Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Samuel M. Young, Jr., PhD, research group leader at the new Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI), has received his first grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). The grant will enable Dr. Young and colleagues to develop a technology that will help scientists working in drug development to research potential treatments that target LRRK2, a Parkinson’s-related gene. Globally, five million people have Parkinson’s disease. ..
Read More ⇒
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI) and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) recently hosted a two-day scientific symposium, “Neural Circuits: From Molecules to Behavior” on March 6-7 at the Lifelong Learning Complex on the Jupiter campus of Florida Atlantic University (FAU). More than 200 faculty, postdocs and students from MPFI, FAU, Scripps Florida and other South Florida universities attended the event, which was designed to promote collaboration among neuroscientists in Florida, Germany and Latin America. ..
Read More ⇒
Friday, March 09, 2012
To further establish their strong research and academic partnership, neuroscience faculty from Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and Max Planck Florida Institute recently initiated the joint graduate program in Integrative Biology and Neuroscience (IBAN) with the inaugural graduate-level advanced neurophysiology course on FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter.
..
Read More ⇒
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
The Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI) announced today that Duke University neuroscientist Ryohei Yasuda, PhD will join the Institute as Scientific Director of the Neuronal Signal Transduction Research Group. Dr. Yasuda will be the third Scientific Director for the Institute, joining CEO David Fitzpatrick, PhD and Nobel laureate Bert Sakmann, MD, PhD in this role, which provides unparalleled long-term research support and scientific freedom. Dr. Yasuda’s appointment was announced during the inaugural MPFI-International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) scientific symposium, “Neural Circuits: From Molecules to Behavior,” at which he spoke. ..
Read More ⇒
Thursday, January 19, 2012
David Fitzpatrick, the Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director of Max Planck Florida Institute, finds that nurture plays an important role in the cerebral cortex. Previously the James B. Duke Professor of Neurobiology at the Duke University School of Medicine, he is the founding Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. His research focuses on the functional organization and development of neural circuits in the cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex area of the brain, whose functions include sensory perception, motor control and cognition. ..
Read More ⇒
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science will launch its Frontiers in Science 2012 public lecture series with a presentation by David Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., scientific director and chief executive officer of the Max Planck Florida Institute. “Illuminating Brain Circuits” will take place on Friday, January 6 at 3:30 p.m. in the Charles E. Schmidt Biomedical Science Center, Room 126, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. ..
Read More ⇒
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Researchers from the lab of Nobel laureate Bert Sakmann, MD, PhD at the Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI) are reporting that, using a conceptually new approach and state-of-the-art research tools, they have created the first realistic three-dimensional diagram of a thalamocortical column in the rodent brain. A vertically organized series of connected neurons that form a brain circuit, the cortical column is considered the elementary building block of the cortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for many of its higher functions. ..
Read More ⇒
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The human brain constantly performs a series of complex functions such as learning, memorizing and decision making. A research team at the Max Planck Florida Institute led by Nobel laureate Dr. Bert Sakmann and Dr. Hanno-Sebastian Meyer is conducting basic research that provides new insight into how these higher brain functions come about at a mechanistic level. To do this they are investigating the structure and function of neuronal circuits — networks of interconnected nerve cells — in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for such higher functions. ..
Read More ⇒
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Four major biomedical research organizations in the area are advancing medicine, while also having a sizeable impact on the local educational system and economy, representatives said Thursday. ..
Read More ⇒
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Palm Beach County students in grades 9-12 can experience a ‘different kind of brainstorm’ by entering the inaugural Brain Bee Challenge onSaturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at the FAU Lifelong Learning Center’s Maltz Auditorium in Jupiter. Organized by the Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI) and co-hosted by the Mary and Robert Pew Public Education Fund, the oral competition is similar to a spelling bee in format, and is designed to test students’ knowledge of neuroscience through a series of questions on topics such as memory, intelligence, stress, emotions and brain disorders. Registration is free and students can prepare for the competition, which may include a written portion depending on the number of entrants, by honing up on the book “Brain Facts” published by The Society of Neuroscience. ..
Read More ⇒
