Neuroscience Symposium to Launch Max Planck Florida Institute and FAU New Graduate Program

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark the launch of a new, joint Integrative Biology and Neuroscience graduate program, Max Planck Florida Institute and Florida Atlantic University (FAU) are hosting an inaugural Neuroscience Symposium, September 28-29 in the Senate Chambers of the Student Union at FAU's Boca Raton campus. The two-day event will feature speakers and scientific presentations given by the Max Planck Florida Institute; FAU; the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology; Scripps Florida; Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences; Harvard Medical School; and Northwestern University. Attending students, faculty and fellow scientists will have the opportunity to learn about the latest scientific advances to address some of the most complex issues at the forefront of today's neuroscience research.

"This is an example of our collaboration and commitment to develop Palm Beach County into a center of excellence for the neurosciences," said Dr. Samuel M. Young, Jr., Research Group Leader at Max Planck Florida Institute and one of the symposium's organizers and presenters.

This joint Max Planck Florida Institute and FAU graduate program has already begun recruiting students and is scheduled to welcome its first class in Fall 2011. The program is expected to attract top-notch graduate students locally, nationally and internationally.

"The launch of our collaborative integrative biology and neuroscience program is a testament to the foresight of the state of Florida when they made the necessary investment to bring the Max Planck Institute to Florida," said Dr. Rodney Murphey, event organizer, professor and chair of Biological Sciences at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. "The on-going collaboration between our two organizations is a great pleasure for all concerned, and our combined resources and expertise will enable us to develop a world-class program for students in integrative biology and neuroscience."

Opening remarks at the Symposium will be given by FAU President Mary Jane Saunders; Gary Perry, dean and professor of FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science; and Herbert Jackle, vice president of Germany's Max Planck Society. The two-day program includes five moderated sessions and two special presentations given by Axel Borst, professor and director of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Germany, and David Fitzpatrick, director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and professor of neurobiology at Duke University.

Sponsors include IBM Southeast Employee's Federal Credit Union; Nikon; Proskauer; and Zeiss. There will also be an exhibition area to include Applied Precision; Coherent; EMD; Eppendorf; Hunt Optics and Imaging; Leica Microsystems; Mettler Toledo; MicroOptics Florida; Nikon; PerkinElmer; Prairie Technologies; and Zeiss.

Early registration for the symposium is $75 by September 21, and $125 after that date. The event is free for students. Space is limited and registration is required. For more information or to register, visit http://www.science.fau.edu/neuroscience/iban/fau-mpfi-neuro-symposium.html or call 561-297-0384. For more information on the graduate program, visit www.science.fau.edu/neuroscience/iban/index.html.

About the Max Planck Society:

Germany's Max Planck Society has led the world in advancing the frontiers of scientific research for more than 60 years. The independent, nonprofit organization, with its international staff of around 20,400, including research fellows and visiting scientists, has an annual operating budget of $1.8 billion. Named for the 1918 Nobel Prize-winning physicist and founder of the quantum theory, Max Planck, the scientific institution maintains 80 institutes and research facilities located mainly in Germany, but also in Italy, Netherlands, and now in the United States. All are focused on exceptional, results-oriented basic research in the life sciences, social sciences and the humanities.

Max Planck Florida Institute broke ground on their new 100,000-square-foot biomedical facility in June. The permanent biomedical research center and laboratories is expected to be completed by early 2012. For more information, visit www.maxplanckflorida.org.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses and sites. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering & Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

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SOURCE Florida Atlantic University