New Appointments
In order to expand the well-established neuroscientific site of Berlin, the Cluster of Excellence is using the majority of the funds placed at its disposal to establish 17 new professorships and to provide them with appropriate equipment. Subsequent financing will be carried out by the Charité, the Freie Universität, the Humboldt-Universität and the non-university organizations of the Helmholtz Society and the Leibniz Society.
Prof. Dr. Christian Rosenmund has been Professor for Neurosciences Specializing in Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the Charité since July 2009 in the framework of the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. Christian Rosenmund is carrying out intensive research in the field of synaptic transmission - the transfer of information between the individual nerve cells of the brain. He moved to the Charité in Berlin from the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics and Department of Neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, Texas, USA.
In July 2011, Prof. Dr. Britta Eickholt followed the call for a professorship for Neurosciences Specializing in Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the Charité in the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. In the framework of her research, Britta Eickholt deals with signal mechanisms that control the neuronal cytoskeleton.
In July 2011, Prof. Dr. Imre Vida followed the call for a professorship for Neuroscients Specializing in Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology at the Cluster of Excellence at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He primarily researches neuroanatomical, neurophysiological and information-processing aspects of inhibitory neurons in circuits of the hippocampus.
Prof. Dr. Paul has been directing the working group for Clinical Neuroimmunology in the Cluster of Excellence since November 2008 and has been Professor for Neurology Specializing in Neuroimmunology within the NeuroCure Clinical Research Center (NCRC) at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin since 2011. Friedemann Paul's research focuses upon the optimization of the diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities for multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmunological diseases.
Prof. Dr. Markus Schülke-Gerstenfeld was appointed at the Charité as Professor for the field of Pediatrics Specializing in Developmental Disorders of the Nervous System in 2008 in the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. The clinical research of Markus Schülke-Gerstenfeld at the NeuroCure Clinical Research Center (NCRC) focuses in particular upon the research and development of therapies for the treatment of epilepsy and febrile convulsions and the molecular genetic explanation of inherited diseases of the developing nervous system.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Meisel was appointed in 2009 in the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence at the Charité as Professor for Neurology Specializing in Cerebrovascular Diseases. Andreas Meisel is responsible for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for stroke based upon immunological mechanisms at the NeuroCure Clinical Research Center (NCRC) of the Cluster of Excellence as well as in the Center for Stroke Research Berlin (CSB).
Prof. Dr. Eva Neuhaus has been Professor for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the Charité since 2010. She is researching the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the sense of smell. Previously, Eva Neuhaus held a position at the University of Bochum before she followed the call to Berlin.
Prof. Dr. Sarah Shoichet has been Professor for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the Charité since 2010. She is researching the molecular mechanisms of cognitive processes and developmental disorders of the nervous system. Sarah Shoichet was recruited to the Cluster of Excellence from her postdoctoral position as a Rahel-Hirsch fellow.
Prof. Dr. Grantyn has been Senior Professor at the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence at the Charité since 2010. Among her other fields of enquiry, she is carrying out research into synaptic reorganization in neurodegenerative diseases.
Prof. Dr. Sigrist was appointed in July 2009 to the Institute for Biology at the Freie Universität Berlin and at the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. Within the professorship for the field of Molecular Developmental Genetics of Animals, Stephan Sigrist is investigating the establishing and functioning of synaptic contacts between nerve cells and the genetic basis of these processes.
Prof. Dr. Winter was appointed in June 2009 to the professorship for Cognitive Neurobiology at the Institute for Biology of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and appointed to the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. Furthermore, he directs the Animal Outcome Unit for Behavioral Analyses of Neurological Diseases within the cluster. In addition to this, York Winter is currently establishing the Berlin Mouse Clinic for Neurology and Psychiatry.
In August 2011, Prof. Dr. Matthew Larkum was appointed to the Professorship for Neuronal Plasticity at the Humboldt-Universität and in the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. Matthew Larkum is moving to Berlin from the University of Bern. In his research, Matthew Larkum is concentrating upon the integration of feedforward and feedback information in the cortex.
Since July 2009, Dr.James Poulet has been directing the joint junior research group Neural Circuits and Behavior at the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. He is here looking into the question of how neocortical neurons in the brain control behavior. James Poulet has moved to Berlin from the Brain Mind Institute of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
Since November 2008 Dr.Björn Schroeder has been directing the joint junior research group Signaling and Transport Processes at the Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and at the Cluster of Excellence. Björn Schroeder is researching the importance of transmembrane proteins in the passing-on of signals. He previously held a position at the laboratory of Lily Jan at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), USA.
Since November 2008 Dr.Andrew Plested has been directing the joint junior research group Molecular Neuroscience and Biophysics at the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) and at the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. He is researching the functional mechanisms of synaptic receptors. Andrew Plested has changed over to Berlin, as a scientist, from the National Institute of Health, (NIH), USA.
Since December 2009 Dr.Enric Esplugues has been directing the joint junior research group for Neuroimmunology at the Deutsche Rheuma-Forschungszentrum and at the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. His main research interest is the role of the immune system as the basis of neurodegenerative diseases. Enric Esplugues was previously a scientist at the School of Medicine of Yale University, New Haven, USA.
