Media Relations
Press Release:
MEDIA CONTACTS: Gisele Galoustian
561-297-2010,
ggaloust@fau.edu
or Jennifer Sullivan
561-832-3231, Jennifer@codpr.com
Neuroscience Symposium Launches
Max Planck Florida Institute and FAU New Graduate
Program
BOCA RATON, FL (October 4, 2010) – More than 150
students, faculty and fellow scientists attended the two-day
Neuroscience Symposium to mark the launch of a new, joint
Integrative Biology and Neuroscience graduate program between the
Max Planck Florida Institute and Florida Atlantic University
(FAU). The event showcased some of the latest scientific
advances at the forefront of today’s neuroscience research,
and featured speakers and presentations given by the Max Planck
Florida Institute; FAU; the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical
Chemistry; the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology; Scripps
Florida; Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Duke
Institute for Brain Sciences; Harvard Medical School; and
Northwestern University.
Opening remarks at the inaugural symposium were given by Dr. Ivan Baines, Chief Scientific Facilities Officer at the Max Planck Florida Institute; Dr. Mary Jane Saunders, President of FAU; Dr. Gary Perry, Professor and Dean at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science; and Dr. Herbert Jäckle, Vice President of the Max Planck Society.
“This is an exciting time for Florida Atlantic University,” said Dr. Saunders. “We are developing strong partnerships with international scientific organizations, and this event is a prime example of our collaboration with Max Planck Florida Institute and our commitment to develop Palm Beach County into a center of excellence for the neurosciences.”
Dr. Perry pointed out that neuroscience has a rich history at FAU and that this year is the 25th Anniversary of FAU’s Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences. With the emergence of neuroscience groups in Biological Sciences and the College of Medicine to complement the Center, neuroscience is growing rapidly at FAU. “Today, we are celebrating the next chapter in the development of neuroscience at FAU,” he said. “Science has become a global enterprise, and the combined resources and expertise at FAU and Max Planck Florida Institute will enable us to develop a world-class program for students in Integrative Biology and Neuroscience.”
The joint Max Planck Florida Institute and FAU Integrative Biology and Neuroscience graduate program has already begun recruiting students and is scheduled to welcome its first class in Fall 2011. The program is expected to attract top-notch graduate students locally, nationally and internationally.
“In three years, we believe this graduate program will be the number one program of its kind in Florida,” said Dr. Jäckle. “In less than 10 years, it will be among the top 10 in the country, and beyond that we expect this program to be among the very best internationally.”
The inaugural Neuroscience Symposium was organized by Max Planck Florida Institute’s Dr. Ivan Baines and Dr. Samuel Young; and FAU’s Dr. Janet Blanks, Dr. Tanja Godenschwege and Dr. Rodney Murphey.
Sponsors and exhibitors at the event included Zeiss; Proskauer; IBM Southeast Employee’s Federal Credit Union; Nikon; Prairie Technologies; Applied Precision; Beckman Coulter; Coherent; EMD; Enzo; Eppendorf; Hunt Optics and Imaging; Leica Microsystems; Mettler Toledo; MicroOptics Florida; and PerkinElmer.
For more information on the graduate program, visit www.science.fau.edu/neuroscience/iban/index.html.
About the Max Planck Society:
Germany’s Max Planck Society has led the world in
advancing the frontiers of scientific research for more than 60
years. The independent, nonprofit organization, with its
international staff of around 20,400, including research
fellows and visiting scientists, has an annual operating budget
of $1.8 billion. Named for the 1918 Nobel Prize-winning
physicist and founder of the quantum theory, Max Planck, the
scientific institution maintains 80 institutes and research
facilities located mainly in Germany, but also in Italy,
Netherlands, and now in the United States. All are focused on
exceptional, results-oriented basic research in the life
sciences, social sciences and the humanities.
Max Planck Florida Institute broke ground on their new 100,000-square-foot biomedical facility in June. The permanent biomedical research center and laboratories is expected to be completed by early 2012. For more information, visit www.maxplanckflorida.org.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as
the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University
serves more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students on
seven campuses and sites. Building on its rich tradition as a
teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts 10
colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters,
the College of Business, the College for Design and Social
Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of
Engineering & Computer Science, the Graduate College, the
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt
College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. For more
information, visit
www.fau.edu.
