Monographie Bonn-Rhein-Sieg

CAESAR, DZNE AND LIFE & BRAIN – THREE NEUROSCIENTIFIC HEAVYWEIGHTS
Being home to numerous university and non-university
research institutions, Bonn/Rhein-Sieg is one of the
important research locations of the Federal Republic of
Germany.
And a particular area of focus in Bonn is that of neurosciences,
which busies itself with the structure and function
of neural systems - which is currently in vogue. For a number
of years it has increasingly being attracting public attention.
This is because the interest in the physical and psychological
foundation of human ability has grown considerably. There
are three important institutions in Bonn that are dedicated
to the correlation between the brain and the spirit: the
caesar research centre, LIFE & BRAIN GmbH as well as the
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).
caesar research centre – the principles of sensory
perception and behaviour
with the selection of an appropriate measuring method, the
preparation of samples and the evaluation of measurement
data.
caesar benefits from the great density of related institutions
at the location in Bonn. Here, not only does caesar cooperate
with the local university in the form of mutual projects and
excellence clusters, as well as regarding postgraduate
education; it also cooperates with the German Center for
Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), which is located in
Bonn.
In addition to this, caesar is a shareholder of Life Science
Inkubator GmbH. Its objective is that of promoting qualified
spin-offs from science, by means of the professional advancement
of research findings.
DZNE – new strategies for prevention, therapy and care
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At caesar, the centre of research is represented by signal
processing in biological cells and the neural principles of
sensory perception and behaviour. The venerable name
stands for “center of advanced european studies and
research”. The Bonn-based research centre is operated by a
foundation established under private law of the same name.
It is associated with the Max Planck Society and structured
like a Max Planck Institute. caesar does research at the
border between neurosciences, cellular biology and biophysics.
Here, for instance, scientists have developed
complex methods by means of which brain activity can also
be investigated with free-range animals. The purpose of this
is to understand how animals take decisions on the basis of
the sense of sight and which neurobiological mechanisms
underlie this process.
The caesar building at the Rheinaue has an outstanding
research infrastructure - in this regard, among others, one of
the world’s best laboratories for electron microscopy. By
means of this, the scientists also support external users with
their analytical questions, in addition to consulting them
The scientific location of Bonn now has yet another attraction:
on the Venusberg, in direct proximity to the university
hospital, the German Center for Neurodegenerative
Diseases (DZNE) will be moving into its new, large research
building in the spring of 2017. In so doing, the Bonn DZNE
location will be strengthened further by almost 500 em -
ployees. It is the largest of a total of nine DZNE locations in
Germany, and the management and administrative board
is also found at this location.
The DZNE scientists would like to understand the causes
and risk factors that predetermine neurodegeneration, and
develop new strategies for prevention, therapy and care.
Bonn’s Venusberg is an ideal location for this. The reason:
the strong DZNE partners, who, thanks to their excellent
research and patient care, have already distinguished themselves
in the field of neurodegenerative illnesses, are also
located here. Here, for instance, reference is to be made to
the university hospital for neurology, psychiatrics and
psychosomatic medicine. The mutual DZNE university
hospital’s memory clinic will be located on its ground floor.