Trinity’s Prof Tomás Ryan has been elected the new Chair of an elite European network of neuroscientists.
Ryan, an associate professor in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology and the Institute of Neuroscience, will head up the European FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence for the next two years.
In a press statement, Ryan said: “I am very excited to have the opportunity to coordinate such a diverse group of highly motivated and talented individuals from across Europe.”
Ryan said the organisation “has an active role in representing the challenges and communicating the outcomes of neuroscience to wider society”.
“If we want to live in a rational, evidence-based society that supports scientific progress”, he said, “it is essential that scientists and academics actively engage with policy makers and the public. I look forward to working with colleagues throughout Europe to advocate for European brain research in the coming years”.
The network is composed of 30 neuroscientists from 16 European countries. Beginning in 2014 through a collaboration between the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and the Kavli Foundation, the Network selects up to 15 FENS-Kavli Scholars bi-annually via an international committee. All Scholars serve an active term of four years.
The network aims to further our understanding of brain function through worldwide collaborations, as well as engaging with society and policymakers on issues around to neuroscience and mental health.
Scholars participate in several meetings per year to facilitate new collaborations on the frontier of European neuroscience and research. They produce opinion articles and white-paper recommendations to European stakeholders on funding schemes and other key issues for neuroscience development.
Scholars also engage in outreach activities to further public knowledge of brain research, while the network also awards a pair of prizes annually at a European neuroscience conference.
In addition to his new role, Ryan is also principal investigator of a European Research Council-funded team that was established in Trinity in 2017 and investigates the biology of memory engram storage in the brain.
