Cooperations

Cooperation is a key element of NEURON Cofund2 activities for common European Research Area benefits and implemented with various institutions, organisations and projects. The impact of brain research for society is directly dependent on strategic links between the research community and stakeholders. Over the past years, NEURON has undergone strategic partnerships with a variety of key players. NEURON Cofund2 will build on its existing collaborations and continue this tradition with the aim to accelerate research results into meaningful application.

An intense collaboration exists with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and its training schools and Committee of Higher Education and Training (CHET). NENS (Network of European Neuroscience Schools) and CHET provide a link to the Europe-wide neuroscience training community reaching about 180 graduate schools and programmes across approximately 30 European countries that offer MSc, PhD and MD-PhD degrees in neuroscience. Through this network, a considerable number of post-doctoral researchers working in the universities and research institutes all over Europe can be reached in addition to NEURON’s own network of funded projects.

FENS

The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) is the voice of European neuroscience. With 44 neuroscience member societies across 33 European countries, FENS as an organisation represents 20,000 European neuroscientists with a mission to advance European neuroscience education and research.

CHET

The Committee of Higher Education and Training (CHET) was created in July 2014 from the merge of two previous committees: NENS and Schools committees. It supports higher education institutions in using and further defining their autonomy, developing and realizing various areas of specialization, and assuming social responsibility. As a nonprofit organization, CHET provides a wide range of freely accessible information and services for students, along with recommended action plans for universities and strategies for policy makers. In addition, it offers numerous training courses for decision makers and executives at higher education.

NENS

The Network of European Neuroscience Schools (NENS) was founded in 2003 and represents over 160 graduate schools and programmes across approximately 30 European countries that offer MSc, PhD and MD-PhD degrees in neuroscience.

ERA-NET NEURON will continue partnering in the organization of the Cajal Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme by sponsoring training courses. To offer methodological and hands-on training in up-to-date techniques, and support networking and mobility between the NEURON-funded projects, NEURON sponsored the Cajal training course “Developmental Neurobiology and Pathologies” in 2018 by providing participation grants for the Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from funded projects of JTC2015. This activity was repeated in 2019 for the Cajal Course “Advanced Techniques for Synapse Biology” for ECRs from projects of JTCs 2015-2017.

CAJAL

The CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme was founded by The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) to establish a high-level neuroscience training hub in Europe. Since 2015, Cajal courses have been held in two avantgarde locations, the Bordeaux School of Neuroscience in France and the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon. The Gatsby Charitable Foundation joined in the programme as core partner in 2017. CAJAL is now a highly recognised training programme offering exceptional hands-on training courses in neuroscience. The CAJAL Programme aims to teach basic and fundamental neuroscience concepts as well as state-of-the-art techniques, data analysis and computer skills to train the next generation of top-notch neuroscientists.

NEURON Cofund2 is one of four partners in the European Brain Research Area project — EBRA.

EBRA

The European Brain Research Area project (EBRA) was created as a catalysing platform for brain research stakeholders (researchers, clinicians, patients, governments, funders and public institutions) to streamline and better coordinate brain research across Europe while fostering global initiatives.
The Consortium consists of the EBC membership, the Network of European funding for Neuroscience research (NEURON), Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) and the Human Brain Project (HBP).

Engaging patients at all levels of research and research funding is an important vehicle to transport their views into the process. Feasibility and relevance issues may become obvious if looked from an angle that is distinct from the researchers’. To improve the quality of clinical approaches, NEURON Cofund2 will further develop engagement of patients and their representatives in activities. We will continue and intensify the existing cooperation with the European patient organization EFNA and GAMIAN.

EFNA

The European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) brings together European umbrella organisations of neurological patient advocacy groups, to work with other associations in the field of neurology, including the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), in what has been termed a “Partnership for Progress“.

GAMIAN

The Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks-Europe (GAMIAN-Europe) iIs a non-profit patient-driven pan-European organisation, representing and advocating for the interests and rights of persons affected by mental ill-health. Our main activities include awareness-raising, education, and partnership and capacity building. Overarching themes in our work relate to anti-stigma, discrimination and patients’ rights.

Since 2017 ERA-NET NEURON cooperates with the Center for Transforming Biomedical Research Quality – Ethics – Open Science and Translation in the conduction of workshops on (neuro)-ethics, open science and reproducibility of results.

QUEST

The BIH QUEST Center for Transforming Biomedical Research: Quality – Ethics – Open Science -Translation. QUEST strives to increase the value of biomedical research at BIH and beyond.
To overcome the roadblocks in translational medicine: Increasing the value and impact of biomedical research by maximizing the quality, reproducibility, generalizability, and validity of BIH research.
To create an awareness of the need to rethink biomedical research and to initiate a culture change in academic biomedicine.

NEURON Cofund2 supports acceptance of project results by regulatory bodies. Project results can comprise new biomarkers, endpoints, study results, tools and methods which can contribute to the formulation of regulatory guidelines. The scientific knowledge is thus indispensable for transfer and respective cooperation is implemented with the EU funded Coordination and Support Action on Strengthening Training of Academia in Regulatory Science (CSA STARS).

STARS

STARS is the EU funded Coordination and Support Action on Strengthening Training of Academia in Regulatory Science (CSA STARS).
Lack of specific relevant know-how in regulatory science delays the development of new treatment strategies or limits the chances that promising innovations will reach patients. STARS aims to improve the direct regulatory impact of results obtained in medical research. 18 European countries are represented in the consortium through their national competent authorities, alongside academic and industry representatives, and associations with relevant experience.