Prof. Dr. Tania Rinaldi Barkart about Basel as an important place for her research

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Understanding the molecular events underlying diseases of the nervous system and exploiting this knowledge for improving treatment are among the major challenges in the life sciences. In view of the increasing social and financial burden generated by these diseases, especially in the setting of an ageing population, the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) has defined the neurosciences as one of its Research Areas.

The Research Area Neurosciences of the DBM complements parallel efforts at the Biozentrum and at the Friedrich Miescher Institute (FMI) and is part of the Neuroscience Network Basel (NNB), which was acknowledged as a center of competence by the University of Basel in fall 2008. The NNB follows a translational strategy and comprises more than 400 neuroscientists from 40 different laboratories associated with the University, the University Hospitals, the FMI and the Basel Life Science Industry.

Research is conducted at all levels – from molecules to behavior – thus providing outstanding research opportunities and an excellent platform for a strong educational program. Furthermore, the NNB offers weekly research seminars and lecture series at the graduate and postgraduate levels, covering all aspects of basic and clinical neuroscience. Finally, the NNB is part of the trinational educational and collaborative NEUREX network along with the neuroscience programs at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany) and Strasbourg (France).

A major aim of the Neuroscience groups at the DBM is to take advantage of the unique expertise in the neurosciences present in the Basel area to pursue translational research projects. As a consequence of these efforts, basic and clinical neuroscientists have contributed to the development of innovative therapies with leading roles in international colaborations and successfully raised grant support for translational research projects from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the European Union, the Swiss Cancer League, the Swiss MS Society and various private foundations. The focus of these projects is on neuroinflammatory, neurodegenerative, psychiatric, neurological and neuromuscular disorders. Several members of the DBM/NNB are actively involved in the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “The Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases”.

To promote the rapid translation of research results into clinical practice the DBM Research Area Neurosciences co-organizes the Annual Basel Neuroscience Symposium “From Bench to Bedside”. The one-day event provides a platform for exchange of ideas and is regularly attended by more than 150 local neuroscientists, including basic and clinical researchers from Novartis, Roche, Actelion, Santhera Pharmaceuticals, the FMI and the University of Basel.