The entire spectrum of the School’s neuroscience research was represented at the first School of Pharmacy Neuroscience Retreat at Robinson College Cambridge on 12 -13 July. The event was organised by Dr Mala Shah and Professor Anne Stephenson to bring together researchers from across the School who are working on nervous system regulation and function in health and disease.  Attendees (40 in total) included primary investigators, postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and support staff. The event was partially funded by Roberts Money. These monies are provided for  research council funded projects for early career researchers and PhD students for broadening skills training and career development support.

Professor Stephenson commented: “This was a chance to learn about each other’s science, identify expertise within the School and discuss future collaborations. As well as networking and team working opportunities, we offered training in communication skills and the effective presentation of research for our postdocs. and PhD students.”

The retreat included oral presentations by post-docs., poster presentations by PhD students and it finished with a round table discussion of the School’s neuroscience activities. Dr Daniel Berwick (working with Dr. Kirsten Harvey on a Wellcome Trust funded project) won the oral presentation prize for his talk “Interactors of the Multifunctional Protein LRRK2 link Parkinson’s disease to Wnt signalling”. Poster prizes were awarded to Miss Antonia Grauert (working with Dr Arnaud Ruiz and funded by a School of Pharmacy PhD studentship) for “Endogenous zinc modulates feedback inhibition in dentate granule cells” and Mr Tom Randall  (working with Professor Anne Stephenson and funded by a Bloomsbury PhD studentship held jointly with Dr Carolyn Moores, Birkbeck College) for “Towards structural determination of a TRAK2/kinesin trafficking complex”.

An important outcome of the retreat was a commitment to promote neuroscience and new technologies within the School by enhancing the existing seminar programme currently organized by Drs Jovanovic and Shah to include internal speakers. Dr Shah explained: “We plan on a series of internal seminars that will run on a bi-monthly basis. All principle investigators within the neuroscience division have agreed to participate”. A new monthly Journal Club was also formed by postdoctoral researchers and PhD students. Most importantly, such was the success that it was agreed that this should be an annual event. Professor Rob Harvey and Drs Jovanovic and Ruiz agreed to organize the second Neuroscience Retreat to be held in the summer of 2011.