The BRAIN Project

Congratulations to the BRAIN Team! As one of the 2024 ETN ENLIGHT Call winners, the BRAIN Team seeks to advance the study of sleep and to create a multi-institution neuroscience community network focused on this topic.

What is the project about?

The goal of this project is to establish a European network of academics dedicated to advancing research and education on the topic of sleep, brain function and mental health. Our Western society is characterized by rapid cultural changes, a steady increase of information flow, work load, and stress. Often the time for sleep and recovery is limited. These modern challenges are thought to have a major impact on brain health and are frequently associated with mental health disorders. The neuroscience community needs to address these societal challenges through integrative research as well as training and education of the next-generation scientists, which is why we are starting up this network with partners from the Universities of Bern and Bordeaux.

Why this particular project? 

Why is this collaboration important?

This collaboration is important because it allows us to combine the strengths and diverse expertise of the different academics and institutions involved. By bringing together experts, state-of-the-art technologies, and complementary academic environments, this network will improve our understanding of brain function and mental health, with an emphasis on the adaptive capacity of the brain in facing the daily challenges of modern society. Ultimately, this initiative aims to foster a productive academic network, enhance the quality of education and research, and create lasting partnerships that benefit all participants and institutions involved.

How did the collaboration start? 

The network essentially started with a number of PI’s from Groningen and Bern who organised successful exchange visits of both teachers and students. A number of master students from Groningen did their research internships in Bern. One of them upon graduation acquired a PhD position back in Groningen, partly based on the expertise and skills acquired in Bern. When we heard of the Enlight program, it seemed like a great opportunity to build a larger and more organized network as a logical extension of these earlier individual activities. 

What will be the impact of this project for the University of Groningen?

With this Enlight initiative we aim to establish a multidisciplinary and collaborative network for innovative research and education that will benefit the participating staff and students at the University of Groningen. One part of the project is to develop a mobility and exchange program that supports staff members to deliver research seminars, course classes and workshops at partnering universities or invite staff members from other universities to contribute to our teaching. Another part of the initiative is to facilitate PhD students and master students to visit partnering universities for active research internships, hands-on research training, and courses not available in a similar fashion in Groningen. This will not only facilitate their own training, but will also be the seed for active collaborations between institutes.

How does the project connect to other projects?

The project connects well with the mission of the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) and one of the institute’s main research and education themes ‘The Adaptive Brain’, which is aimed at studying and understanding the brain mechanisms through which animals including humans adapt to and deal with a continuously changing and challenging environment. It also aligns well with the vision of the interdisciplinary research master program in Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences (BCN), where students from widely different backgrounds are educated in neuroscience at every level of organization by working with each other and learning from each other.  

Future Vision

By establishing this interdisciplinary network, we aim to create a sustainable platform for continuous collaboration and innovation in brain health research and education. This initiative will not only enhance scientific understanding but also offer valuable career opportunities for trainees and raise public awareness of sleep and brain health.

The team at UG 

• Prof. Dr. Peter Meerlo, Assistant Professor Faculty of Science and Engineering, The Biology of Sleep, BRAIN project coordinator of the team at UG. 

• PhD Nicole Gervais Assistant Professor and Rosalind Franklin Fellow in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience

• Prof. Dr. Robbert Havekes Associate Professor (Neuroscience of Memory and Sleep), Faculty of Science and Engineering

• Prof. Dr. Roelof Hut Professor Chronobiology, Faculty of Science and Engineering

• PhD Sanne Moorman Assistant Professor Neuro and Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Congratulations to our UG team and the PhD students participating in the BRAIN project!