Spend your summer in Amsterdam and learn all about neurodegeneration
From Clinic to Bench, from molecules to brain, from cells to behaviour, this interactive course provides you with a comprehensive insight into various aspects of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and VWM (Vanishing White Matter). It addresses both clinical aspects (etiology, pathology, genetics, diagnostics, and treatment) and methodologies for the study of brain diseases (cell and animal models, microscopy, physiology and electrophysiology, behaviour), with expert lecturers presenting their applied and fundamental research work.

The course is organized by the Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), one of the centres of expertise at the Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam. The CNCR operates integrated research programmes, covering everything from genes to behaviour, each combining mouse and human studies. Its teams are leaders in their specific fields, renowned for the use of state-of-the-art techniques.

Course design

You are challenged to deepen your own knowledge of a selected neurodegenerative condition by working with peers from different academic backgrounds on an integrated, interdisciplinary approach for presentation at the end of the course – a project that requires active involvement, mechanistic thinking and thorough reasoning, and will develop your critical and constructive faculties.

Excursions
Visits to several of the state-of-the-art laboratories at the Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, including the electron microscopy, confocal and life cell imaging and animal and behavioural facilities.

Learning objectives:

• You gain a basic knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases, the “foundation”.
• You gain an in-depth knowledge of specific research approaches and methods * to address various aspects of neurodegenerative diseases, the “toolbox”.
• You form an overview of current limits and future needs, the “perspective“.
• You integrate this information to propose new ideas and hypotheses for neurodegenerative diagnostics and therapy, the “potential”.

Who should join this course?
Students of Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, Physics and other medically oriented disciplines with an interest in brain function in health and disease, and especially the underlying molecular mechanisms.

How to apply
For more infromation, see this webpage.
Apply for this course here.