Cajal programme

Collaboration with the Cajal Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme

Since 2018 ERA-NET NEURON has partnered with FENS in the organisation of the Cajal Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme.

More training events in Neurosciences at the FENS Training Calendar.

Cajal-courses

2023 Cajal course: Neuro-vascular function in health and disease

20 March – 7 April 2023, Bordeaux School of Neuroscience, Bordeaux, France

2022 Cajal course: Neuroepigenetics: writing, reading and erasing the epigenome

The Cajal hands-on training on “Neuroepigenetics: writing, reading and erasing the epigenome” was organised in partnership with ERA Net NEURON and took place 21 Nov – 9 Dec 2022, in Bordeaux, France.
Read here about the impressions from participants of the Cajal Training Course on Neuroepigenetics.

2019 Cajal course: Advanced Techniques for Synapse Biology

In 2019 ERA-NET NEURON is supporting another Cajal-course: Advanced Techniques for Synapse Biology, 13 October – 1 November 2019, Bordeaux Neurocampus. Early-career researchers carrying out their research training in the research groups funded in NEURON JTCs 2015-2017 are encouraged to participate in the course.  

2018 Cajal course: Developmental Neurobiology and Pathologies

The course in Developmental Neurobiology and Pathologies (3-21st April 2018 ) was organized at the Bordeaux Neurocampus in partnership with the Cajal Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme. Representing the NEURON-funded Principal Investigators in ongoing projects, Dr. Eloisa Herrera from the Neuroscience Institute in Alicante, Spain and Dr. Julia Ladewig, Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn, Germany where chosen among the co-directors for the course organization. Both Dr. Herrera and Dr. Ladewig are funded under the umbrella of the NEURON JTC 2015 “Neurodevelopmental Disorders”. By aligning the training in a major European course ERA-NET NEURON contributed in the direct training needs of the scientific community at the frontline of neuroscience research.

Group photo of Cajal Training Courses, April 2018, Bordeaux Neurocampus
Group photo of Cajal Training Courses, April 2018, Bordeaux Neurocampus; © ERA-NET NEURON

Twenty early-career neuroscientists were selected to participate in the “Developmental Neurobiology and Pathologies” course. Eight of them representing the research groups funded in ERA-NET NEURON received extra support for participation from ERA-NET NEURON. Based on the feedback collected after the course the participants felt the course was well organized. They were very satisfied with the quality of overall scientific programme and relevance of the scientific content related to the topic.

The course was designed and organized by a selected group of prominent scientists:

Course director: Alain Chedotal (Institut de la Vision, INSERM, UPMC, France)

Co-directors:

  • Eloisa Herrera (Neuroscience Institute in Alicante, Spain)
  • Julia Ladewig (University of Bonn, Germany)

On-site chair: Mireille Montcouquiol (Neurocentre Magendie, INSERM, University of Bordeaux, France)

Eloisa Herrera
Eloisa Herrera
The Cajal Programme is an initiative that I always felt we were missing in Europe. When I was a young postdoctoral researcher I joined a two-weeks practical course in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories. This was a very good decision that helped me in different aspects of my forthcoming career. Therefore, when I was asked to become a director of one of the Cajal Courses I accepted without any hesitation because I knew from my own experience that this kind of practical/intensive courses really help students in many ways. I must confess though that the Cajal course really exceeded my expectations. These courses have a unique structure that include mini-projects for 2/3 students offering the possibility of really learning specific cutting-edge techniques with experts that are fully dedicated to train and share their experience and give intensive hands-on access to latest techniques and technology. The course is well designed to potentiate networking and to instruct students about the latest advances in a particular topic through conferences from top Neuroscientists in their respective fields. As a director, I truly enjoyed scientific discussions during the informal lunches, dinners and coffee breaks with students, instructors and speakers in a very relaxed and nice environment. A gratifying and enjoyable experience!
Eloisa Herrera, one of the Co-Directors in the course