Prof. Gereon Fink - chair of the new Collaborative research center (SFB) 1451 "Motor Control"
Neuromuscular junction in a murine model: in green: nerv and pre-synapse / in red: post-synapse
The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund a new Collaborative Research Center (CRC/SFB) on "Key mechanisms of physiological and disease-related impaired motor control" under the leadership of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne starting in 2021. The new research network is chaired by the neurologist and neuroscientist Professor Gereon Fink, who is also the director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Neurology and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne.The CRC aims to investigate the genetic, cellular as well as systemic processes underlying motor control in animals and humans. For the first funding period from 2021 to 2024, the DFG will provide the new Cologne SFB with a total of more than 13 million euros.
‘Diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's or spinal muscular atrophy frequently lead to severe limitations in the independence of affected individuals,‘ explains Professor Fink and comments further: ‘Also, many mental illnesses are accompanied by motor function disorders. The new research network will provide new insights into the impact of the genetic, cellular, and systemic mechanisms on motor precision, coordination and flexibility, learning of motor behavior and how these processes are enabled not only in the mature brain, but across the lifespan. In this context, studies of motor control disorders serve to test models of physiological motor control and its development, improve our understanding of neurological and mental disorders, and thus help develop new treatments,"
An international team of scientists from the fields of neurobiology, neurophysiology, neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, nuclear medicine and functional neurosurgery are dedicated to this research topic in an interdisciplinary approach that innovatively combines the different levels and facets.The Collaborate Research Center integrates researchers from the
We are pleased to announce that following researchers who are highly affiliated with the Center for Moecuar Medicine Cologne are participating with research projects in the CRC (SFB) 1451:
As part of the SFB, a new graduate school will also be established at the University of Cologne, which will structure the training of young neuroscientists against the backdrop of the diverse content and methodological approaches of the motor science SFB and pave the way for graduates to pursue sustainable scientific careers in the field of biomedical research. Collaborative Research Centers are research institutions that run for up to twelve years.
Copyright ©
Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Benzing
Chair of the CMMC
