Le Fonds CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Program a été mis en place à l’initiative de la Fédération des sociétés européennes de neurosciences (FENS) et de l’Organisation internationale de recherche sur le cerveau (IBRO) dans le but de développer un pôle de formation en neurosciences de haut niveau en Europe.
Depuis 2015, plusieurs formations sont proposées en lien avec Bordeaux School of Neuroscience (Bordeaux Neurocampus / université de Bordeaux) en France et le Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown à Lisbonne.
Le Fonds CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Program bénéficie du soutien de la Fédération des sociétés européennes de neurosciences (FENS), de l’Organisation internationale de recherche sur le cerveau (IBRO) et de la Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
Ces formations rassemblent des scientifiques et des instructeurs de premier plan qui partagent leurs connaissances scientifiques et leur expertise technique avec les participants, les inspirent et les encouragent à poursuivre leurs propres idées en démystifiant la technologie. Le programme est actualisé constamment afin d’inclure les dernières technologies et découvertes dans le domaine des neurosciences.
Public cible : Les cours s’adressent à toute personne souhaitant acquérir des connaissances théoriques et pratiques approfondies sur un nouveau domaine de recherche ou une nouvelle application et qui a besoin d’informations complètes, de haut niveau et condensées pour débuter. La majorité des participants sont de niveau doctoral avancé ou postdoctoral, mais les candidatures peuvent être acceptées à tous niveaux scientifiques.
Plus d’infos sur le site dédié : https://cajal-training.org/
Plusieurs formations ont d’ores été déjà été organisées cette année. Il est encore possible de s’inscrire à certaines d’entre elles :
2024 Courses
Optogenetics, chemogenetics, and biosensors for neural circuit research
Dates: 2 – 20 April 2024
Location: Bordeaux School of Neuroscience, Bordeaux, France
Summary: Genetically encoded tools for neuroscience enable precise observation and manipulation of defined neural cell types, in behaving animals. This course provides both breadth and depth in the theoretical and practical application of these tools across a variety of classes including experimental designs, and with an emphasis on hands-on experience. After completing this course, a student should expect to be knowledgeable about a wide range of molecular tools, have experience with multiplexed read/write experimental design, understand how to integrate optical hardware with rodent behavior, and appreciate nuances between 1-photon and 2 photon implementations. Interpretation and data analysis are integrated across the course.
Quantitative Approaches to behaviour and virtual reality
Dates: 2 – 21 June 2024
Location: Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
Summary: Quantitative studies of behaviour are fundamental in our effort to understand brain function and malfunction. Recently, the techniques for studying behaviour, along with those for monitoring and manipulating neural activity, have progressed rapidly. This course focuses on methodologies to acquire rich data representations of behavior, dissect them statistically, model their dynamics, and integrate behavioral measurements with other kinds of neurobiological data. To this end, students will 1) fabricate devices for recording the behavior of experimental organisms (including flies, fish, and humans), 2) learn, under the guidance of the scientists developing these methods, the modern tools to analyze behavioral data from these organisms, and 3) in a week-long independent project develop and conduct a behavioral study of their own design, with the support and guidance of the course instructors and teaching assistants.
Computational Neuroscience
Dates: 15 July – 2 August 2024
Location: Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
Summary: This course teaches the central ideas, methods, and practices of modern computational neuroscience through a combination of lectures and hands-on project work. During the course’s mornings, distinguished international faculty deliver lectures on topics across the entire breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. For the remainder of the time, students work on research projects in teams of 2 to 3 people under close supervision of expert tutors and faculty. Research projects are proposed by faculty before the course, and include the modeling of neurons, neural systems, and behavior, the analysis of state-of-the-art neural data (behavioral data, multi-electrode recordings, calcium imaging data, connectomics data, etc.), and the development of theories to explain experimental observations.
Advanced imaging techniques for cellular and systems neuroscience
Dates: 30 September – 18 October 2024
Location: Bordeaux School of Neuroscience, Bordeaux, France
Application deadline: 10 June 2024
Summary: This Cajal course will bring together leading developers and practitioners of cutting-edge imaging techniques that push the frontiers of neuroscience research. The course follows up on previous Cajal school editions on this topic. The course will cover a broad spectrum of concepts and practical techniques, both classic and new, to provide a solid basis and critical guidance for newcomers and experienced users alike, wishing to pick up skills and learn about new developments and avenues in microscopy and its impact on neuroscience. The applications will span a wide spectrum of neurobiological topics and preparations in an exemplary fashion, from brain development, plasticity and neuro-immune system interactions in cell cultures, brain slices and in vivo using the mouse and zebrafish brain as main model systems.
The Brain Prize course: Movement and motor control in health and disease
Dates: 18 November – 6 December 2024
Location: Bordeaux School of Neuroscience, Bordeaux, France
Application deadline: 24 June 2024
Summary: In this CAJAL course, we will not only discuss the common organization of motor centres across species (from lamprey to primate) but also the neuronal mechanism and dynamics that underlie spontaneous and voluntary movements as well as how pathological alteration of these activities can lead to detrimental motor performances and disease state. The goal of this CAJAL course is to instruct promising young neuroscientists to the advanced scientific concepts established in the field of motor control. We will present the latest discoveries that has been made in different species that shed light on how voluntary and goal-directed movements are generated. We will also describe the computational advances and analysis method that has pushed the limit of understanding movement generation.
Experimental Neuroscience Bootcamp – NeuroKit Course
Dates: 2 – 6 September 2024
Location: Online and hands-on
Application deadline: 10 June 2024
Summary: This course provides a fundamental foundation in the modern techniques of experimental neuroscience. It introduces the essentials of sensors, motor control, microcontrollers, programming, data analysis, and machine learning by guiding students through the “hands on” construction of an increasingly capable robot. In parallel, related concepts in neuroscience are introduced as nature’s solution to the challenges students encounter while designing and building their own intelligent system.