Partners and Education
Many of our esteemed faculty members engage in collaborative research at the forefront of the ‚Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease‘ Collaborative Research Center (CRC) (SFB 1089), providing doctoral students with the opportunity to delve into captivating scientific inquiries.
Established in October 2013, the CRC ‚Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease‘ (SFB 1089) is dedicated to unraveling the foundational principles governing neuronal dynamics at the network level, and translating these insights into understanding mammalian and human behavior. Moreover, the CRC is committed to applying these methodologies to elucidate the pathophysiology and treatment of prevalent central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.
International research partnerships play a pivotal role in facilitating the exchange of scientific knowledge and ideas.
The faculty members at BIGS Neuroscience foster national and international research collaborations with a wide array of research groups. Doctoral candidates reap the benefits of these collaborations through engaging projects, esteemed teaching opportunities, exchange programs, conferences, and academic symposiums. Notable collaborative partners include:
- Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
Furthermore, our strong collaboration with two additional PhD programs in Bonn offers doctoral students access to diverse technical education across a broad spectrum of disciplines, while also fostering a robust network among fellow doctoral candidates and emerging researchers.
International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Brain and Behavior
The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Brain and Behavior is a collaboration of two partnerships on each side of the Atlantic: University of Bonn and Max Planck associated center of advanced european studies and research (caesar) in Germany – Florida Atlantic University and Max Planck Florida Institute of Neuroscience in the United States. This transatlantic partnership maximizes the benefits for students in the program by having them directly involved in the outstanding research programs established at the two Max Planck Society run institutes and their partner universities.
The IMPRS for Brain and Behavior graduate school offers a structured, 3-year multidisciplinary doctoral training and research program in the neurosciences. Overall our research programs address how sensory information is encoded in neural circuits and is transformed ultimately to behavior. Students are trained in a large range of cutting-edge techniques which are currently instrumental in the quest for understanding brain circuit function in the whole animal and its role in defining behavior. Our mission is to equip students graduating from this school with an exceptional level of knowledge and skills that will form the basis of a successful career in neuroscience. IMPRS for Brain and Behavior aims to recruit highly qualified and motivated doctoral students from all nationalities and immerse them in a stimulating scientific culture of interaction and cooperation. Exceptional candidates holding a Master’s degree in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, or other relevant subject are encouraged to join the program.
Bonn International Graduate School Clinical and Population Science
Bonn International Graduate School Clinical and Population Science (BIGS CPS) offers an international, research-oriented training program to doctoral students of various disciplines including medical doctors. The 3-year program covers a wide range of research areas that are relevant for clinical and population science with a methodical emphasis on genetics, imaging, and biostatistics. This interdisciplinary graduate school combines the expertise of outstanding scientists from the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Agriculture, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in the Helmholtz Association, and the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. Thus, BIGS CPS doctoral students have the opportunity to work together with excellent scientists on highly relevant and interesting projects such as the Rhineland Study or the DietBB Competence Cluster in Nutrition Research. Students also are exposed to the latest techniques and methodologies in the research fields explored by our faculty. In addition to the scientific education offered, the program provides the students with a multitude of opportunities to further their scientific career by training their ability to effectively communicate their research results, options to attend career courses, and to become integrated into the scientific community at an early stage in their career development.
BIGS Neuroscience supports the Deutsche Neurowissenschaften Olympiade to provide young students an early introduction into neuroscience as well as an occasion to network with neuroscientists in Bonn, and thus a life-changing experience
Deutsche Neurowissenschaften Olympiade e.V.
Our program is inspired by the International Brain Bee (IBB), a global science outreach initiative, which targets high school students. The IBB promotes the study of life-sciences and aims to introduce talented young students to the global scientific community. Former US Brain Bee participant, Dr. Julianne McCall established the “German Brain Bee” (GBB) competition in 2011 during her Ph.D. studies. Over the next 4 years, the GBB was held annually in Heidelberg, reaching more than 100 high schools across Germany since its inauguration. In 2015, the GBB was renamed the ‘Deutsche Neurowissenschaften Olympiade’ (DNO) e.V. and was established as a non-profit organization. Soon after, the board of the DNO e.V. began the process of expanding the competition throughout Germany with great success. Now, competitions are held in Bonn, Heidelberg, Berlin, and Frankfurt every spring. Currently, DNO e.V. is supported by students, scientists, teachers, and professors, as well as the German Neuroscience Society (Deutsche Neurowissenschaftliche Gesellschaft, NWG) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany).
So, if you share our passion for learning about the neurosciences amongst young students and you would like to support our team in Bonn to spread this knowledge, come and join us.
We look forward to you.
