCyT, basically quadrupling thefunding he has received in the past. He believes that having received the Return Home grant from IBRO has helped him toattract additional funding.

“It is important to receive this kind of grant very early in one’s career because it means that an international, prestigiousorganization ‘believes’ in our potential even before we are able to demonstrate it,” said Ramos.

Albert Ramos Javier, IBRO Return Home Fellow

The IBROReturn HomeProgrammeMany less affluent areas of the worldhave problems in retaining (orretrieving, after overseas training)their skilled biomedical researchers.Furthermore, they lack the resourcesto support scientists who may wishto return home after training. TheInternational Brain ResearchOrganization (IBRO) has beenparticularly concerned about thisissue in regard to neuroscience andits application to brain diseases.

In 2006, IBRO launched its ReturnHome Programme to developpolicies and coordinate efforts withother organizations to provide moreaid to those researchers trainedoverseas who wish return to theirhome countries. In the first few yearsof the programme, IBRO partneredwith the Society for Neuroscience(SfN) to provide $15,000 return-home grants – essentially, start-upfunding – to high-potential younginvestigators identified through acompetitive application process.

Since then, the IBRO Return HomeProgramme is now a part of IBRO’sFellowships & Travel GrantsProgramme, fitting with thatcommittee’s philosophy that return-home funding is an integral part – aswell as the logical outcome – of thecontinuum through which IBROsupports the emerging careers ofyoung neuroscience investigatorsworldwide. In addition, the numberand size of IBRO’s return-homeawards have been increased.

IBRO Research Fellow Parisa Gazeraniworks in pain research.

IBRO ResearchFellow reportson her progressRecent IBRO Research Fellow ParisaGazerani, who is from Iran, writes abouther experience during her one-yearresearch fellowship in 2008 and howthis opportunity has helped further hercareer and research work in her new labin Denmark:

The IBRO Fellowship enabled me totake a postdoctoral position in Dr. BrianE. Cairns' lab at the University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver, Canada, where Icould obtain excellent knowledge andexperience in basic animal painresearch and in vitro assays, which areessential components to conduct a fulltranslational pain research.

Dr. Cairns' excellent mentorship andthe ultimate lab facilities greatlyenhanced my qualifications andexpanded my understanding of thebasic peripheral mechanismsunderlying craniofacial pain, which willhopefully lead to better painmanagement in the future.

A summary of the data [obtainedthrough my research] was presented atthe 29th Annual Canadian Pain SocietyConference in Quebec City, Canada,and was awarded the best basicscience research poster. Currently, I aman assistant professor at the Center forSensory-Motor Interaction (SMI),Department of Health Science andTechnology, Aalborg University,Denmark. My research area is basicallyin the field of neuroscience, pain. Weinvestigate mechanisms that underliepain with a translational approach(forward translation and back-translation) to achieve better insightinto fundamental mechanisms ofnociception, identify biomarkers ofpain and modulate painpharmacologically. This could lead tothe development of novel drugs totreat or prevent pain.

The IBRO fellowship has played asignificant role in my career. It has notonly opened a new window in myresearch in pain, but also [has served

Join IBRO onFor the latest information on Funding, Schools, Alumni Events and other up-to-the-minute IBROnews, follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/InternationalBrainResearchOrg

as] a venue to share ideas with expertsin this field, which definitely enhancedmy credibility and ultimately the qualityof my work. The fellowship assisted meto stay in another lab and work with anexpert team towards my scientificprogress as an independent scientist.Once again, I deeply appreciate IBROand its wonderful award to encourageand support me towards gainingprofession in the field of pain, which Iam passionate about.

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IBRO Animals in Research Committeecrosses the globe to promote ethics guidelinesCommittee Chair Sharon Juliano reports: In October 2009, a long-standing member of our team, Sarah Pallas, presented atwo-day workshop in Queretera, Mexico, as a part of the Miledi Neuroscience Training Program, which also includedpresentations to faculty, students and other members of the university. She was accompanied by the Director of AAALACInternational (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care), Chris Newcomb. The workshopincluded discussion of why the ethical treatment of animals in relation to research is important and the impact of internationalguidelines on the use of experimental animals. In December 2009, members of our committee attended the SONA Congress(Society of Neuroscience in Africa) in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, where we presented a symposium discussing animal andhuman ethics – “The Value of Ethics inConducting Research” – includingcomponents necessary to begin ananimal use program (presented by KrisTurlejsk and myself) and theimportance of ethical behavior inrunning a lab (presented by BethFisher, Michael Zygmond and WillieDaniels). In June 2010, I presented aworkshop on Research Ethics as partof an IBRO school in Kinshasa, DRCongo, “Diet, Toxins and theEnvironment,” and a talk during theAPRONES meeting, also in Kinshasa,on the ethics of using animals to studydegenerative disease. Also during2010, Pedro Maldonado presentedResearch Ethics topics at an IBROschool being held in the DominicanRepublic, for researchers in Haiti.Finally, we are planning a workshop inIndia in the near future.

NEUROSCIENCENEWS FROM IBRO

New Chair for WesternEurope Regional CommitteeProfessor Juan Lerma, Director of the Instituto de Neurociencias of Alicante,Spain, has been elected Chair of the IBRO Western Europe Regional Committee(WERC). Prof. Lerma was elected to WERC in 2007 and was also the scientificdirector of the First Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience, “TheSynapse from Beach to Bedside,” held in Naples, Italy, in September 2009. Thefocus of his research is glutamate receptors in neuronal physiopathology. Theinternational impact of Prof. Lerma’s research has been very significant, and hehas been invited to participate in international meetings such as the BritishPhysiological Society, the European Foundation of Biochemistry Societies (FEBS),the prestigious Gordon Conferences and the Conferences Jacques Monod. Inaddition, Prof. Lerma has been elected as an EMBO member and belongs to theEuropean DANA Alliance for the Brain (EDAB). He is an associate editor of Neuronand a reviewing editor of Neuroscience. He succeeds Professor Monica Di Luca,who served on WERC since 2001 and was its Committee Chair since 2006.“During the years she was chairing WERC, Monica did a great job,” said Dr.Lerma. “All European neuroscientists recognize her effort, and we in WERC will nodoubt miss her enthusiastic and professional drive.”

Juan Lerma, new WERC Chair

New members elected forCEERC and WERCThe results of the election of new members of IBRO’s Central and EasternEuropean Regional Committee (CEERC) and Western Europe RegionalCommittee (WERC) are:

CEERC: Chair Ryszard Przewlocki (Poland, re-elected), Pavla Jendelova(Czech Republic), Oleg Krishtal (Ukraine), Mihai Moldovan (Denmark, re-elected)

WERC: Joana Almeida Palha (Portugal), Micaela Morelli (Italy), Hans-Joachim Pflüger (Germany), Susan Sara (France, re-elected)

The term of membership of IBRO’s Regional Committees is four years,with half the membership replaced every two years. Members may bere-elected once.

Students at an IBRO School in Kinshasa, DRC, participate in a "Research Ethics"workshop led by Dr. Sharon Juliano.

Women in World Neuroscience Committeehosts events around the worldThe IBRO Committee on Women in World Neuroscience (WWN) has supported a number of major initiatives around the worldthis year to promote their mission, and to create training and networking opportunities for IBRO’s members. The followingfaculty and trainees received WWN funding over the past year: Viji Ravindranath (Indian Institute of Science) for the paneldiscussion “Indian Women in Neuroscience”; Fatima Shad Kaneez (University of Karachi) for the symposium “ConnectingWomen’s Health and Neuroscience”; Illana Gozes (Tel-Aviv University) for the panel discussion “Opportunities for Women inNeuroscience”; Anja Lanz (University of British Columbia) for the symposium “Women in the Pipeline”; and Katza Gazdikand Anastasia Kuzmin (University of British Columbia) for the symposium “Secrets of the Female Mind.”

WWN Committee member Kathie Olsen organized the workshop “Stress and the Brain: Effects on Addiction, Cognition andWell Being” in Washington, DC, in celebration of Women’s History Month (March 2010). Additionally, the IBRO WWNCommittee hosted a symposium during the 2010 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, USA, titled “Meet theEditors: How to Get Published in Major Neuroscience Journals,” which was followed by a mentoring session. A needsassessment initiative earlier in the year in Washington brought together senior and junior women from China, Jamaica,Vietnam, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway, Haiti, Lebanon, Jordan, and Canada to share their scientific experiencesabroad. Many of the participants provided insights on managing and leading programs in resource-poor nations, and theparticular challenges facing women. Other needs assessments were performed in 2009 in India and in Egypt.

Connect to the expanding network of IBRO Women in World Neuroscience on Facebook.

The IBRO Reporter

For the latest news about our members,events, programmes and funding – sent by email

to our members.

Please keep your membership updated atwww.ibro.info.

The Brain Campaign:Increasing public awarenessin neuroscience, fromAustralia to ZimbabweIBRO’s Public Education Committee, chaired by Elspeth McLachlan, aims toimprove and widen knowledge about research on the brain and its diseases topeople throughout the world. To achieve this, IBRO works in partnership with DABI(Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives), SfN (Society for Neuroscience), EDAB(European Dana Alliance for the Brain) and FENS (Federation of EuropeanNeuroscience Associations), encouraging and supporting brain awareness eventsthrough the Brain Campaign. Activities are held in schools and the widercommunity, mostly during Brain Awareness Week in March of each year.

The IBRO Public Education Committee, which includes representatives from allregions of the world, provides funding for events in Africa, Asia-Pacific and LatinAmerica that increase public awareness of the brain and attract young people tostudy neuroscience and take up research careers. During 2009-10, support wasprovided for 23 events inAfrica, 16 in Asia-Pacific, and9 in Latin America. Of thewide range of activitiesfunded, several were localBrain Bee competitions,which are proving increasinglypopular amongst high schoolstudents.

IBRO has made the bookletNeuroscience: Science of theBrain available in 21languages through theBrain Campaign website(www.braincampaign.org) andis currently seeking to assistothers in undertaking furthertranslations. The Committee also encourages people in all parts of the world toimprove the quality and availability of basic neuroscience information in languagesother than English through social media Web sites.

Comparative brain display during BrainAwareness Week 2010 in Perth, Australia.

NEUROSCIENCENEWS FROM IBRO

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Honours for distinguished neuroscientistsand IBRO membersRobert H. Wurtz, a pioneer and leader in the field of neurophysiology, is therecipient of the 2010 Neuroscience Prize of the Peter and Patricia GruberFoundation. His research has led scientists to a deeper understanding of how thebrain is organized to produce behaviour. Dr. Wurtz was formerly the NationalAcademy of Sciences representative to the IBRO Governing Council.

Sten Grillner, of the Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute,Sweden, and Chair of IBRO's Memberships and Partnerships Committee, hasbeen elected to the National Academy of Sciences (USA) in recognition of hisdistinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Lourdes Cruz was named as one of the five exceptional women scientists fromaround the world to receive the Award in the Life Sciences by the L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science partnership. A professor at the Marine ScienceInstitute at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Dr. Cruz has served on theIBRO Symposia & Workshops Committee.

John G. Nicholls was presented the Award for Education in Neuroscience by theSociety for Neuroscience (SfN). The prize recognizes individuals with adistinguished career who have made outstanding contributions to neuroscienceresearch and education. His collaboration with IBRO as the founding director ofthe IBRO Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP) has provided assistance topromising researchers in more than a dozen countries.

Carol Barnes received the SfN Mika Salpeter Award, a prize recognizing individuals with outstanding career achievementsin neuroscience who have also actively promoted the professional advancement of women in neuroscience. Dr. Barnes, whoformerly served on the IBRO Governing Council, was selected to receive the award for her care and dedication as a researcherand a mentor.

Imaging team win Neuroscience CoverCompetitionThe winning cover of IBRO’s annual Neuroscience cover competition for2009 is from an article by T. Tadi, L.S. Overney and O. Blanke, of theLaboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, ÉcolePolytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland. (Professor Blanke isalso with the Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva,Switzerland.) The article, "Three sequential brain activations encodemental transformations of upright and inverted human bodies: A highresolution evoked potential study,” was published in Neuroscience, Vol.159 (2009), No. 4, 1315- 1325. The first author, Tej Tadi, described theresearch behind the paper and the technique behind the image: "Researchat the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, EPFL is focused on theinvestigation of functional and neural mechanisms of body perception,corporeal awareness, and self consciousness in the normal brain and inneurological and psychiatric disease. We combine techniques fromexperimental psychology and cognitive science with Neuroimaging (highdensity EEG and fMRI) and Virtual Reality. The cover illustration displaysbrain activity in the temporo-parietal cortex, 220 milliseconds afterstimulus onset when participants were asked to imagine their body in theposition and perspective of the humanoid body presented on the computerscreen. The image was created using a combination of 3D modeling software (MotionBuilder; Autodesk, USA) and EEGanalysis software (Cartool, University of Geneva). The 3D environment and humanoid were created using the modelingsoftware. The brain activity from EEG data was then superimposed onto the image."

Neuroscience winning cover

Neuroscience, the journalA message from theChief EditorStephen Lisberger reports: The core mission of Neuroscience is to publishoriginal scientific papers that have a high quality and are of interest to awide group of readers. Through rigorous editorial procedures, carefulmonitoring of the speed of our editorial process, and the diligent work of oureditors and reviewers, Neuroscience accomplishes this goal. In the pastyear, we have made a number of changes that we hope will solidify our coremission and further improve the quality of papers. We have changed thestructure of the sections in the Journal to reflect the five main intellectualareas in which we receive submissions, affording better visibility to thepapers we publish. With the advent of electronic publishing, we have foundthat all papers are handled rapidly – moving from submission to firstdecision with a median time of fewer than 28 days. This allowed us to stopoffering the “Rapid Communication” format while still providing rapid reviewand publication. In an effort to place the relevant knowledge within thepublished literature, we have informed our authors that we will no longerpost “Supplementary Figures and Text” on our Web site. Neuroscience hasthe freedom to publish long papers when necessary, and we encourageauthors to include all relevant material within the body of the paper. Ofcourse, we wish to encourage the use of alternative formats and we willhappily post supplementary material in formats that cannot (yet) beembedded in a PDF, e.g. movies, sound clips, etc.

IBRO Governing Councilelects new treasurer At the IBRO Governing Council (GC) meeting that took place on November 13,2010, in San Diego, USA, IBRO Secretary-General Pierre Magistretti announcedthat Quentin Pittman of the University of Calgary, Canada, has been elected bythe GC as IBRO Treasurer. His three-year term begins in 2011.

Dr. Pittman is currently a medical scientist at the Alberta Heritage Foundation forMedical Research, a university professor and fellow ofthe Royal Society of Canada. At the University ofCalgary, Dr. Pittman has been chairman of theNeuroscience Research Group, assistant dean(Medical Science) and is currently education directorof the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. He has been active inreview bodies for many scientific agencies, includingthe MRC, CIHR, Heart and Stroke Foundation ofCanada, Human Science Frontiers Program and the NIH.

His involvement with IBRO goes back more than 30years. Dr. Pittman has been an IBRO visiting lecturer,organized and taught in IBRO schools, trained IBROfellows and participated in many of the IBROcongresses. In addition,

he is familiar with the workings of a number of nationalor international organizations, with experience as acouncilor or member of the executive of theInternational Neuroendocrine Federation, InternationalUnion of Physiological Sciences, CanadianPhysiological Society and Canadian Association forNeuroscience.

Dr. Pittman takes over from two-term IBRO TreasurerSteve Redman (pictured, right), who will work closelywith Dr. Pittman during 2011 to ensure a smoothtransition of duties and continued carefulmanagement of IBRO's finances.

Both IBRO Secretary-General Pierre Magistretti andPresident Carlos Belmonte expressed their deepappreciation of Dr. Redman for his service to IBRO:"Steve has been the leader of IBRO finances in very difficult times, and I must sayhis work was done with a very high level of skill, so that after this big economiccrisis, IBRO has ended up having more money than before the crisis began," saidDr. Belmonte. "We need to thank Steve for his dedicated work over the past sixyears and his success in handling our finances very well."

New IBRO TreasurerQuentin Pittman

Steve Redman presentshis final Report from theTreasurer to the IBROGoverning Council inNovember 2010.

John Nicholls, founding director of theIBRO VLTP, teaching in Cameroon

IBRO's Visiting Lecture Team ProgrammeHeaded by Prof. Jack McMahan of Stanford University, USA, the IBRO Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP) gave fourcourses over the past year at the following sites: Qingdao, China; La Paz, Bolivia; Guatemala City, Guatemala; andYaoundé, Cameroon. The VLTP offers experiment-based lecture courses in economically developing countries that covera variety of topics of current interest in basic neuroscience. Courses are often held in remote parts of the world. Thelecture team consists of five members internationally recognized for their excellence as experimentalists and teachers.The intense interaction between lecturers and participants throughout VLTP courses is a hallmark of this IBRO program,which encourages a higher level of interaction and participation during the working sessions. In addition, the local facultybenefit from their interaction with VLTP lecturers. In all, nearly 250 students were able to attend these courses offered bythe VLTP within the past year, which were co-funded by the Grass Foundation. During the VLTP course held in La Paz,Bolivia, the Bolivian Society for Neuroscience was founded with the participation of the students and professors ofneuroscience who attended the course.

six

NEWS FROM THEREGIONS 2009-2010

Africa Regional Committee (ARC): Chair Abdul Mohammed. TheARC organized four schools and a workshop in 2009 and eightschools and courses in 2010. The First IBRO School ofNeuroscience in Cameroon: Infections and Brain Dysfunction:Sleep, Epilepsy and Behaviour (organized by A.K. Njamnshi and K.Kristensson) took place on August 25-30, 2009. UNESCO co-sponsored the First IBRO School in Rwanda: ClinicalNeurophysiology and Disorders of the Nervous System (organizedby P. Luabeya, M. Arroyo and R. Kalaria) took place August 30 toSeptember 6, 2009. The 22nd African School in NeuroanatomyNeurochemistry (organized by L. Dorbani-Mamine and N. Lakhdar-Ghazal), also co-sponsored by UNESCO, took place in Algiers fromOctober 8-15, 2009. Largely supported by the International Societyfor Neurochemistry (ISN), the 21st IBRO African RegionNeuroscience School on “Cell Death Mechanisms andNeuroprotective Strategies in Neurological Disorders (organized byR. Butterworth and R. Kalaria), took place in Al-Fayoum, Egypt, fromDecember 2-6, 2009. This School was held in parallel with the 2ndTeaching Tools Workshop in Neurosciences in Africa (organizedby S. Juliano), which received partial funding from UNESCO.

The First IBRO/ILAE Neuroscience School: Fundamentals onepilepsy: Neurobiological, clinical and therapeutic approaches(organized by G. Avanzini and M. Bentivoglio, with local organizersA.K. Akpalu and S.K. Ohene) was held in Accra, Ghana, on January16-22, 2010, and received funding from UNESCO. The 3rd AnnualKinshasa Aprones Congress (organized by P. Luabeya and T.Kayembe) covering cerebral malaria and degenerative diseases,took place June 14-15, 2010, and was partially supported byUNESCO, FIC and NIEHS. The Association of Neurological Sciencesof Ethiopia joined with IBRO to put on the 2nd Regional TeachingCourse in Sub-Saharan Africa (organized by G. Zenebe), takingplace June 24-27, 2009, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The 22ndAdvanced IBRO School: Diet, Toxins and Neurodegeneration(organizers: J-C Mwanza and D Tshala-Katumbay), was held inKinshasa, DRC, on June 9-13, 2010. The 3rd Regional TeachingCourse in Sub-Saharan Africa (organized by R. Kalaria) was heldfrom July 8 to 10, 2010, in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The 25thIBRO/ISN Neuroscience School in Africa: Onslaughts on thecentral dopaminergic system (organized by W. Daniels) was heldOctober 24-28, 2010, in Durban, South Africa. The first ARC-WERCinter-regional collaboration, the 23rd IBRO-UNESCO School ofNeuroscience: Neurobiology of Infectious Diseases: A View forGlobal Neuroscience (organized by R. Bruzzone, M. Dubois-Dalcq,P. Gasque and K. Kristensson) was held November 27 to December

6, 2010, in St. Denis, La Reunion Island. The 26th IBRO-ARCAdvanced School of Neuroscience: Comparative Neuroanatomyand Behaviour (organized by N. Patel) was held from December11-18, 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya.

In addition, the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) 2009Meeting (organized by N. Patel, Y. El-Wazir and A. El-Gohary), withsupport from IBRO and other organizations, was held in Sharm elSheikh immediately following the ISN-IBRO School in Fayoum,Egypt. This allowed the IBRO School students to attend the SONAMeeting and contribute posters of their work.

Asia Pacific Regional Committee (APRC): Chair HitoshiOkamoto. In 2009, APRC ran three schools: 1) 10th IBRO Schoolof Neuroscience (Kolkata, India): December 29, 2008, to January8, 2009 [Organizer: K. Mohanakumar, Indian Institute of ChemicalBiology]. 2) 11th IBRO School of Neuroscience (Hong Kong,China): January 7-17 [Organizers: W-H. Yung, the ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong, and K. Yung, Hong Kong BaptistUniversity]. Twenty-four participants also presented their ownresearch work at the 6th Asian Biophysics Association Symposiumat the Annual Scientific Conference of The Hong Kong Society ofNeurosciences (January 12-15). 3) ANS-IBRO Australiasian-Asia-Pacific Summer School on Neuroethology (ANU Kioloa CoastalCampus, Australia): January 20-27 [Organizers: J. Hemmi and J.Zeil, Australia National University], co-sponsored by the AustralianNeuroscience Society. Participants also had the chance to presenttheir own research work at the Australian Neuroscience SocietyAnnual Conference held at Canberra (January 27-30).

In 2010, APRC will have run five neuroscience schools: 1) AssociateSchool of Neuroscience (Bangkok, Thailand): January 27 – 31[Organizer: K. Tilokskulchai], which had been rescheduled severaltimes since 2008 due to political turmoil in Bangkok. 2) AdvancedSchool of Neuroscience (Okazaki, Japan), February 15 – 26[Organizer: K. Imoto]. 3) School of Neuroscience (Hong Kong), May31 - June 11 [Organizer: W-H Yung]. 4) Bioimaging, Behavior andFunctional Genomics (Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia) October 3- 15 [Organizer: 1. Parhar]. 5) Study of Human Brain Structure andFunction using Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy(Manesar, India) November 29 - December 10 [Organizer: N.Chatterjee Singh].

In addition, APRC sponsored four researchers (from China, HongKong and India) for exchange fellowships to spend four to sixmonths in a host laboratory within the Asia Pacific region.

Central and Eastern Europe Regional Committee (CEERC):Chair Ryszard Przewlocki. In 2009, CEERC supported theHungarian Neuroscience Meeting, January 22-24 in Budapest, andthe 9th International Congress of the Polish Neuroscience Society,September 9 in Warsaw. In addition, the following regionalneuroscience conferences were supported by CEERC: SiNAPSANeuroscience Conference 2009 with an educational workshop onmemory, September 26-29 in Ljubljana, Slovenia; the 5th “GheorgheMarinescu” Symposium of the National Neuroscience Society ofRomania, October 1-3 in Bucharest; “Molecular view of a synapseand its proteolytic remodeling in neuronal plasticity” Symposium,September 1-6 in Wierzba, Poland; "Neurogenomics andNeuroimaging of Developmental Disorders" Symposium, April 30-May 5 in Dubrovnik, Croatia; and the 5th International Workshop,“Sleep: a window to the world of wakefulness,” September 20-22 inRostov-on-Don, Russia. The conference support was directedmainly to young scientists and to special CEERC-IBRO sponsoredsessions.

In addition, 2009 saw the launch of a novel program calledInEUROPE (the IntraEuropean Mobility Project), originated byCEERC and WERC. The program funds short visits to Europeanlaboratories for young neuroscientists to learn new techniques ormethods required for their studies. Three applicants from Poland,Georgia and Romania were awarded funds to visit laboratories inHungary, England and Germany, respectively. CEERC alsosupported the First IBRO-Kemali Mediterranean School ofNeuroscience, in order to stimulate networking among youngscientists within the Mediterranean Sea region.

So far in 2010, CEERC has supported three meetings andworkshops: The International Workshop 2010, January 21-23 inPécs, Hungary; “Cellular Neuropathology: In Vitro Models”Symposium, June 3-7 in Kiev, Ukraine; and the 9th InternationalConference on “Brain Energy Metabolism: Mitochondrial-CytosolicInteractions: From Energetics to Pathogenesis” at SemmelweisUniversity, July 7-10 in Budapest, Hungary. CEERC also fundedtravel grants to attend the FENS Forum in Amsterdam in July 2010for 44 post-docs and PhD students as well as supported the FENS-IBRO Alumni Symposium and Social, in addition to the MediaTraining Workshop.

Latin America Regional Committee (LARC): Chair OsvaldoUchitel. Local institutions (universities, research institutes, nationalresearch councils, private foundations) and international scientificorganizations co-sponsored the activities promoted by LARC overthe past year. The following activities took place within the region in2009: A. Schools. 1) 14th Latin American School of Neurosciences(organized by O. Macadar), a well-established school on severalaspects of neuroscience, Uruguay. 2) Neurotransmitter Receptors:Signaling and Stimulus-Transcription Coupling (organized by A.Ortega), Mexico. 3) Advanced School of Neuroethology (organizedby D. Tomsic), Argentina. B. Courses/workshops. 1) MotivatedBehavior, Stress and Addiction. From molecules to behavior

More than 500 young people from more than 30 African countries havebeen trained in nine years since IBRO schools in Africa were initiatedin Petersburg, South Africa. The 22nd Advanced IBRO School in Africatook place in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),from June 9 to 13, 2010, attracting 25 participants from four Africancountries (the DRC, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Rwanda) who were allpost-graduate students involved in clinical or basic neuroscienceprograms in their home countries. The objective of the course was toprovide the participants with recent advances on the role of toxins anddietary habits in neurodegenerative diseases. Faculty members werealso assigned to share their research experience and career paths forscientific development with the students. The faculty hailed from theUSA, Europe, and Africa and included active research neuroscientistswith a vast experience of teaching subjects in neuroscience at variouslevels to a variety of students. They included course organizers D.Tshala-Katumbay (USA/DRC) and J. Mwanza (USA/DRC), S. Juliano(USA), J. Weeks (USA), K. Michels (USA), M. Bentivoglio (Italy), T.Tylleskär (Norway), W. Daniels (South Africa), J. Tshibanda(Belgium/DRC), R. Mukendi (Belgium/DRC), P. Luabeya(Belgium/DRC), D. Kambangu (France/DRC), P. Kayembe (DRC), T.Kayembe (DRC), J. Muyembe (DRC), D. Mumba (DRCo), and D.Musibono (DRC).

The two-week Advanced School of Neurosciences was held inOkazaki, one of oldest cities in Japan, from February 15-26, 2010.Fourteen students from eight countries participated in the AdvancedSchool designed for young researchers (including faculty, doctoral andpostdoctoral students) interested in neuroscience research. TheSchool focused on novel methods and techniques in neuroscienceresearch, and the two weeks of training included nine special lecturesand 14 courses of laboratory experiences. In particular, emphasis wasplaced on imaging techniques and in vivo electrophysiologicalrecordings. The Advanced School provided an excellent opportunityfor young researchers to experience performing cutting-edgeexperimental methods by themselves.

CEERC partially funded a training school, “Cellular neuropathology: invitro model,” in Kiev, Ukraine, from June 3 to 7, 2010. Forty-twoscholars from sixteen countries attended the school, including elevenoutstanding scientists as invited speakers: M. Bentivoglio (Italy), G.Burnstock (UK), C. Giaume (France), O. Krishtal (Ukraine), C. Matute(Spain), A. North (UK), O. Petersen (UK), R. Pochet (Belgium), G. Skibo(Ukraine), A. Verkhratsky (UK), and N. Voitenko (Ukraine). The programcomprised eleven lectures in various topics of neuropathology, twoposter sessions and eight laboratory sessions, including theimmunohistochemical study of glial reaction and using neuronal stemcells in the hippocampus after ischemic injury. In addition, there werethree dinner socials and two excursions, including a visit to theEthnographic Museum, an introduction to Ukrainian cuisine,sightseeing in Kiev, and a river cruise.

Participants of the DRC School said they appreciated thefriendly interaction with faculty members, pictured above.

Poster session at cellular neuropathologytraining school, in Kiev

Laboratory experience at the Minokoshi Lab, Japan.

NEWS FROM THEREGIONS 2009-2010

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

(organized by M.E. Andrea Coke), Chile. 2) III Latin-AmericanSummer School on Epilepsy (LASSE) – Epileptogenesis in thedeveloping brain: basis for treatment and prevention (organized byE.A. Cavalheiro), Brazil. 3) Advanced Graduate Course: Molecular &Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Damage - TherapeuticalApproaches (organized by J. Segura-Aguilar), Chile. 4) MolecularBasis of Neurodegeneration (organized by L.L. Velazquez Perez),Cuba. 5) Psychotropic, recreational and therapeutic drugs(organized by N. Weisstaub), Argentina. 6) 15th InternationalSymposium on Chromaffin Cell Biology (organized by A. Hernandez-Cruz), Mexico. 7) Mother-child relationships (organized by A.Ferreira), Uruguay. 8) New trends in motor learning and brainplasticity (organized by V. Della Maggiore), Argentina. 8) Plasticityand Regeneration of the Nervous System (organized by E. Del Bel),Brazil. C. Travel. Financial aid was granted to 17 graduate studentsand postdocs to carry out research/training stays in foreignlaboratories (nine selected applicants) or to present their results atinternational scientific meetings. D. Federation of NeuroscienceSocieties of Latin America and the Caribbean (FALAN). Thisfederation was created with the strong commitment of LARC at afoundational meeting in Uruguay, supported by a special grant fromIBRO. Representatives from LARC, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay,Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica signed the foundingdocument.

The following activities took place in 2010: A. Schools. 1) The LatinAmerican Summer School in Computational Neuroscience andBiomedical Applications (organized by A. Palacios), Chile. 2)PABSELA Stem Cell Research Training 2010: Mining the CancerTranscriptome in the CNS (organized by B. Caputto Argentina. 3)Signal transduction in the Central Nervous System: Facts andPrinciples (organized by A. Ortega), Mexico. B. The ProLabProgramme was launched to promote cooperative research bylaboratories from two different Latin American and Caribbeancountries. C. Intra-regional exchange: A total of 14 travel grantsand 14 short research stays were awarded. D.Courses/workshops. Nineteen courses, workshops and symposiawere supported by LARC.

US/Canada Regional Committee (USCRC): Chair Dr. GregoryQuirk; Vice-Chair Dr. Janis Weeks. The IAC-USNC separated intotwo committees in May 2009. The IBRO programmes and activitiessupported by the IAC-USNC are now carried out by the US-CanadaRegional Committee. The USCRC and the Society forNeuroscience–International Affairs Committee (IAC) maintain closeties and have three joint committee members. Financial support forthe committee’s activities is provided by the National Institutes ofHealth Neuroscience Blueprint for Research via the U.S. NationalAcademy of Sciences, the Society for Neuroscience, and IBRO.Courses and workshops: The USCRC supported the “TeachingTools Workshops: A Call for Integrated Neuroscience Education inAfrica.” The December 2009 Teaching Tools Workshop took placein conjunction with the Society of Neuroscience in Africa (SONA)meeting in Egypt. The 2010 Teaching Tools Workshop was heldSeptember 11-15 in Nairobi, Kenya. The committee also supported

a Hispaniola School of Neuroscience on “Trauma and the Brain,”held in Santiago, Dominican Republic, from September 30 toOctober 9, 2010. IBRO North American Schools: The committeecontinues to work with IBRO’s Board of Schools and the MarineBiological Laboratory (MBL) and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory(CSHL) to identify highly qualified research trainees (IBRO alumni)to participate in summer neuroscience courses there. Five students(from Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico and Romania) were awarded grantsin 2009. Students from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cyprus, India,Mexico, Sri Lanka and Uruguay were awarded fellowships for 2010.Students are encouraged to visit the USCRC web site and considerapplying for 2011 fellowships. The 3rd Canadian IBRO School inNeurodegeneration and Regeneration was held in Vancouver, fromMay 24 to June 3, 2009. Twelve students from seven differentcountries attended the course, with students from the Asia Pacificregion enrolling for the first time since the school began. Ottawa,Canada, was the site of the 4th Canadian IBRO School ofNeuroscience, held May 15-24, 2010, which brought twelvestudents from Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific to Canada.The Canadian School is unique in that instead of the facultytravelling to the students' geographic area, the students come tothe faculty.

Western Europe Regional Committee (WERC): Chair JuanLerma. In 2009-2010, WERC supported a number of high qualityscientific educational programs through awarding students’fellowships. First, continuing a fruitful tradition, WERC supportedthe Sevilla School in Neuroscience, organized by Jose-M. Delgado-Garcia, a European programme officially included in thePostgraduate Programme of the Universidad Pablo de Olavide.

The postgraduate programme welcomes Latin American students,providing a nice scenario for exchanges among European and non-European students. WERC also shared activities directed at LatinAmerican students with the French Society of Neuroscience (SdN).It was a novel initiative of the SdN to award travel fellowships toyoung Latin American neuroscientists during the last year of theirdoctoral degree or during their early postdoctoral stage, to allowthem to attend the SdN meeting and to visit French laboratories intheir quest for a post-doctoral position.

To further support intra European mobility, WERC launched theInEurope project in 2009 as a joint activity with CEERC, which nowis fully operative; supported young neuroscientists in participating inthe Amsterdam FENS Forum; and cooperated with CEERC andFENS in the FENS/IBRO European Neuroscience SchoolCommittee. Finally, in 2009, WERC also supported the First Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience, entitled “SynapticTransmission and Plasticity,” held in the Stazione Zoologica “A.Dohrn” in Naples, from September 21 to 30, 2009. Students fromtwelve Mediterranean countries attended the School. In 2010,WERC also provided a total of 33 travel fellowships to the FENSForum in Amsterdam. In addition, WERC joined with ARC toorganize an inter-regional school, with participation from APRC, atLa Réunion, an EU region in the Indian Ocean, on November 22-25,2010. The topic of the school was “Pathogenic and neuroprotectivemechanisms in CNS infections.”

FENS-IBRO EuropeanNeuroscience SchoolsProgrammeThe Western Europe Regional Committee (WERC) , the Central &Eastern Regional Committee (CEERC) and the Federation ofEuropean Neuroscience Societies (FENS) continued their successfulcollaboration in the organization of the FENS-IBRO EuropeanNeuroscience Schools Programme. Nine schools took place during2010: Brain evolution and its consequences for brain pathology (anSfN School), Naples, Italy, March 21-26; Looking Back at MountArarat: diversity and cross-fertilization among approaches tomemory, Yerevan, Armenia, April 5-10; European Pain School:translating pain science into pain medicine, Siena, Italy, May 30-June 6; Cognition and Action: systems neuroscience approaches tounderstanding complex behaviour, Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 5-11;Neuroproteomics in Animal Models for NeurodegenerativeDisorders, Smolenice, Slovakia, June 20 - 26; Advanced Course onComputational Neuroscience, Freiburg, Germany, August 2 - 27;Imaging Neural Function, Lausanne/Geneva, Switzerland, August22 - September 10; Visual Neuroscience: from spikes to awareness,Rauischholzhausen, Germany, August 29 - September 10;Translational Research in Basal Ganglia Disorders, Mallorca, Spain,September 20 - 24, 2010.

The IBRO-LARC AdvancedSchool of Neuroscience,"Neurotransmitter Receptors:Signaling and StimulusTranscription Coupling," tookplace in Mexico City, Mexico,from October 26 to November6, 2009, in the ZacatencoCampus of the Centro deInvestigación y de EstudiosAvanzados del InstitutoPolitécnicoNacional (Cinvestav-IPN). The School wasco-directed by Arturo Ortegaand José Aguilera. A total of 20graduate students from Perú,Brazil and Mexico attended the lectures and the work in thelaboratories. The School covered the modern concepts ofneurotransmission, placing a strong emphasis in ligand-receptorbinding, intracellular signaling cascades and gene expressionregulation, both at the transcriptional as well as the translational levels.Activities were divided into four-hour morning lectures and afternoonexperimental work. Lectures included Neurotransmitter ReceptorBinding Techniques, Signaling Principles, Post-translationalModifications (phosphorylation, ubiquitination, acetylation), EpigeneticControl of Gene Expression, Inducible Transcription Factors,Translational Control and Activity-dependent Gene ExpressionRegulation. Students and teachers were lodged in the same hotel andshared every meal, resulting in a good interaction in the academic andsocial realms.

This year’s international activity was the Hispaniola School ofNeuroscience: Trauma and the Nervous System, which took placefrom September 29 to October 8, 2010, in Santiago, DominicanRepublic (organized by G. Maestre). This school aimed to enhance thecapacity of Haitian and Dominican participants to understand, teach,and respond to the mental health consequences of a disaster, such asthe earthquake that occurred in Port au Prince, Haiti, in early 2010.Therefore, everything was taught from the point of trauma, from basicneuroscience to neuroethics, treatments and research with traumavictims. This was the first-ever IBRO School in Hispaniola (Haiti andDominican Republic), and it was supported by the NIH grant to NAS-USCRC, and IBRO's Latin America Regional Committee (LARC), withadditional funds from IBRO. The School's 20 students were medicalstudents, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons andother physicians, mostly from Haiti, some of whom had lost close familymembers in the earthquake. The eight faculty members came from theU.S., Haiti, Africa and Latin America.

The First Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience closed on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, after ten days of intense learning andexchange of ideas about the synapse and its plastic mechanisms. It was held at the Stazione Zoologica "A. Dohrn" in Naples, Italy. The school comprised26 students from 12 Mediterranean countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Italy, France andSpain) and 14 faculty members who were mostly but not only from European countries. This school was the first event marking the new partnershipbetween IBRO and the Dargut and Milena Kemali Foundation, which will jointly organize a school every two years, bringing together youngneuroscientists across the Mediterranean basin. This "inter-regional" event involved three Regional Committees of IBRO (ARC, CEERC and WERC). TheSchool scientific director was Juan Lerma (Alicante Neuroscience Institute), and the managing director was Kathy-Ann Koralek.

The Kemali-IBRO School fostered networking across borders in countries of the Mediterranean basin.

Dr. Gregory Quirk leads a workshop on research toolsduring the Hispaniola School.

A group lab during the AdvancedSchool in Mexico City, 2009

The FENS-IBRO European Neuroscience SchoolsProgramme aims to enrich the neuroscience education of

students and young investigators throughout Europe.Faculty from around the world participate.

http://fens.mdc-berlin.de/fens-ibro-schools

eight

IBRO’S INITIATIVES KINDLENEUROSCIENCE DEVELOPMENT

A word from Marina Bentivoglio,past IBRO Secretary-GeneralI have been participating in IBRO activities for many years before my office asSecretary General. My 2007-2009 term in office has represented an excitingparenthesis of my collaboration withIBRO, as these past three years havegiven me the wonderful opportunity toexpand my views on IBRO activitiesbeyond the African continent.

One of my most vivid memories ofIBRO activities is my first visit toKinshasa, DR Congo, in 2006. Therewere riots in the city, and a workshopand IBRO School had been planned. Iwas in close contact with one of theorganizers, Pierre Luabeya, who toldme that the situation was undercontrol. However, I consulted on behalfof my colleagues with Albert Aguayo,at that time President of IBRO. Alberttold me “I would go. My thoughts will be with you”. We went. We found there alarge group of smiling and friendly students waiting for us. At the workshop whichpreceded the School, we could not close the hall doors because of the crowd.Every morning to reach the School site, we passed between rows of tanks, wavingat the soldiers.

“Relying on human power, creativity and generosity, IBRO does not represent any national strategy or policy, and truly gathers all of them.”

In my office as Secretary General, I have had a unique opportunity to appreciatehow effective IBRO is as a really worldwide organization in neuroscience, highlyflexible and with minimal bureaucracy. Relying on human power, creativity andgenerosity, IBRO does not represent any national strategy or policy, and trulygathers all of them. Despite fantastic progress and technological and scientificachievements in brain research, the global village of neuroscience is still far frombeing global. Lots of work is needed.

To the hundreds of young investigators from disadvantaged countries who attendIBRO Schools in the South of the world, I wish to repeat what I tell them in person:the competition is tough, and research in neuroscience requires funds that aredifficult to obtain, even in rich countries. There is no reason for you to compete withyoung investigators working in laboratories of the highest standards. But withtraining, dedication and motivation you can contribute unique knowledge. Buildbridges at home; build bridges, especially when you leave home to work in foreigncountries; build bridges for a better world of neuroscience and, ultimately, for abetter world. Please DO and KEEP DOING!

Marina Bentivoglio

Meeting in Beirut netted plans for possibleMiddle East Chapter of IBROOn April 14, 2010, IBRO Secretary-General Pierre Magistretti and President Carlos Belmonte met with several neuroscientistsfrom the Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon, to explore ways in which IBRO could play a role in helping to promote furtherdevelopment of neuroscience within the Middle East as well as throughout the Arab-speaking world. The neuroscientistsattending from Lebanon, Yemen, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia provided an overview of neuroscience training and researchfrom within their respective countries

“Conditions seem to be ripe at the moment for catalyzing some emerging initiatives to help Middle East countries gain astronger foothold for the benefit of neuroscience research, not only within each individual country, but also throughout theMiddle East,” said Professor Magistretti. During the meeting, a consensus was reached for starting with a concrete activityto demonstrate IBRO’s seriousness in investing in the Middle East region and to bring together key people – a network ofthose from the region as well as Middle East expatriates currently living abroad – who can drive future initiatives for the region.

The 1st IBRO Neuroscience Conference in the Middle East will take place from February 7 to 9, 2011, at the United ArabEmirates University in Al Ain. In addition to featuring the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience, the conference will providelocal scientists the opportunity to network and establish collaborations with expatriate neuroscientists from the region. Theconference will follow an IBRO neuroscience school, which will take place from January 30 to February 5, 2011.

Left to right: A. Al-Hayani, A. Adem, H. Lashuel, C. Belmonte, P. Magistretti, O. Mukhtar El-Agnaf, A. Abyad (not pictured: K. Kallab)

geographic, social and economic criteria. This structure has succeeded in givingneuroscientists in different parts of the world a direct voice in defining their ownneeds and priorities in research and science education. In his current role as IBROPresident, Dr. Belmonte is championing the formalization of an inter-regionalprogramme for bringing together brilliant neuroscience students from two or moreregions and offering them the possibility of building mutual personal knowledgeand teamwork around scientific activities, with the aim of establishing long-termties and collaboration.

Already, several of IBRO’s regional committees have taken the initiative tocollaborate on the organization of schools. The 2009 Kemali-IBRO MediterraneanSchool of Neuroscience held in Naples, Italy, comprised 26 students from 12countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Turkey,Greece, Croatia, Italy, France and Spain). This inter-regional school, which nowwill be held every two years, involves three IBRO Regional Committees: the Africa(ARC), Central Europe (CEERC) and Western Europe (WERC) regional committees.The 23rd IBRO-UNESCO School of Neuroscience, recently held in La ReunionIsland, was a collaboration between ARC and WERC, with participation from theIBRO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee (APRC).

In addition, a second level of inter-regional interaction has emerged from theorganizers of upcoming IBRO World Congress in Florence: the idea of creating aYoung Scientists Visiting Programme around major neuroscience meetings. Withthis programme, those traveling from afar to international meetings can gainadditional benefit from a month-long stay at a local laboratory – receiving trainingand building relationships – before returning home.

At the IBRO Governing Council meeting in San Diego, USA, on November 13,2010, Dr. Belmonte and IBRO Secretary-General Pierre Magistretti encouragedIBRO’s Regional Committee members to continue organizing inter-regional

schools and other educational activities. In early 2011 Governing Council memberswill vote on the specific structure of this plan, which includes establishing a centralteam to support IBRO’s individual regions in organizing inter-regional schools andprovide logistics for these and other activities.

“The idea here isn’t only about the scientific training, it is about bringing togetherthe future leaders of neuroscience regardless from where they come,” said Dr.Belmonte. “We hope that 20 years from now, as a result of our efforts, they will stillbe in contact as friends and collaborating with each other. This has very favourableimplications for not only the advancement of neuroscience research, but also forworld peace.”

“I really see this as the future of IBRO, and IBRO is the perfect organization tomake this happen,” he added.

Carlos Belmonte (Continued from page 1)

The photo above was taken of the speakers at the First IBRO World Congress in Pisa, Italy, in 1961. Front row: J.L. O’Leary,J.C. Eccles, G. Moruzzi, D. Albe-Fessard, F. Bremer, P. Anokhin, A. Fessard, R. Granit, K. Lissak, W.R. Adey. Second row: R.Jung, W. Grey Walter, H.H. Jasper, J.M. Brookhart, H.W. Magoun, G.F. Rossi, M. Carreras, O. Pompeiano. Third row: M. Jouvet,K-E. Hagbarth, A. Hugelin, P. Buser, P. Dell, A. Arduini, A. Zanchetti, R. Naquet, G.F. Ricci.

Celebrating 50 Years: From the IBRO Archives

IBRO members:Please update yourdetails in the IBRO

Members database forthe latest information

about IBRO's activities:www.ibro.info

Photo courtesy of Piergiorgio Strata