I N T E R N AT I O N A L B R A I N R E S E A R C H O R G A N I Z AT I O N

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THE FIRST YEAR …
IBRO SECRETARY-
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GENERAL REPORTS
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Jennifer Lund, IBRO's new Secretary-General since
About IBRO January 2004, succeeded Albert Aguayo who for the
last three years pursued relentlessly the aims of IBRO
Funding Options to provide top-class training to neuroscientists around
the world.
Member Directory
The first 6 months of 2004 were a time of hectic
IBRO Publications activity in IBRO. Our 6 world Regional
Education & Training
Committees have led the way with more schools
than ever, supplemented by the busy Visiting
Events Lecture Team Programme of neuroscience
courses. All the programme committees have very
active schedules and IBRO’s Journal Neuroscience
News
goes from strength to strength, with rapidly rising
Science Window submissions and increasing ratings.The IBRO
Science Issues
web site has been redesigned and is an
outstanding source of information and news for
the world’s neuroscientists.The Workshops &
NeuroScience Links Symposia and Fellowships & Travel Grants awards
programmes have never been busier. Overall,
IBRO-Edu 2005 promises to be a most successful year for
the IBRO community.
I have been greatly impressed by the hard work
of the Regional and standing Committees.
The positive feedback from our Alumni is very
encouraging. It is they who will form the future of
neuroscience in their respective countries and we
try through the Alumni programme to track and
help them as they develop their careers.
I have also been impressed by the excellent image
that IBRO has in the world and the respect with
which its programmes are viewed. IBRO is one of
the most active of the international basic science
unions with an unrivalled scale of activities.With
its limited budget, IBRO has been able to support
so many ventures through major support from
foundations and government agencies and also
through the many smaller partnerships IBRO has
made. Often the help is not monetary, but of
many other kinds, from deans and faculty who go
Winning
out of their way to facilitate IBRO events.
Neuroscience cover p. 8 Principal partners in the programmes of IBRO’s
Regional Committees are the individual national
neuroscience societies and scientific academies
whose representatives make up IBRO’s Governing
IBRO'S AFFILIATED Council, as well as the large multinational
neuroscience federations such as FENS, SONA
ORGANIZATION and FAONS.
BREAKING NEWS
Fogarty Donates to IBRO Schools p. 1
IBRO to Waive Dues for Small
p. 7
Corporate Members
HINARI Free Access to Journals p. 7
IRNTP Lists Neuroscience Training
Programmes p. 7
MELBOURNE
CHOSEN FOR
THE 7TH
IBRO WORLD
CONGRESS
JULY 2007!
FOGARTY MAKES
DONATION TO
IBRO SCHOOLS
Fogarty International Center, a division of
the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)
made a substantial donation of US$75,000
to help support 4 IBRO Neuroscience
Schools in 2004.The schools were:
IBRO/INMHA School:Topics in Cellular
and Molecular Neuroscience, Cordoba,
Argentina, September 6-24; IBRO Africa
Region Neuroscience School:
Neurodegeneration and Regeneration,
Grahamstown, South Africa, September
10-18; IBRO Advanced Neuroscience
Crimea School: Receptors, Channels,
Messengers Crimea, Ukraine, September
16-28; and a school in Bamako, Mali, Africa
on Environmental Influences on the Brain
and Neural Health (date not firm at time
of going to press).
THE REGIONS REPORT p. 6
BRAIN CAMPAIGN
IS LAUNCHED!
In a major new drive to increase public awareness
of neuroscience around the world IBRO joined
forces with the European Dana Alliance for the
Brain (EDAB) and the Federation of
Neuroscience Societies (FENS), with input from
the IBRO US/Canada Regional Committee, to
establish a worldwide Brain Campaign.To help
promote the campaign IBRO this year formed the
Public Education Committee.
All IBRO Affiliated Organizations were invited to
form local Brain Campaign groups, which could
raise the profile of brain research. Local groups
will include clinicians, schoolteachers, politicians,
media people, charity workers, young
postgraduates.
The IBRO Regions have also been invited to set
up the Brain Campaign by appointing an RC
member to assist national societies in the
campaign to encourage local groups to carry out
public activities throughout the year.
The Public Education Committee will support a
range of efforts and events to improve Brain
Awareness internationally.This includes
supporting Brain Awareness Week.
The committee is building a collection of
educational material and public information on
the brain available in several languages and
accessable from the IBRO web site's IBRO Edu
pages. We have commissioned the translation of
the BNA booklet 'Neuroscience: Science of the
Brain'. Initially versions will be produced in
Spanish, French and German. A Mandarin
translation is already available.
Esther Lennon
Chair, Public Education Committee

NUMBERS GROW!
The entry during 2004 of the Society for
Neuroscience of Peru (SONEP), the
Canadian Association of Neuroscientists
(CAN) and the Dutch Neurofederation as
Corporate Members of IBRO brings the
number of Affiliated Organizations to well
over 70, a 30% increase in the last 3 years.
Affiliated Organizations are represented
on IBRO's Governing Council, which has
the ultimate power to establish policy and
direction and thus continue to fulfil
IBRO's aim to create an international
basis for neuroscience.The GC works
with IBRO's Regional Committees to help
promote IBRO's training programmes
around the world.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT IBRO, ITS PROGRAMMES AND FUTURE EVENTS GO TO THE IBRO WEB SITE
My hopes for IBRO’s future are for its continued
success in serving the international neuroscience
community. I have initiated some new
programmes that I hope will add to that aim: a
Clinical/Basic Science Links programme to help
emphasize the need to find solutions to human
disease; a Public Education/Brain Campaign
Committee to extend the work of the Dana
Foundation and EDAB to all regions of the world
outside North America and Europe - it is
essential to inform the public of the rationale and
results of neuroscience research since they are
both the funders and beneficiaries of this work; a
Return Home programme that will work to
improve the conditions for neuroscientists in
countries struggling to maintain active scientific
research.This last endeavour is the most
ambitious and difficult of the new aims of IBRO.
Jennifer Lund
IBRO Secretary-General
IBRO School, Seville, Spain p. 5
www.ibro.info

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 IBRO FUNDING 2005-2006
Application forms for all Fellowships and Travel Grants
can be found on the IBRO web site at:
http://www.ibro.info/Pub_Main_Display.asp?Main_ID=3
Applications from Qualified Applicants for:
• IBRO Research Fellowships 2006
• John G. Nicholls/ IBRO Fellowship 2006
• IBRO Travel (Conference) Grants July-Dec 2005
• IBRO Travel (Conference) Grants Jan-June 2006
• SfN/IBRO International Travel Fellowships 2005
Please note that all applicants should fill in the
appropriate fellowship or travel grant application
form which should be submitted, preferably
electronically to: ibro4@wanadoo.fr.
Hard copy of documents required, as indicated in
the application forms, are to be sent by regular
mail or courier (no faxes) to: IBRO Secretariat,
255 rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris, France.
Applicants should apply for not more than one
category of funding for travel (IBRO Travel Grant,
SfN/IBRO International Travel Fellowship) or fellowship
(IBRO Research Fellowship, John G. Nicholls
Fellowship, SSN/IBRO Fellowship).
SYMPOSIA AND
WORKSHOPS
IBRO invites requests for partial funding of
Symposia and Workshops on important topics in
neuroscience with the aim particularly of
encouraging neuroscience research and
scholarship in regions of the world with limited
funds for science. Participants should represent
the international neuroscience community as well
as regional interests. Meetings should have a clear
focus on a particular topic. Preference will be
given to activities that include younger scientists
and offer training for scientists from countries
in which little money is available for research
or teaching.
Applicants are encouraged to include a
component available publicly on the web that
could involve participant discussion either before
or after a regular symposium or workshop. Such
discussions might, for example, include
opportunities for students and others to ask
questions, make suggestions and provide relevant
information.
Symposia should deal with topics of key
interest, specialized or broad, with background
talks to help those unfamiliar with the material, as
well as accounts of current research.
Workshops are more technical and practical in
orientation. A major portion of the programme
should involve discussion, practical teaching of
techniques and the presentation of concepts and
controls necessary for experimental work.
Workshops that bring useful techniques and
donate permanent equipment to less well-funded
countries are encouraged.
Deadlines for receiving proposals are February 1
and September 1.
Guidelines for applicants can be found on the
IBRO web site’s Funding pages.
Ken Muller,
Symposia & Workshops Programme
SSN-IBRO Fellowship
for Young Investigators 2005
The Swiss Society for Neuroscience (SSN), with
the financial support of the Swiss National
Science Foundation, is offering a 1-year
fellowship for a foreign postgraduate student to
carry out a basic or clinical research project
related to neuroscience in an academic institution
in Switzerland.The fellowship is a co-sponsored
collaboration with IBRO.The amount of the
fellowship is to be decided by the Swiss National
Science Foundation. In 2003, it was SF40,000
(approximately Euro27,000). More information
can be found on the SSN web site:
www.swissneuroscience.ch
Eligibility: Candidates should be below 45 years
of age at the time of the application and should
have an MD or PhD degree, or equivalent.
In the case of comparable qualifications,
preference will be given to applicants from less
privileged countries.
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FELLOWSHIPS & TRAVEL GRANTS
IBRO Research Fellowships 2006
Application Deadline: 1 March 2005
The IBRO Fellowship Program aims to foster quality neuroscience especially in the less-developed and less well-funded countries. It welcomes high-
quality scientists (under the age of 45) from diverse geographic and scientific areas wishing to broaden the scope of their training in neuroscience by
working 1 month to 1 year abroad in good laboratories. Priority will be given to those who have not obtained an IBRO Fellowship within the past 3
years and who, after completion of the training funded by this Fellowship, are willing to return to their home countries, bringing with them new
knowledge and skills to advance neuroscience in their regions.
The funding for a 12-month fellowship is US$25,000. An 'Outstanding IBRO Fellowship' of additional US$5,000 will be awarded to the distinguished
candidate.
John G. Nicholls/ IBRO Fellowship 2006
Application Deadline: 1 March 2005
One John G. Nicholls IBRO Fellowship has been created in honour of Dr John G. Nicholls, the founding Director from 1994 to 2002 of the IBRO
Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP). Under his leadership the team has taught some 1000 students in 21 neuroscience courses held in 18
different countries.
The John G. Nicholls IBRO Fellowship aims to assist 1 promising researcher younger than 30 years of age who wishes to further his/her training in
neuroscience at a distinguished foreign laboratory for 1 year.The successful candidate is expected to return to his/her home country after the training,
bringing new knowledge and skills in the neurosciences.
Candidates should be younger than 30 years old at the time of application and resident in one of the 18 countries where the IBRO Visiting Lecture
Team Programme (VLTP) has been held under Dr Nicholls’ direction:
APRC (6): China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam
ARC (1): Nigeria
CEERC (3): Bulgaria, Iran and Poland
LARC (8): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
Application
The application must include:
a) Two letters of reference from local scientists who can speak about the applicant's research potential, and endorse the application.
b) The name one of the IBRO VLTP teachers who could act as the applicant’s referee.Teacher's reference will be an advantage.
c) A letter from the proposed supervisor indicating that he/she is willing to accept the candidate and agrees on the proposed project.
d) A description no longer than 2 pages of the project that the candidate wishes to pursue.
e) A letter from indicating applicant’s wish to return to home country upon completion of the Fellowship.
The funding for a 12-month fellowship is US$25,000.
IBRO Travel Grants July-December 2005
Application Deadline: 1 March 2005
IBRO offers Travel Grants for high-quality neuroscientists especially from the less-developed and less well-funded countries to present their findings
at international neuroscience meetings. Priority will be given to those who have not obtained an IBRO Travel Grant in the past 3 years.
If there is more than one author for the same abstract, only one will be considered for the same application. Evidence of travel, attendance
(conference registration, air-ticket copy) and presentation (copy of abstract in conference program) at the conference will be required.Written confirmation will be
required from supervisor that no other funding support is available for the same travel.
Please note that applications for Travel Grants for the six-month period:
a) July-Dec 2005 should be submitted by 1 March 2005
b) Jan-June 2006 should be submitted by 1 Sept 2005
The funding for travel will be up to US$1,500 per award.
SfN/IBRO International Travel Fellowships 2005
Application Deadline: 1 March 2005
The Society for Neuroscience offers Travel Fellowships of up to US$1,500 each, for neuroscientists under the age of 35 from the less-developed
countries of the 5 IBRO regions (Africa, Asian/Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America,Western Europe) to attend the 35th SfN Annual
Meeting.The applicant should be the first author of an abstract to be presented at the annual meeting. Copy of abstract submitted to SfN for a poster
or a platform presentation is required.
Kwok-Fai So
Chair, Fellowships and Travel Grants Committee
Application: The application must include: IBRO Outstanding Fellow 2003
a summary (max. 3 pp) of the research project;
a letter of support from the host laboratory, Francisco Capani, chosen Outstanding Fellow 2003, worked for 1 year with Professor Oleg Shupliakov, Dept. of
stating that it will provide with laboratory space Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden on the coupling between the endocytosis and actin-based
and research expenses; the candidate's curriculum transport of vesicles. He is now back in Argentina working at the Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias
vitae and list of publications, which should be Profesor 'Eduardo De Robertis', Buenos Aires, Argentina.
submitted to the President of the Swiss Society
for Neuroscience. If possible send by email to "Two different actin systems have been described in the synapse. One system is responsible for
sn@pharma.unizh.ch. transport of vesicles along the axon; the other is involved in transport of vesicles from the endocytic
Deadline for application: December 31, 2004
zone back to the synaptic vesicle cluster. In the experiments that I performed in Sweden I demonstrated
Decisions will be made in the spring of 2005. that these systems interact at sites of synaptic vesicle recycling. Giant reticulospinal synapse in the
The fellowship starts on June 1, 2005.
lamprey was used as a model system in these experiments. Injection of phalloidin into the giant axon
Jean-Marc Fritschy caused formation of actin bundles in axons and resulted in mislocalization of recycled synaptic vesicles
President, SSN from endocytic zones.Together with Dr Oleg Shupliakov, I am currently preparing a manuscript.
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland We also started a project aimed at unravelling mechanisms controlling synaptic vesicle size.To achieve
this objective we use electron tomography and 3-D reconstruction techniques.The organization of
endocytic intermediates 'trapped' at different stages of synaptic vesicle recycling is investigated. In this
project we are working in collaboration with the National Center of Microscopy and Imaging Research,
University of California, San Diego, USA and the Cell and Molecular Biology Department, Karolinska
Institutet, Sweden.”
 IBRO’S ALUMNI & FELLOWS
800 IBRO ALUMNI !
The number of IBRO Alumni is now over 800.
The Alumni Programme was set up to facilitate
interactions between students and students and
faculty who have participated in IBRO's
educational programmes and to create a
community of young scientists who will remain
in contact with IBRO and with each other. IBRO
tries wherever possible to assist Alumni with
guidance and mentorship on scientific issues and
career selection.
Proposed activities include: expansion of the web
site Directory of Alumni with e-mails and
addresses of former students of IBRO schools
and VLTP courses; reunions at national and
international meetings; a web site map with links
to items of interest (training programmes, Map &
Compass, Neuro-Grants Info, Grants to Return
Home); email circulation of material of interest to
Alumni; assisting Alumni seeking interactions on
scientific, social and other topics of interest.
Sigismund Huck (sigismund.huck@meduniwien.ac.at),
a member of IBRO's Neuroscience School Board,
is the coordinator of the Alumni programme. He
is now assisted by Connie Atwell
Habiba Vongtau (Nigeria), one of IBRO's
many Alumni
(atwell@ninds.nih.gov), who brings to the
programme a great deal of experience from her
former job at NIH.
Four IBRO Alumni Enrol for MBL Courses,Woods Hole
Four IBRO-sponsored students were selected to participate in Marine Biology Laboratory
courses in the summer of 2004 at Woods Hole, MA, USA.The students are all IBRO Alumni,
having taken part either in IBRO Neuroscience Schools or the Visiting Lecture Team Programme.
Thabelo Khoboko is a graduate student at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of
Cape Town, South Africa. In 2002 she won the IBRO Levi-Montalcini Award for African Women in
Neuroscience to pursue a higher degree at Cape Town University’s Dept. of Human Biology.
Her research involves measurement of glutamate receptor function in a rat model for
Parkinson's disease. Her aim is to develop her skills in electrophysiological techniques to study
how synaptic connectivity within neural circuits has been modified by neurological disorders.
She was enrolled in the Summer Program in Neuroscience, Ethics and Survival.
Milena Winograd is a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Institute at the University Miguel
Hernandez, San Juan de Alicante, Spain. Her thesis research is on the cortical network
mechanisms underlying prefrontal oscillations and involves experimental design, preparation of
slices, intra and extracellular recordings and data analysis. Milena was enrolled in the course
Methods in Computational Neuroscience.
Maria Castello, PhD works in the Dept. of Comparative Neurophypsiology and also in the
Dept of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Instituto de Investigaciones Biologicas Clemente Estable,
Montevideo, Uruguay. Dr Castello is part of a research group whose main interest is in the study
of perception. She uses the electrosensory system as a model, in particular the electrosensory
system of Gymnotus carapo. She was enrolled in the Neural Systems and Behavior course.
Emiliano Merlo is a doctoral student in the Biology Dept of the School of Exact and Natural
Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Emiliano's thesis research focuses on
studying the role of NF-kappaB signaling pathway that leads to memory extinction in the crab
Chasmagnathus. He was enrolled in the Neurobiology course.

IBRO FELLOWS REPORT

Cuban neuroscientist spends year
in Australia
Pavel Prado-Gutiérrez, age 27 and a PhD student at
the Cuban Center for Neuroscience, Havana, Cuba,
was awarded an IBRO Fellowship to work for one
year in 2003 at the Department of Otolaryngology,
University of Melbourne, Australia.
'At the moment I am completing the analysis of
data collected from experiments performed in
the Department of Otolaryngology, University of
Melbourne, Australia.This work was focused on
the effect of electrical stimuli with different pulse
duration and interphase gap on the auditory
response of deafened animals. Part of the results
was presented in the seminar 'A tool for
measuring peripheral neural survival in
implantees?' in the Bionic Ear Institute,
Melbourne, Australia.This work will be also
presented at the 2nd Meeting of Neural
Degeneration, Havana 2004 and 8th International
Cochlear Implant Conference, Indiana, USA. Also
a paper will be written for publication in a
peer-reviewed journal. In the second half of the
present year (2004) I will start working on the
project 'Effect of deafened on auditory learning'.
The IBRO Fellowship program is an important
contribution in the development of neuroscience
in third world countries.With this program young
researchers have the opportunity of broadening
their research experience while living in another
culture.The fellowship program also allows the
development of long-term scientific collaboration
between institutions of different countries due to
the relation that develops between the researcher
and the host center.
In my case, visiting the Department of
Otolaryngology, University of Melbourne,
Australia was a very important scientific and
cultural experience.There I learned different
techniques and methods needed to carry out my
research and was exposed to new techniques
associated with cochlear implants. New research
techniques included new deafening techniques,
procedures for implantation of intra-cochlear
electrodes arrays for electrical stimulation,
techniques for recording electrically evoked
neural activity in the auditory system and
procedures for histology. I also had the opportunity
of working on a scientific project, which will
result in a publication in a peer-reviewed journal."
Ukraine researcher in Paris
Bohdan Kolomiets, of the Bogomoletz Institute of
Physiology, Kiev, Ukraine, was awarded in 2002 an
IBRO Fellowship, which he took up at the University of
Paris' Laboratory of Neurobiology Adaptation
Processes during the year 2003.
IBRO Fellow Steven Oluwole
"Currently, I am completing my research work in
the Laboratory of Neurobiology of Adaptation
Processes, University of Paris VI (Paris, France).
The project funded by IBRO was aimed on the
elucidation of the relationship between patterns
of neuronal activity occurring at different stages
of learning and induction of synaptic plasticity in
rat prefrontal cortex. Based on the results of the
behavioral part of project, we were able to isolate
certain patterns of burst-like activity occurring
during the critical learning stages and we
successfully applied the sequence of stimuli with
parameters mimicking burst-like activity in our in
vitro studies so as to evoke long-term plasticity
changes (NMDA-receptor dependent long-term
potentiation) in the pyramidal neurons of rat
prefrontal cortex. Our data revealed that certain
patterns of activity seen in prefrontal cells during
the learning task are capable of modifying for a
considerable time the synaptic transmission and
thus participate in the long-term memory
storage processes.
A part of our results was presented at the IBRO
Congress 2003 in Prague and at the CNRS
meeting at the University of Paris VI in 2004.
Results will be also presented at the 4th Forum
of European Neuroscience, Lisbon, Portugal and
at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Society for
Neuroscience in San Diego, USA. A full-length
paper has been submitted for publication in a
peer-reviewed journal.
By providing fellowships to young researchers
from developing countries IBRO offers them a
unique possibility of acquiring new, state-of-the-
art techniques and approaches, of extending their
research experience, as well as establishing new
scientific contacts with outstanding neuroscience
laboratories for further fruitful collaboration after
their return to the home institution.
I am very much obliged to IBRO for granting me
the fellowship and I appreciate the excellent
organization of my research stay in France, thanks
to the Director of the Fellowship Programme, Dr
Kwok-Fai So, and to the IBRO Secretariat."
Nigerian researcher spends year at
Karolinska Institutet
Steven Oluwole, Senior Lecturer in Neurology at the
Department of Medicine, University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Nigeria, took up a 1-year IBRO Fellowship
from May 2003 to April 2004 at Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, where he worked with
Professor Kristen Kristensson in the Division of
Neurodegenerative Diseases Research, Dept.
of Neurosciences.
"The objective of the fellowship was to
investigate if thiocyanate, the major metabolite
of cyanide, is toxic to dorsal root ganglion
neurons.The planned studies were designed to
test the hypothesis that exposure to cyanide is
the causal agent of endemic ataxic
polyneuropathy. Endemic ataxic polyneuropathy
is a neurological syndrome of distal symmetrical
sensory polyneuropathy, sensory gait ataxia,
optic neuropathy, and
deafness. It has been reported predominantly
from southwestern Nigeria, but also from
other African countries like Senegal and Tanzania.
The onset is usually insidious and the course
is progressive.
Consumption of cassava food, which provided
about two-thirds of the calories for the affected
population, was implicated in the causation of
endemic ataxic polyneuropathy in the 1950s and
1960s. Cyanide, which is released from the
cyanogenic compounds in cassava foods, or
thiocyanate, a metabolite of cyanide, were
considered possible toxicants which induced
neuron damage. I investigated the relationship of
consumption of cassava foods and occurrence of
endemic ataxic polyneuropathy in a doctoral
thesis, ‘Endemic ataxic polyneuropathy in Nigeria’,
which I defended at Karolinska Institutet in
April 2002.
The studies in the thesis showed that ataxic
polyneuropathy persists in the endemic area in
southwestern Nigeria. It was shown that cassava
is still the major food in the endemic area, and
that thiocyanate was higher in the endemic area
than in the non-endemic areas. A case-control
study, however, did not show a difference in the
intake of cassava food and exposure to cyanide
between cases and controls. A comparative study
of two communities with high exposure to
cyanide from cassava foods, one in the endemic
area and one in the non-endemic areas, showed
high occurrence of ataxic polyneuropathy only in
the endemic community. An experimental study,
which was conducted to quantitate exposure to
cyanide from cassava foods, showed that the
amount of cyanide that is released from a typical
meal of cassava food was too small to cause acute
cyanide toxicity. It was concluded that exposure
to cyanide is not causally related to occurrence of
endemic ataxic polyneuropathy.
Following these findings, other putative etiological
agents for endemic ataxic polyneuropathy were
considered. An investigation of two subjects, not
published, showed mild increase in mononuclear
cells in the CSF, while MRI imaging showed
hyper-intense signals on T2 weighted images
mainly in the frontal cerebral areas.These results
suggest that inflammation may be involved in the
pathogenesis of endemic ataxic polyneuropathy.
Subsequently the proposed studies that were
based on putative association of exposure to
cyanide, which IBRO had supported, were revised.
It was concluded that immunohistochemistry and
molecular biology techniques would be needed to
further the investigation of endemic ataxic
polyneuropathy in Nigeria.”

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT FUNDING FROM IBRO AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS,VISIT THE
IBRO WEBSITE www.ibro.info

3
 IBRO’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
THE VISITING LECTURE TEAM ON COURSE
"What lies behind the VLTP courses is the noble aim of IBRO: with its worldwide long-range perspective, it endeavours to encourage
knowledge for its own sake and research wherever it is done. IBRO recognizes that people working in poor
universities and medical schools have just the same right to be interested in basic science and have just the same right to hear
about it from world experts." John Nicholls, Director VLTP, 1994-2002
The VLTP in Izmir,Turkey: The VLTP course at
Ege University School of Medicine, Izmir
(Bornova),Turkey, September 10-18, 2003 was
organized by Sakire Pogun (Ege University School
of Medicine) and U. J. McMahan (VLTP Director).
The lecturers were Prof. John Nicholls (SISSA),
Prof. Hugo Arechiga (UNAM, Mexico), Prof. Peter
Sargent (UCSF, US), Prof. Caroline Damsky (UCSF,
US), Dr Yuan Liu (NIH, US), Prof. Eric Schwartz
(University of Chicago School of Medicine, US)
and Prof. U. J. McMahan (Stanford University
School of Medicine, US).The lectures included
mechanisms of synaptic transmission and sensory
transduction; the structure and function of
channels, receptors and pumps; the organization
of extracellular matrix and its role in neural
function and disease; the cellular and molecular
regulation of circadian rhythms and other
behaviours; the structural, functional organization
of vertebrate and invertebrate visual systems; and
steps and mechanisms in neural development and
regeneration. Dr Yuan Liu, of the National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at
the NIH, USA, spoke to students about
opportunities for funding and career development.
She was also a lecturer on the VLTP course at the
Medical University of Qingda, Qingdao, China, July
21-29, 2004.
The 68 students included Masters and PhD
students in Physiology, Biochemistry, Biophysics,
VLTP, 1994-2004
1994: Mexico
1995: Chile: Santiago de Chile; Argentina:
Buenos Aires;Venezuela: Caracas; India:
Bombay, Bangalore
1996: Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Khota Baru
1997: People's Republic of China: Beijing,
Xian; Shanghai
1998: Brazil: Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo;
India: Mahalebeshwar; Bulgaria: Sofia
1999: Philippines: Diliman, Manila:Course in
Neuroscience; Sri Lanka
2000: Brazil: Ribeirao Preto
2001: India: Bangalore; Uruguay:
Montevideo; Cuba: Havana;Vietnam
2002: Iran:Tehran; Argentina: Cordoba;
Poland:Wroclaw;Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh
City ; China: Fudan University, Shanghai;
Peru: University of Cusco, Cusco
2003:Turkey: Ege University School of
Medicine, Izmir; Peru: University of
Chiclayo, Chiclayo; Uganda: University
Faculty of Medicine, Kampala
2004: Cuba: University of Granma,
Manzanillo; Costa Rica: University of Costa
Rica, San Jose; Iran: School of Cognitive
Sciences-IPM,Tehran; Romania: University
of Bucharest, Bucharest; China: Medical
University of Qindao, Qindao
THE GRASS
FOUNDATION TO
FUND VLTP
UNTIL 2005
The Grass Foundation (USA) has extended
its period of funding for the IBRO Visiting
Lecture Team Programme (VLTP) from
2003 to 2005. In June 2003 Steve Zottoli,
President of the Grass Foundation, made
the generous offer to provide funding for
the VLTP for 2003.The Trustees of the
Foundation then agreed to extend funding
until the end of 2005.The Grass
Foundation is a philanthropic institution
devoted to neuroscience and allied fields
of medicine and science.
4
Psychology and Physical Therapy as well as
medical students, residents in Neurology and
Psychiatry, junior faculty members and a few
advanced undergraduates. Some students gave
10-minute talks: Elif Kirmizi Alsan, Sinan Canan,
Meral Yuksel, Bilge Ozerman, Alper Karakas,
Aysegul Kucuk, Cagri Yalgin, Gulgun Kayalioglu,
Cosan Terek.
The course was overshadowed by the sudden
death of one of its lecturers, Hugo Arechiga, from
a massive heart attack, which occurred in his
hotel room near the course's halfway point.
Widely recognized for his leadership in science
policy at the National University of Mexico
(UNAM) and throughout Latin America, as well as
for his many research accomplishments, Hugo
was a wonderfully generous, highly cultured IBRO
colleague, who had lectured in 9 VLTP courses.
Sakire Pogun, local organizer, VLTP Izmir
Peru medical students organize their own
VLTP course: A small group of medical students
from the outlying University of Chiclayo, Peru,
who had attended the Cusco VLTP course in
December 2002, were so inspired by neuroscience
that they, led by a fourth-year student named
Gaudi Lozano, decided to organize a course in
basic neuroscience covering the normal
functioning of the nervous system.The course
was enthusiastically supported by VLTP director
Jack McMahan, who provided funds.
The three essential ingredients for success were
the organizer, Gaudi Lozano; the teachers (who
taught on the Cusco course), Jaime Eugenin,
Rommy von Bernhardi (Chile), Osvaldo Uchitel
(Argentina), Francisco Fernandez de Miguel
(Mexico), Elaine del Bel (Brazil); and the 70
students, selected from many different medical
schools in Peru.
Kampala, Uganda: The VLTP and African
Regional Committee held a Workshop and
Interest Group Meeting at Makerere University
Faculty of Medicine, Kampala, Uganda, December
11-12, 2003. In addition to Drs Kenneth Muller
and U. J. McMahan of the VLTP, participating in
both events were Dr Raj Kalaria, Chair,
IBRO-ARC, and Dr Willie Daniels, an ARC
member. Dr Angelina Kakooza Mwesige (Dept of
Pediatrics) and Dr Edward Nyatia (Faculty of
Agriculture) were the local organizers.
The lectures covered the chemical basis of
signaling in the nervous system, the structure and
function of synapses, neural plasticity, and the
aging brain.There were 52 participants besides
the lecturers and organizers, including Prof. Sam
Luboga, Assoc. Dean of Education at Makerere
Medical School, as well as Makerere medical
students, residents and faculty in the Depts. of
Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathology,
Medicine (including Neurology), Psychiatry and
Pediatrics.
One participant, Dr Amadi Ogonda Ihunwo, was
from the Dept. of Anatomy at the Mbarara
VLTP Bucharest
University of Science and Technology.
With the intellectual interests at the Medical
School currently drawn along classical lines, at the
interest group meeting the VLTP members
provoked a discussion of the usefulness of such
interdepartmental training programs in the
neurosciences as are offered at US and UK
universities. As a result, Dr Ebuk Moses, an
electrophysiologist in the Dept. of Physiology,
undertook to organize MUNUSO (Makerere
University Neuroscience Organization), which
includes all students in the university interested
in the neurosciences.With Dr Moses its Director,
MUNUSO meets monthly to discuss recent
research publications in the field. Because it is
difficult for universities in economically
developing countries to have access to recent
publications, Dr Muller has been helping to
provide them.
San Jose, Costa Rica: The aim of the VLTP
course at the University of Costa Rica, San Jose,
Costa Rica, January 14-22, 2004 was to provide
students, teachers, research workers and medical
clinicians in neuroscience in Costa Rica and from
nearby countries with a forum for the detailed
discussion of both specific topics of current
interest in the field and opportunities for career
development.The course lasted 9 days, the final
day devoted to 10-min talks by the students,
research lectures by local faculty in the
neurosciences, and a discussion of training
opportunities abroad including those funded by
the NIH, the Grass Foundation, the Wellcome
Trust, and various German agencies.
The local organizer was Jaime Fornaguera, Prof. of
Biochemistry at the University of Costa Rica
Faculty of Medicine, who created the Program in
Neuroscience at the University, which includes a
variety of educational facilities including its own
laboratory space.The lecturers were John
Prof Fornaguera dances at the gala dinner, San Jose
Nicholls (SISSA, Italy), Elaine del Bel (University of
Sao Paolo, Brazil), Lawrence Cohen (Yale
University Medical School, USA), Alasdair Gibb
(University College London, UK),Walter Stühmer
(Max-Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine-
Goettingen, Germany) and Jack McMahan
(Stanford University School of Medicine, USA).
The lectures included mechanisms of synaptic
transmission and sensory transduction; the
structure and function of channels, receptors and
pumps; the structural, functional organization of
the vertebrate olfactory and visual systems; steps
and mechanisms in neural development and
regeneration, and the molecular basis of certain
diseases. Elaine del Bel (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil)
gave 2 lectures on molecular neurobiology and
Parkinson's disease as well as conferences during
the first 3 days.The local faculty lecturers were
Henriette Raventos (genetics of familial
schizophrenia), Alejandro Leal (genetics of
hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies)
and Carolina Arevalo (activation of
ryanodine receptors).
Of the 83 students, 47 were from Costa Rica and
the rest were from Mexico, Guatamala, Honduras,
Panama, Colombia, Cuba, Barbados,Venezula and
Jamaica.The students' backgrounds were highly
varied.The course was a wonderful success and
came at exactly the right time for the University
of Costa Rica as it plans to set up a neuroscience
curriculum. It helped to energize the students,
faculty and administrators for the setting up of
this new enterprise.
Bucharest, Romania: The University of
Buchares welcomed the VLTP who presented a
course, May 3-11, 2004, organized by Alexandru
Babes and U. J. McMahan.There were 81 students,
teachers, research workers and medical clinicians
in neuroscience and related fields from various
academic institutions in Romania and nearby
countries in Eastern Europe. Five VLTP members
gave 35 lectures (7 each) over 9 days.
Assisting local organizer Dr Alex Babes were Dr
Florentina Pluteanu and several local students:
Ramona Linte, Nicoleta Neacsu, Gabriella Stanila,
Christina Vasuta and Corina Prica.The lecturers
were Prof. John Nicholls (SISSA,Trieste, Italy),
Prof. Jonathan Ashmore (Dept. of Physiology,
University College, London, UK), Prof. Mendell
Rimer (Neuroscience Section, University of Texas,
Austin,Texas, USA), Professor Jerzy Mozrzymas
(Department of Biophysics,Wroclaw Medical
University,Wroclaw, Poland) and Prof. U. J.
McMahan (Dept of Neurobiology, Stanford
University, Stanford, California, USA).The lectures
covered the structural and functional organization
of the visual and auditory systems; mechanisms of
channel and receptor function; the structure,
function and formation of synapses; and principles
of nervous system development and regeneration.
Of the 81 students, 7 were from Poland, 2 from
Bulgaria, 3 from Turkey. Of the 69 Romanian
students, 44 were from various institutes in Bucharest.
 IBRO’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
THE NEUROSCIENCE SCHOOLS 2003-2004
In 2004 IBRO's Neuroscience School Programme will fund 17 schools around the world.These schools will enrol some 400 students.
Some of the schools are co-funded by IBRO and other national and international organizations as well as by generous donors
INMHA/IBRO African School, Cape Town:
An IBRO/INMHA-sponsored Advanced School
was held in Cape Town, South Africa, 1-7
September 2003. After receiving more than 115
applications from all over Africa, the organizers
selected 22 students for the 1-week courses
offered by this school.The courses were held at
the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, under
the overall heading 'Electrical Activity in the
Nervous System'.The faculty included scientists
from Italy (2), Canada (4), the US (1), the UK (1),
Kenya (1), France (1) and South Africa (4).The
students came from Morocco (3), Cameroon (1),
Benin (1), Kenya (3), Uganda (2),Tanzania (1),
Tunisia (1), South Africa (6), Botswana (1), Lesotho
(2), Mauritius (1).
The 2 main sponsors of the school were the
Canadian Institute of Neuroscience, Mental
Health and Addiction (INMHA) and IBRO. IBRO's
African Regional Committee (ARC) and the
Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) also
helped organize the school. Other Advanced
Schools are planned for 2004 in cooperation with
INMHA and the International Society for
Neurochemistry (ISN).They will cover other
themes of interest to scientists and clinicians in
the 4 corners of Africa.
IBRO/FENS Summer School, Dubrovnik
and Zagreb: An IBRO/FENS International
Summer School, 'Development and Plasticity of
the Human Cerebral Cortex', was held in
Dubrovnik and Zagreb, Croatia, 20 September–4
October 2003.The Summer School, sponsored by
IBRO and FENS, was organized by Ivica Kostovic
(Zagreb, Croatia) and held at the International
Center of Croatian Universities (ICCU) in
Dubrovnik (invited lectures) and in laboratories
of the Croatian Institute for Brain Research
(CIBR) in Zagreb (practical tutorials).
The course was intended for advanced Ph.D.
students or post-docs in neuroscience and
related fields from Western Europe, the
IBRO-CEERC, and other IBRO regions.The
school was attended by 12 eminent lecturers and
26 young scientists from 15 countries: Hungary
(3), Romania (1), Georgia (1), UK (1), USA (1),
Sweden (1), Russia (4), Croatia (3), Germany (2),
Poland (2), Finland (2), Czech R (1), Iran (1), India
(1), France (2).Topics of the school included:
synaptogenesis; development of dendrites and
thalamocortical, corticocortical and
monoaminergic connections; areal specification;
early cortical activity, development and plasticity
of hippocampal circuitry; neuroprotection in early
life; plasticity, recovery and neurodevelopmental
outcome after perinatal damage.The school
successfully promoted research and education on
Summer School, Dubrovnik and Zagreb
the development, organization and pathology of
the human brain.
IBRO-UNAM-ISN School of Neuroscience,
Mexico City: The School of Neuroscience in
Mexico, October 2-17, 2003 was aimed at
graduate and undergraduate students from Latin
America. Students received hands-on training in
modern methodologies used to study
development and regeneration of the nervous
system in invertebrate and vertebrate systems.
The course began with a 2-day symposium, where
nearly 150 graduate, undergraduate students and
faculty learned about the ontogeny of the
nervous system, axonal pathfinding and target
selection, synapse formation, circuit development,
and regeneration, cell death, regeneration of
synapses and the possible role of transplants in
the induction of regeneration.The speakers were
Pierre Drapeau (McGill University), Francisco F.
De-Miguel (IFC-UNAM), René Drucker Colín
(IFC-UNAM), Jorge Hernández (CINVESTAV,
IPN), Eduardo Macagno (UCSD), U. Jack McMahan
(Stanford University), Julio Morán (IFC-UNAM),
Kenneth J. Muller (U. Miami),Wesley Thompson
(University of Austin), Alfredo Varela E.
(INB-UNAM), and David Weisblat (UC Berkeley).
The symposium was followed by a 2-week Women students at the 5th IBRO African School
practical course for 12 selected students, who
Latin-American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, equipment from more developed research
received hands-on training in a selected range of
Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela), and from centers from the USA, Europe and Japan.
methodologies, using invertebrate and vertebrate
the UK and Italy.This part of the Program was
systems.The practical course consisted of a
divided into 5 courses (30 credits) covering the IBRO Neuroscience School, Hong Kong,
series of experiments that were carried out by
main aspects of modern Neurosciences April 19-30, 2004: The Neuroscience School,
the students, following the scheme of the courses
(Biophysics, Cell and Molecular Biology, with the assistance of the Hong Kong Society of
given at Woods Hole and in the 2001 workshop
Neuroanatomy and Development of the Nervous Neurosciences, aimed to provide a platform for
here in Mexico.The faculty of the practical course
System, Electrophysiology, Neuropharmacology senior PhD students and junior post-doctoral
were Francisco F. De-Miguel (IFC-UNAM), Araceli
and Neurotoxicology, and Neurophysiology of fellows in the Asia-Pacific region to acquire
Espinoza-Jeffreys (UCLA), Julio Morán (IFC-
Sensory and Motor Systems).Training included knowledge of both theoretical and technological
UNAM), Kenneth J Muller (Miami University), Juan
regular lectures, laboratory work, demonstrations advances in key areas of neuroscience research.
Riesgo Escovar (INB-UNAM), Citlali Trueta
(video and computer rooms), and invited lectures. Besides lectures and tutorials, 5 mini-projects ran
Segovia (INP, Mexico), Alfredo Varela Echavarría
The courses were presented by 27 scientists as a strand through the practical sessions in
(INB-UNAM) and David Weisblat (UC Berkeley).
from Europe and the USA and took place at the different research laboratories. Each student
campus of the Pablo de Olavide University, a new chose one of these 5 themes for practical
5th IBRO African Region School: The School
and active Spanish public center. Lab work was sessions. At the end of the school, students had a
'Essential and Behavioural Neuroscience' was held
mostly carried out at the División de half-day presentation of their work in the school.
in Nairobi, Kenya, 14-21 December 2003 and was
Neurociencias, a research facility devoted to During the school, students also attended an
organized by Profs Abdul Mohammed (SONA)
comparative and multidisciplinary studies on International Symposium on Neural Plasticity,
and Nilesh Patel (IBRO-ARC). It was held for the
Neurosciences.The Program was co-directed by Development and Repair (April 22-23, 2004) and
second time at the International Centre for
Drs J. M. Delgado-García, from the University presented their own research work as posters.
Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in
Pablo de Olavide, and A. Ferrús, from the Instituto
Duduville, on the outskirts of Nairobi. Almost all
Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain. The 25 students were from Australia (3), China
the 25 students were engaged in neuroscience
(11), India (3), Iran (2), Philippines (1), Singapore
research and a few were completing doctoral
The second part of the Doctorate Program took (2),Taiwan (1), and Thailand (2).While travel and
degrees in their home institutions in Ethiopia,
place this year, April 5-June 18, 2004, and was accommodation expenses for the students came
Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda
devoted to Higher Brain Functions, Behavioral from IBRO-APRC, the overseas teachers
and Zimbabwe.
Biology, Neural Substrates of Learning and (Australia, Japan, Korea, USA) were supported by
Memory, and Plasticity and Regeneration (9 the Croucher Foundation (Hong Kong).The local
The teaching faculty were from France, Italy,
credits).Training included regular lectures, lab teachers were from the University of Hong Kong,
Sweden, South Africa, the USA, the UK,
work, and invited lecturers. Sixteen scientists Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Switzerland and Kenya.The instructors included
from Europe and the USA presented the courses. the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong
two members of the IBRO VLTP, Jack McMahan
Students also had to prepare a dissertation in Kong Baptist University.
and Ken Muller. Students learned about the most
order to obtain their Diploma de Estudios
modern methods on quantification of behaviour
Avanzados
in laboratory and field animals. Faculty also INMHA TO
demonstrated how to monitor circadian rhythms
As a special event within the Program, the
and build upon simple maze learning paradigms to
international symposium 'Neural Oscillators CO-FUND IBRO
track subtle behaviours. Finite ways of measuring
Underlying Perception, Cognition and Behavior'
behaviour using transponder tagged technology
was organized. It was aimed to introduce the
NEUROSCIENCE
and radiotelemetry were also the order of the
sunny days. Dr Jean Altman (Princeton), on
students to the exciting research area of SCHOOLS IN
Neuroscience today and was presented by
fieldwork at the Amboseli Game Reserve, gave a
fascinating guest lecture on hormones and
internationally known speakers. AFRICA AND LATIN
behaviour in baboons (Science, 2003 Nov 14;
The Doctorate Program was supported by IBRO, AMERICA, 2004-5
302:1231-4). In addition to these, the students
the students' own laboratories, by fellowships
assimilated lectures on neuronal death INMHA (Institute of Neurosciences,
from the Spanish Ministry of Research and
mechanisms, cognitive testing in man, and brain Mental Health and Addiction, Canada) is to
Technology, and the University Pablo de Olavide.
ageing and dementia. co-fund Neuroscience Schools in Africa
The Spanish Ministry of Education covered the
travel and living expenses of most of the invited and Latin America in 2004-5. After a highly
At the beginning of the week in Nairobi the IBRO successful Advanced School sponsored by
teachers and speakers.The University Pablo de
African Schools 'veteran' instructor and friend of IBRO and INMHA in Cape Town, South
Olavide generously allowed the use of their
SONA, Prof. Marina Bentivoglio (Italy), was Africa in September 2003, it has been
teaching and research facilities.The Fundación
recognized for her outstanding service to African announced that INMHA is to co-fund 2
Ramón Areces sponsored the introductory
neuroscience. In accord with the IBRO tradition, more IBRO schools in Africa and a school
international course on 'Neural Oscillators'.
Michael Kihara (Kenya) was elected as the class in Latin America planned for 2004-5.
The directors of the Doctorate Program are well
representative for the alumni. Contributions from
aware of the importance of the reintegration of
our local sponsor, the Avenue Hospital Group, Remi Quirion, Scientific Director of
our students to their original universities or
and AstraZeneca and IBRO were acknowledged INMHA, commented on the implications
research centers.They do not wish to contribute
and asante sana was also said to Mr Kurt Iten and for international neuroscience: "Increasing
to a brain drain from Latin-American countries.
his staff at the ICIPE Guest Centre, who made the international presence of Canadian
It must be indicated that during the successive
this sub-Saharan school a great success. neuroscientists is one of the priorities of
Master and Doctorate Courses organized under
the auspices of IBRO, since 1995, more than 180 INMHA.The successful IBRO school
3rd Latin-American Doctorate Program, program gives us a unique opportunity to
young investigators (mainly from Latin-American
University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain, do that at the same time as helping
countries) have been introduced to basic aspects
March 31-June 15, 2004: 27 students started scientists in Africa and Latin America to
of modern Neuroscience.The organizers believe
training 2 years ago, attending the first set of refresh their knowledge of a specific area
that IBRO could contribute to facilitate their
courses of the Doctorate Progam (March 31-June of the neurosciences that is especially
reinstallation in their places of origin with a
15, 2002).They were from Spanish universities relevant to them. "
program to collect discarded (but still useful)
and research institutions, centers from
5
 IBRO'S REGIONS REPORT
Out of Africa: Highlights of IBRO-ARC
activities:
Over the past year the African Regional
Committee's activities include 2 Neuroscience
Schools in Africa, a regional meeting co-sponsored
by the VLTP in Uganda and success stories of
Africa IBRO schools alumni, such as those of the
first two recipients of the Rita Levi-Montalcini
Fellowships (IBRO) who send encouraging
reports on their progress in the USA and South
African laboratories.
The ARC represents the interests of 5 African
neuroscience organizations: the Society of
Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA), Moroccan
Association of Neuroscience (MAN) Southern
African Neuroscience Society (SANS), Kenyan
Society for Neuroscience (KSN) and Nigerian
Society for Neuroscience (NSN), all members of
the IBRO Governing Council.The ARC is working
with neuroscience interest groups in Congo,
Egypt, Senegal and Uganda to become members
of IBRO.
NEW PRESIDENT
FOR SONA
Prof.Willie Daniels, Dept. of Medical
Physiology and Biochemistry, Stellenbosch
University, South Africa, is to be the next
President of the Society of Neuroscientists
of Africa (SONA). He will take up the post
on the occasion of the Fifth SONA
Conference in Cape Town, South Africa,
20-22 April 2005. He succeeds Prof.
Polycarp Nwoha (Nigeria).
Prof. Daniels is currently Chair of the
South African National Committee for
IBRO, Chair of the Southern African
Neurosciences Society and is a member of
the IBRO-ARC. He has taught at a number
of IBRO Neuroscience Schools and has
been a member of IBRO's Visiting Lecture
Team Programme.
Graduate students and young faculty from
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius,
Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa,Tanzania,
Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe participated in the
2 IBRO schools in South Africa and Kenya.The
4th IBRO Neuroscience School 'Neurophysiology
and Epilepsy' was held in Cape Town, 1-7
September 2003, in collaboration with the
INHMA (Institute of Neuroscience, Mental health
and Addiction, Canada) in Cape Town.The 5th
IBRO Neuroscience School 'Essential and
Behavioural Neuroscience' was held 14-21
December 2003 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The ARC also organized a 2-day regional event
with the help of the IBRO VLTP faculty (Jack
McMahan and Ken Muller) in the 'Pearl of Africa'.
A two-day intensive neuroscience course covering
CNS structure, receptor function, neuronal
plasticity and neurodegenerative disorders was
held in Kampala, Uganda, 9-10 December 2003.
The lectures were attended by 50 biologists,
physiologists, neurologists and psychiatrists.
This was the first ever neuroscience activity to
take place in Uganda, which resulted in the
formation of the Ugandan Neuroscience Interest
Group. Drs Moses Ebuk and Angelina Kakooza
Mwesige of Makerere University were elected as
the first officers of this group.
The ARC will have overseen 3 Basic and
Advanced IBRO Neuroscience Schools in 2004: 1)
The 6th IBRO School with ISN (Neuropathology)
support took place in Grahamstown, South Africa,
12-19 September, 2004.The theme was
'Neurodegeneration and Regeneration' and
organized by S. Daya (SA) and V. R. Russell (SA)
(the Society for Neuroscience team also held a
workshop 'Neurobiology of Epilepsy', 19-20
September after the school, organized by
J. Noebels (USA) and S. Daya (SA). 2) The 7th
INMHA/IBRO School 'Hormones and Brain' took
place in Rabat, Morocco, 2-9 October 2004,
organized by N. Lakhdar-Ghazal (Morocco) and
Q. Pittman (Canada). 3) The 8th IBRO School
6
2003-2004
'Neuropharmacology and Molecular
Neuroscience', co-sponsored by the International
Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and IBRO and
organized by N. Patel (Kenya), R. Butterworth
(Canada) and R. Halliwell (USA), will be held in
Nairobi, Kenya, 1-8 November 2004.
Further refinement in the organization of the
African Neuroscience schools has been achieved
by establishing a central processing centre in
Nairobi.This schools secretariat
(wango@uonbi.ac.ke) is set up in collaboration
with the SONA office to receive, review and
inform outcomes of all school applications.
There are also plans to support a Regional
neuroscience meeting in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC).The APRONES organization of
Congo will host the second Regional
neuroscience meeting in Kinshasa, Congo.
The meeting on neurological diseases, 8-10
November 2004, will be organized by P. Luabeya
and colleagues (DRC). Furthermore, there are
tentative plans to hold a short neuroscience
course on brain ageing and dementia in Tunis,
Tunisia in December 2004.
In 2005 the ARC will help in the organization of
the SONA 2005 Biennial Conference of African
Neuroscience in South Africa.This congress to be
held 20-22 April will also be an IBRO Regional
Congress and hailed to be the largest
Neuroscience meeting in Africa. Other activities
2005 include the full VLTP in Uganda in February
2005, an IBRO School in Morocco co-sponsored
by the International Society of Neurochemistry
(ISN), and a Neuroscience course in Bamako
(Mali) through the support of the Fogarty Center
(USA).The latter activity will open yet another
part of Africa.
VLTP at Makerere University: 1st row: lecturers Willie Daniels (2nd from left), Kenneth Muller (4th from left),
Raj Kalaria (2nd from right); back row: Ebuk Moses, Dept. of Physiology, Makerere University (2nd from left)
Seven centres in the continent continue to
benefit from the Development Aid for African
Libraries.These centres have invariably taken
advantage of the Science Direct, HINARI and
Greenfield’s Neuropathology (Arnolds) initiatives.
IBRO is also aiding SONA to develop a fully
functional web site that will also be used to
publicize ARC activities.The webmaster of this
site is based at the University of Nairobi, site of
the SONA Secretariat.
The ARC continues to budget $5,000 per year
for small (regional) Travel Grants and short-term
visit Fellowships to African members.
The deadlines for these are the same as those
the IBRO awards programme but emergency
applications have also been considered.
Four individuals have been helped in the past 12
months to attend international conferences and
visit other neuroscientists within Africa.
Two African neuroscientists participated at the
FENS congress in Lisbon, 10-13 July 2004.
Raj Kalaria
Chair, ARC
Asian-Pacific Regional Committee:
The 1st Associate School (Chiang Mai,Thailand),
February 23-27, 2004, was held in Chiang Mai
University in collaboration with the Thai
Neuroscience Society and the Neurology Society
of Thailand.Thirty students attended the school:
21 from Thailand, 3 from Philippines, 2 from
Malaysia, 2 from Laos, 1 from Bhutan, 1 from
Vietnam. Most were MD and MSc students, with a
few junior PhD students. Six overseas teachers
(Australia, Hong Kong) and 2 local teachers
delivered talks in the school. After attending
lectures, students, under the supervision of local
instructors, used PubMed to search for relevant
articles and information. Student presentations
were conducted in groups.
The 2nd Associate School (Chongqing, China),
May 26-30, 2004 was held in the Third Military
Medical University in collaboration with the
Chongqing Neuroscience Society.Thirty-six
students attended the school: 29 from China, 4
from Thailand, 2 from India, 1 from Vietnam.
Most were MSc students and junior PhD
students. Six overseas teachers (Australia, Korea,
Hong Kong) delivered talks in the school.
The format was modified from that of the Chiang
Mai School. Before coming to the Associate
School, students were given 10 research articles
related to the topics of the lectures. Students
were divided into groups for the PubMed search
sessions. Ample time was given to group
discussion. Students also had 2 sessions in
conducting computer-assisted practicals. On the
last day, students presented what they had
learned in the school and discussed results of
their PubMed search.
The IBRO Neuroscience School held in Hong
Kong (April 19-30, 2004) with the assistance of
the Hong Kong Society of Neurosciences
provided a platform for senior PhD students and
junior post-doctoral fellows in the Asian-Pacific
region to acquire knowledge of both theoretical
and technological advances in key areas of
neuroscience research. During the school,
students also attended an International
Symposium on Neural Plasticity, Development
and Repair (April 22-23, 2004) and presented
their own research work as posters.
The 25 students were from Australia (3), China
(11), India (3), Iran (2), Philippines (1), Singapore
(2),Taiwan (1) and Thailand (2).While travel and
accommodation expenses for the students came
from IBRO-APRC, the overseas teachers
(Australia, Japan, Korea, USA) were supported by
the Croucher Foundation (Hong Kong).The local
teachers were from the University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong
Kong Baptist University.
An Exchange Fellowship Scheme (age limit 40)
was launched in February 2004. Both applicant
and host laboratory have to be in our region.
Applicants must also provide strong justification
that he/she will return to the home country after
the exchange. In the first exercise, awards were
given to 4 candidates (from China and India) for
them to perform 6-month research periods in
Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
In collaboration with FAONS, IBRO-APRC
provided travel support for 15 young
neuroscientists (China, India, Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam) to present papers at the 2nd
Symposium of FAONS (Tehran, May 17-19, 2004).
IBRO-APRC also offered travel support to 4
young neuroscientists, especially those from
disadvantaged countries, to attend conferences.
Earmarked funds were also awarded to
candidates to attend the RIKEN Summer Program
(3) and the MBL Course (1).Two of these
candidates are alumni of former IBRO schools.
Funding was provided to 2 Symposia and
Workshops (China, Sri Lanka) to support young
neuroscientists to attend the events.
Through the IBRO Book Fund an agreement was
reached with the publisher Science Press, Beijing
whereby 100 books were purchased at a nominal
price of the Chinese translation of the book From
Neuron to Brain by John Nicholls et al.
After consultation with the Chinese Society for
Neuroscience, 80 books were distributed to
various university libraries in China and the
remaining books as book prizes in the Biennial
Congress of the Chinese Society for
Neuroscience (September 2005).
The 3rd IBRO Associate School took take place in
Cochin, India (September 2004); the 5th IBRO
School will take place in Bangkok,Thailand
(December 2004); the 2nd round of applications
for the APRC Exchange Fellowships will be
launched in the last quarter of 2004.
Ying-Shing Chan
Chair, APRC
Central and Eastern Europe Regional
Committee:
The Region consists of more than 25 countries of
the former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc.
Though diversified, the Region has a unifying good
tradition in neuroscience that ubiquitously suffers
from inadequate funding. Several of our countries
joined the European Union on May 1, 2004,
providing a major milestone for the Region and
offering hopes for the others.The special status of
these countries, belonging to both Western and
Eastern Europe, is deserved, as it creates a bridge
between those less and more politically and
economically favoured.The major task for our
Committee is to establish a research area
allowing for collaboration, exchange of people,
resources and ideas.
The most important IBRO activity last year in
the Region was the IBRO Congress in Prague,
organized in July 2003 by Eva Sykova and Josef
Syka.The Congress was a great success.
The CEERC provided 30 fellowships allowing
young researchers from the Region to participate
in the Congress.
The Committee has supported 7 symposia and 4
short research visits within the Region.We would
like to receive many more such applications, as it
enables neuroscientists from this part of Europe
to maintain tighter links with researchers from
e.g. North America and West Europe.
In 2003 there were two IBRO schools in the
Region.The traditional Summer School that has
been our landmark held in Warsaw (Poland),
'IBRO-CEERC School of Molecular Neurobiology:
Communicating Between Synapse and Nucleus:
From Receptors to Genes to Extracellular Matrix'
was organized by Bozena Kaminska, Jacek
Kuznicki, Ryszard Przewlocki and Leszek
Kaczmarek.Twenty-four students from 7
countries attended the school which included
morning lectures and afternoon practicals.
In addition a special IBRO-WERC/CEERC and
FENS school was organized by I. Kostovic in
Zagreb and Dubrovnik (Croatia) on cortical
development; 26 students attended.
Leszek Kaczmarek
Chair, CEERC
Latin-American Regional Committee:
The LARC held two excellent neuroscience
schools: Development and Regeneration of the
Nervous System, October 2-19, 2003, Mexico City
directed by Prof. F. Fernández de Miguel and the
IX Latin-American School of Neuroscience, April
19-May 17, 2004, Santiago de Chile, which
alternates from this year with the regular
Montevideo school and a Second School of
Neuroscience in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ...cont. p. 7

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM IBRO
IBRO to Waive Dues for Small Corporate
Members
At the Executive Committee and Governing
Council meetings held in Lisbon at the FENS
2004 Forum, it was decided, as of 2005, to waive
the payment of dues for Corporate Membership
in IBRO for societies with less than 250 members
that claim limited financial resources. It is hoped
that this measure will facilitate the creation and
entry into IBRO of small neuroscience organizations.
International Registry of Neuroscience
Training Programme
The IRNTP (Chair, Andrew Gundlach; Assistant
Caitlin McOmish, Australia) provides on the IBRO
web site a comprehensive listing of neuroscience
training programmes operating worldwide. It is
envisaged that national and regional neuroscience
societies and federations will work with IBRO to
establish and maintain national web-based
registries based on their own requirements and
resources.The creation and maintenance of the
Registry will help define and make better known
training possibilities worldwide.
IBRO Science Advisory Programme to
carry out first institution review
The ISAP (Chair,Walter Stühmer, Germany), has
received its first request for the evaluation of a
neuroscience institution from Dr Tamás Freund,
Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine,
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
The advisory board chosen to perform the
review is Marina Bentivoglio (Italy), Jean-Claude
Lacaille (Canada), Henry Markram (Switzerland),
Roger Nicoll (USA) and Larry Swanson (USA).
Institutions or university departments engaged in
brain research anywhere in the world wishing to
have their scientific and teaching activities
evaluated may apply to the ISAP for a review.
The review should i) help the institution and its
director develop a strategy to support the best
programmes and most promising research groups;
ii) represent an independent evaluation of a
research facility by top international authorities;
iii) help both the institution reviewed, as well as
...cont. from p. 6
(September-October 2004).Two new special
schools were held in September 2004: one in
Juriquilla-Mexico, financed by the Grass
Foundation and co-organized with the Society for
Neuroscience; the other in Cordoba, Argentina,
financed and organized with INMHA (Canada).
Over the year we sponsored 12 courses in the
region, including Argentina, Brazil (2), Colombia,
Cuba,Trinidad-Tobago,Venezuela. All courses had
excellent feedback from organizers, visiting
professors and students.
Fourteen young neuroscientists from the region
were supported. Candidates selected were
graduate students who went to another country
within the region to complement experiments or
learn techniques that were important for their
dissertation. For the next round we are
requesting 24 fellowships.
Omar Macadar
Chair, LARC
US/Canada Regional Committee:
The joint US/Canada Regional Committee (also
known as the IAC-USNC IBRO/SfN International
Affairs Committee/National Academy of Sciences
US National Committee for IBRO) is jointly
appointed by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and
represents the interests of both organizations in
IBRO.The committee is supported by funding
from the National Institutes of Health, specifically,
the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the
National Institute on Mental Health, and the
National Institute on Neurological Disorders
and Stroke.
The committee has embarked on several
outreach activities to meet the needs of the
... AND THE NEWS
the governmental or other agencies running the
institutes to improve public relations and
influencing governmental science policies.
The reports will form the backbone of an IBRO
database of neuroscience institutions worldwide,
which will be maintained in the form of a World
Map of Brain Research on the IBRO web site.
More free books for IBRO Schools and
Students
The IBRO Book Fund this year delivered
neuroscience textbooks to IBRO Neuroscience
Schools and students around the world.The
Book Fund was set up in 2003 as a collaborative
venture between IBRO, Elsevier Ltd, the Society for
Neuroscience and the American Association of
Neuroscience Training Programs (ANTP).
Donations also came from the International
Society of Neuropathology (ISN) (Greenfield's
Neuropathology) and the Ipsen Foundation
(France).The Fund aims to provide up-to-date
scientific books to trainees, young investigators,
research institutions and academic libraries with
few resources.
In March 2003 Michael Zigmond et al.'s
Fundamental Neuroscience were sent to the 30
students at the IBRO School of Neuroscience,
Montevideo, Uruguay. In October 2003 76
volumes of the Russian edition of From Neuron to
Brain by J. G. Nicholls et al. were sent to a
number of Russian institutes.The books were
purchased by IBRO's Central and Eastern European
Regional Committee (CEERC) at a special price
and were distributed free of charge to young
Russian students (under 25 years) participating in
scientific research and to young scientists (under
33 years) at provincial institutes that do not have
access to new scientific literature.
An agreement was reached with the publisher
Science Press, Beijing whereby 100 books were
purchased at a nominal price of the Chinese
translation of From Neuron to Brain.
After consultation with the Chinese Society for
Neuroscience, 80 books were distributed to
various university libraries in China and the
remainder as book prizes in the Biennial
Congress of the Chinese Society for
global neuroscience community.Via the internet
(www.iac-usnc.org) the committee continues to
organize a lecture series to bring up-to-date
neuroscience information to researchers in
developing countries.The web-based neuroscience
lectures are accessible by scientists worldwide
and feature narrated slides by prominent
neuroscientists. Currently featured on the site is
a web symposium entitled The Neurobiology of
Stress, Fear, and Anxiety: Basic and Clinical
Aspects. Also posted is the Neurobiology of
Disease Workshop, Epilepsy: Genes and
Molecular Plasticity, featured at the 2003 SfN
Annual Meeting in New Orleans.The IAC-USNC,
in collaboration with the SfN Education
Committee and the faculty of the 2003
Neurobiology of Disease Workshop, have made
this material available for the IAC-USNC web
site.The committee is also in the process of
organizing 'cyber seminars' around the Epilepsy
Workshop.
The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods
Hole, MA was again designated by the IAC-USNC
as the 2004 North American IBRO neuroscience
school, and as such the IAC-USNC encouraged
international neuroscientists to apply to the MBL
neuroscience programmes. Successful applicants
from economically disadvantaged countries, who
are designated IBRO Fellows for Advanced
Summer Courses in Neuroscience in North
America, are eligible for substantial financial
support, which, in addition to expenses
associated with course attendance, includes a
two-year SfN membership and a $1,500 travel
fellowship to attend the following year’s SfN
annual meeting. MBL was chosen in 2004 for the
third year running to be the North American
Neuroscience School. Four IBRO Fellows were
awarded places on the summer 2004 courses
(see p.3).
Neuroscience (September 2005).
Richard Brown (rebrown@dal.ca) of IBRO's
Neuroscience Libraries Committee is coordinating
free subscriptions to ScienceDirect, an electronic
publication to which a number of eligible
institutions are given access as a result of a
contractual agreement between Elsevier Ltd and
IBRO. He is also helping institutions worldwide to
subscribe to the HINARI programme.
IBRO Animals in Research Committee in
Latin America and Africa
The Committee planned three projects for 2004.
The first was to hold workshops in Santiago,
Chile and Montevideo, Uruguay, June 8-12, to
provide information on international standards of
animal use to scientists working in the region.
The team included Drs Sharon Juliano (Chair,
Animals in Research Committee), Pedro Rico
(Chief Veterinarian at USAMRIID) and Dorcas
O’Roarke (International Council of AAALAC).
Local scientists and veterinarians took part in the
Santiago workshop at the Facultad de Medicina,
Universidad de Chile, including Drs Pedro
Maldonado and Camilo Arriza. Prior to the lecture
series, the IBRO panel met with the host Animal
Care and Use Committee to provide specific
information about issues at the Medical School of
the University of Chile. At the Instituto de
Investigaciones Biológicas, Montevideo, Uruguay
our local organizers were Drs Ana Silva and
Omar Macadar.
The second project involved Africa, with two
representatives Sharon Juliano (IBRO) and Rick
Van Sluyters (AAALAC, IBRO) attending the IBRO
course 'Neurodegeneration and Regeneration' in
Grahamstown, South Africa, September 10-18, to
submit information regarding international
standards, to encourage discussion about the
possibility of including this topic into the local
curriculum, and to engage in a dialogue about the
mechanisms by which African countries wish to
approach this subject.
The third project was to create a teaching module
targeted at medical students. Individuals were
The IAC-USNC organized a workshop
'Neurobiology of Epilepsy', September 19-20,
2004 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown,
South Africa.This 2-day workshop, offered in
conjunction with the 'Neurodegeneration and
Regeneration' IBRO course, was relevant to a
range of experts and non-experts, so clinicians,
graduate level students considering further study
in neuroscience, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty
were among the participants. Jeffrey Noebels
(Baylor College of Medicine) directed the
workshop with Santy Daya (Rhodes University)
the local organizer. Many of the faculty members
from the 2003 SfN Neurobiology of Disease
Workshop were instructors at the workshop
including Dan Lowenstein (University of
California San Francisco), Peter B. Crino
(University of Pennsylvania), John Huguenard
(Stanford Medical School) and Frances Jensen
(Harvard Medical School).The workshop was
supported by the National Institutes of Health
funding of the committee, and support for the
faculty travel was contributed by the American
Epilepsy Society.
The IAC-USNC intends to plan a course in
conjunction with the IBRO-Latin American
Regional Committee in Venezuela for 2005.
The course would cover neuroanatomy and
neurophysiology, as well as neurogenetics.
Gregory Quirk of Ponce School of Medicine in
Puerto Rico will be the IAC lead on this activity.
As in previous years, the committee provided 15
travel fellowships for students from developing
countries to present an abstract at the 2004 SfN
annual meeting in San Diego, CA. SfN also
awarded travel fellowships to 15 students
nominated by SfN regional North American
chapters to attend and present their work at the
FENS Forum in Lisbon, Portugal.
Bruce McEwen
Chair, US/CanadaRC
contacted in one of our target countries (GMC,
UK).The committee has also begun a dialogue
with groups who may help to produce and finance
the project (NABR, Fogarty Foundation, and a
private video production group).
IBRO Web Site gets total makeover
Not only did the home page of the IBRO web site
receive a bright new face halfway through 2004,
but the site was entirely reconstructed.
Innovations included a new menu system, a new
search engine, a reconstructed member database
with new registration and search tools.The online
support of IBRO programmes means that all
formal procedures for funding applications, entry
of school abstracts and course details will be
handled online via the web site.
HINARI FREE ACCESS
TO JOURNALS
The World Health Organization's Health
InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative
(HINARI) provides developing countries with
free or nearly free online access to biomedical
and related social sciences literature.Through
this programme accredited public institutions
may gain free or reduced-price access to over
1500 biomedical journals and publications.
There are currently 113 eligible countries,
with some 629 institutions that have registered
from 61 of the 69 countries eligible for free
access, and 414 institutions registered from
39 of the 454 countries eligible for very
low-cost access.
Eligible categories include: universities; schools
of medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and
public health; research institutes;
government offices; teaching hospitals;
national medical libraries.
Visit the HINARI web site at
http://www.healthinternetwork.org/scipub.php
IBRO has given strong support to this
initiative and encourages its Affiliated
Organizations to do everything possible to
ensure that their membership take full
advantage of these opportunities.
Western Europe Regional Committee's
objectives
The WERC's activities and initiatives reflect the
specific functions and scope of WERC within
IBRO.These are: 1) Putting the resources,
experience and cultural background of 'old
Europe’s' neuroscience at the service of IBRO’s
mission; 2) Working in close collaboration with
FENS, CEERC and the entire European group of
National Societies affiliated to IBRO, now
numbering 35, nearly one half of all IBRO's
member organizations (21 of these are
encompassed by WERC and 14 by CEERC); 3)
Launching initiatives to obtain funding from other
organizations; 4) Promoting European participation
in the education and training of young
neuroscientists from economically disadvantaged
countries around the world; 5) Fostering
information exchange and collaboration between
neuroscientists in Europe and the rest of the
world through IBRO’s programmes.
Regional Schools in 2004: FENS/Hertie/IBRO
Winter School, Kitzbuel, Austria; IBRO/FENS
Cognitive Neuroscience Summer School on
Working Memory, Bled, Slovenia; School of
Computational Neuroscience, Obidos, Portugal;
Third Latin-American Doctoral Program on
Neuroscience and Behavioural Biology,
Seville, Spain.
IBRO-WERC/FENS PhD Fellowship Programme:
awards went to: J. Bentes Hughes (Brazil) to
H. Kettenmann (Berlin, Germany; A.Vias (India) to
B. Kieffer (Strasbourg, France); Marcia Mellado
(Cuba) to Ian Russell (Brighton, UK).
Gaetano di Chiara
Chair,WERC
7
 INTERNATIONAL BRAIN RESEARCH
ORGANIZATION
ENGAGING THE PUBLIC:
PUBLIC AWARENESS OF
BRAIN RESEARCH
SYMPOSIUM, LISBON,
PORTUGAL
During the FENS Forum 2004 in Lisbon, a
symposium on Public Awareness of Brain Research
was organized by IBRO, FENS (Federation of
European Neuroscience Societies) and EDAB
(European Dana Alliance for the Brain), as part of
a concerted effort to bring to the public a greater
understanding of scientists' research, often issues
that have a direct impact on society.
Communicating brain research can be achieved in
many ways: from talks to schoolchildren to
'sci-art' exhibitions.
The speakers, experienced in communicating at all
levels, from grassroots to national broadcasting,
included Eva Sykova (Institute of Experimental
Medicine, Czech Republic), who spoke about
activities organized in the Czech Republic to
increase public awareness during the worldwide
Brain Awareness Week (March 15-21 2004).
Paulo Battaglini (University of Trieste, Italy) also
described Brain Awareness Week in Italy,
emphasizing the importance of choosing the right
scientists to inform the public about neuroscience.
Chris Stock (University of Manchester, UK) talked
about how to get the message across to
teenagers. Pierre Magistretti, FENS President,
ended the symposium with a message about the
Brain Campaign, recently launched by IBRO, EDAB
and FENS (see p. 1).
NEW PROGRAMMES
Brain Awareness Week 2004 at the Centre for Neuroscience, Cochin University of Science and Technology,
Cochin, India
Brain Awareness Week, now in its 7th year, is a
worldwide event that takes place each March.
It gives scientists and clinicians an opportunity to
show the public what is being accomplished in
scientific laboratories, provide information about
the brain that everyone can understand, and
inform the public about what is being done to
diagnose, treat and prevent disorders of the
brain, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke,
schizophrenia and depression, which affect the
lives of millions of people.
The BAW campaign now includes more than
1700 partners in 57 countries.
For information or advice about participating in
Brain Awareness Week 2005 email
enquiries@edab.net
prominent neuroscientists as guest editors.
IBRO'S FRIENDS
AND SUPPORTERS
Members of IBRO may make financial
contributions beyond the annual membership
dues to support IBRO programmes. Individuals
or organizations may give financial support to
a range of IBRO programmes or specifically
targeted programmes.
Donations may also come from commercial
companies, foundations or other bodies
wishing to contribute financially to the
objectives of IBRO. Such supporting members
will pay an annual subscription to IBRO, in
return receiving specific benefits.
If you would like to support IBRO, please
contact the IBRO Secretariat at
ibro3@wanadoo.fr.
WINNING
NEUROSCIENCE
COVER
FOR 2003
The winning image of
the first Neuroscience
cover competition was
the cover of vol. 119,
no. 3, from the article
'Experience-dependent regulation of
synaptic zinc is impaired in the cortex of

WILL HELP CURRENT

NEWS FROM IBRO'S aged mice' by R. H. Dyck and C. E. Brown,
Department of Psychology, University of

NEEDS IN
JOURNAL Neuroscience is able to accept on-line
submissions through its 'Editorial Manager'
Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Much of
the research in the authors' laboratory is
program.Web submissions are now the concerned with the functional role of distinct
Neuroscience TOCs now reach the entire IBRO
NEUROSCIENCE membership by e-mail on publication of each issue.
preferred choice and offer users many populations of neurons in the mammalian
advantages over the traditional hard-copy route. forebrain that sequester zinc into synaptic
In her new capacity as Secretary-General, Jenny A new programme of Special Issues is devoted Average response time to authors with a vesicles within their axon terminals.
Lund has added 3 new programmes to the to specific topics within neuroscience, preferably decision is now 30 days.
constantly expanding IBRO list. 'emergent topics' that open new fields in The winners received $1000 worth of
Visit the Neuroscience web site at
neurobiological research.The Special Issues books from Elsevier Ltd, the publishers of
The Clinical/Basic Science Links Programme www.neuroscience-ibro.com for
will be published as separate volumes with IBRO's journal Neuroscience.
(Chair, Patrik Brundin, Sweden) will explore a information about the journal.
variety of means to emphasize the
interrelationship between basic neuroscience
research and clinical practice.The committee will
set up links with other organizations and will INTERNATIONAL IBRO'S COMMITTEES International Registry of Neuroscience
Training Programmes
work with the IBRO Regional Committees, the
BRAIN RESEARCH AND CHAIRS Andrew Gundlach
IBRO Visiting Lecture Team and IBRO Schools a.gundlach@hfi.unimelb.edu.au
Programmes to provide workshops, symposia
and contributions to IBRO schools, emphasizing
ORGANIZATION Animals in Research
Membership and Partnerships
Sharon Juliano
neuroscience contributions to the treatment of sjuliano@usuhs.mil Sten Grillner
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
neural diseases. sten.grillner@neuro.ki.se
President
Board of IBRO Schools
Torsten Wiesel (USA) Neuro-Grants
The Public Education Committee (Chair, Esther John G Hildebrand
Secretary-General jgh@neurobio.arizona.edu A. Bulloch
Lennon, UK) aims to achieve a primary goal of
Jennifer Lund (USA bulloch@acs.ucalgary.ca
IBRO: to increase public awareness of brain By-laws & Procedures
research and its application to human diseases. Secretary-General (Past)
Albert Aquayo (Canada) Eduardo Roberto Macagno Neuroscience Libraries
Most research effort and the education of dean@biology.ucsd.edu To be appointed
individuals to carry out research are supported Treasurer
by public funds. It is therefore of great importance Steve Redman (Australia) Clinical/Basic Science Links Programme Nominating
that the public understands and supports this Patrik Brundin Annica Dahlström
activity and realizes its implications for health in Chairs of Regional Committees patrik.brundin@neurol.lu.se annica.dahlstrom@anatcell.gu.se
the community. R. N. Kalaria (Africa)
Y. S. Chan (Asian/Pacific) Fellowships & Travel Grants
Public Education Programme
L. Kaczmarek (Central and Eastern Europe) Kwok-Fai So
The Return Home Programme (Chair, Carlos Esther Binns
O. Macadar (Latin America) hrmaskf@hkucc.hku.hk
Belmonte, Spain) aims to develop ways to lend Estherlennon@ntlworld.com
practical support to the concept of trying to B. S. McEwen (US/Canada) Finance
retain in their home countries young neuroscience G. Di Chiara (Western Europe) Steve J. Redman Publications
researchers from less advantaged countries who redman@jcsmr.anu.edu.au Piergiorgio Strata
have trained overseas, particularly in the USA or IBRO SECRETARIAT piergiorgio.strata@unito.it
Western Europe. Many fail to return to their Executive Director Committee on Neuroscience History
home country to practise their research or fail to Olga Popoff Charles G. Gross Return Home Programme
be productive in their home setting. cggross@phoenix.princeton.edu Carlos Belmonte
Assistant Executive Director
carlos.belmonte@umh.es
Stephanie de La Rochefoucauld IBRO Cyber-Journal Clubs
Rue Saint-Honoré Paul Patterson Symposia & Workshops
75001 Paris, France php@caltech.edu Kenneth J. Muller
Phone:+33-1-46-47-92-92 kmuller@miami.edu
IBRO-Edu
www.ibro.info Fax: +33-1-46-47-42-50
ibro@wanadoo.fr www.ibro.info Ante L. Padjen World Congress
ante.padjen@mcgill.ca Josef Syka
FOR IBRO'S FELLOWSHIPS,TRAVEL 'IBRO News' syka@biomed.cas.cz
IBRO on the Web Board of Editors
GRANTS, CALENDAR EVENTS, Editor-in-Chief
Andree Blakemore
Andrée Blakemore
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY andree.blakemore@physiol.ox.ac.uk
andree.blakemore@physiol.ox.ac.uk