MRC scientist wins neuroscience award
10 October 2007
MRC scientist Dr Thomas Klausberger has won the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and European Journal of Neuroscience Young Investigator Award 2008 for his work identifying the relationships between different nerve cells in the brain.
The prize is given every two years in recognition of outstanding work in any area of neuroscience. The personal prize of 12,000 Euro is donated by Blackwell, the publisher of the European Journal of Neuroscience.
Dr Klausberger is a Group Leader at the Medical Research Council Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit within the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. He is also a junior research fellow at Oxford’s St. John’s College.
In addition to the monetary prize, the award includes the opportunity to deliver a plenary lecture at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies conference in Geneva in July 2008 and to contribute a review article to the European Journal of Neuroscience.
European Journal of Neuroscience Young Investigator Award 2008 winner Dr Thomas Klausberger
The prize has been awarded for Dr Klausberger’s discoveries of the spatial and temporal relationships between neurones found in the hippocampus, a region of the brain important in learning and memory.
In collaboration with Professor Peter Somogyi, Director of the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit, and colleagues, Dr Klausberger identified several new nerve cells within the brain. He went on to demonstrate that the diversity of neurones found in the brain can be explained by differences in their actions over time to create co-ordinated overall brain activity. This co-ordination allows signals from the external environment to be encoded in the brain and recalled as part of the memory system within the hippocampus.
These temporary relationships between nerve cells are known to breakdown in several psychiatric and neurological conditions. Understanding how the cells contribute to formation of memories will help to give scientists clues about how to tackle the development of psychiatric illnesses.
In response to his award, Dr Klausberger said: ‘‘It is a great honour to receive this prestigious prize. This award highlights the achievements of a fantastic team effort at the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit and underlines the importance to understand the general principals and components of neuronal circuits in the brain.’’
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