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The African School of NeuroImmunology, AFSNI 2025

The African School of NeuroImmunology, AFSNI, one of the schools organized by ISNI through the Global Schools of Neuroimmunology, has started on April 12th 2025 in Rabat, Morrocco, hosted by the Mohammed V University. It will last until April 16th 2025. This is not the first AFSNI co-branded school. However this is the first time ISNI has been able to provide partial economical support this school. African international schools in neuroscience are mostly supported by the International Brain Research Organization, IBRO, of which ISNI is a partner. It is different organizing schools in Africa as compared to other continents. The most relevant difference is that schools need to provide complete support for students: travel, accommodation, food. Air tickets, especially, are extremely expensive for students from sub-Saharan Africa. As a practical consequence, most students are from the hosting country. Also this time we have 8 students from Morocco. But, thanks also to the money provided by ISNI, we also host 3 students from Ghana, 2 from Nigeria, 1 from Tunisia, 1 from Kenya, 1 from Cameroon. We had to select these 16 students from over hundred applications. For these students this is not only a unique opportunity for education, but an opportunity for networking, meet professors, learn about opportunities abroad, start new collaborations. Many alumni of our previous schools have changed their professional trajectories thanks to this opportunity, at the point that there will be an ISNI-Neuroimmunology symposium at the next Society of Neuroscience of Africa (SONA) in Marrakech, right at the end of this school, where the speakers have been all selected from former students of our schools. The whole credit for these activities goes to Prof. Willias Masocha, co-Director of AFSNI, originally from Zimbabwe and now teaching in Kuwait, and Prof. Nouria Lakhdar-Ghazal from Morocco, who both relentlessly work to make this happen. #WeAreNeuroimmunology all over the world, also in Africa.

ISNI ISNI 3/31/26 ISNI ISNI 3/31/26

Western University (London, Canada) invites world-leading researchers to apply for one of several prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) opportunities.

Launched in 2008, the CERC Program supports Canadian universities in their efforts to build upon Canada’s reputation as a global leader in research and innovation and to attract world-renowned researchers to Canada. The awards are among the most prestigious and generous available globally. The program stands at the centre of our national strategy to foster research excellence in Canada and improve the depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen Canada’s international competitiveness, and to help train the next generation of highly skilled people. The awards provide an opportunity for international researchers, including Canadian expatriates wishing to relocate to Canada, to lead a prestigious research program at Western and to contribute to Canada’s excellence in research and innovation.

The CERC nomination is a two-stage process where applicants first apply to this job posting. Successful applicants then work with our institution to submit a nomination to the 2026 CERC competition. The university will support successful nominees throughout the development of their applications. Following a highly competitive selection process, the CERC program awards successful researchers and their teams either $8 million or $4 million over 8 years to establish ambitious research programs at the nominating university. There are two award values to recognize the varying costs of research within different research disciplines and to be inclusive of all areas of research

Research Alignment

Western anticipates nominating up to three candidates for CERC positions, based on award value. Applications from outstanding established scholars are welcomed in the following seven areas, with at most one nomination to be selected from a given area:

(1) Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions

(2) Neuroscience and Brain Health

(3) Multi-Hazard Resilient Infrastructure

(4) Smart Infrastructure Technologies

(5) Electrochemistry and Materials Degradation

(6) Earth and Space Exploration – Astromaterials

(7) Political Polarization.

Please see the full job description available at this website: https://www.uwo.ca/facultyrelations/careers/CERC-2026-Job-Ad-May-8.pdf

ISNI ISNI 3/31/26 ISNI ISNI 3/31/26

Clinical/Experimental Neuroscience and Psychiatry – PhD Program – Sapienza Rome

Type of educational offering: PhD Program

Academic Year: 2025/2026

Sapienza Scholarships:

External Scholarships: 4

Positions without scholarship: 4

Identification number: 16183

Curricula

a) Neurological, Neurodevelopmental, and Psychiatric Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence; b) Neurophysiology;c) Experimental Neurology; d) Neurorehabilitation; e) Sensorimotor Neuroscience; f) Auditory System Pathology; g) Psychiatry: Early Interventions in Psychoses and Mood Disorders

website: https://www.uniroma1.it/it/offerta-formativa/dottorato/2025/neuroscienze-clinicosperimentali-e-psichiatria

Educational Objectives

The PhD program is divided into 7 curricula focusing on the study of physiological and pathological aspects of the nervous system. The common goal across the curricula is to provide PhD candidates with the theoretical and experimental tools to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the functioning of motor and sensory systems, as well as their alterations in neurological, degenerative, psychiatric, oncological, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

PhD students undergo a three-year training program that includes initially supervised and later independent research activities, along with decreasing classroom instruction enriched by weekly seminars known as Neurowebinars.

These are the specific objectives for PhD students in the different curricula:

SENSORIMOTOR NEUROSCIENCE: Conduct research on the motor and sensory systems in both healthy subjects and patients with movement disorders, and investigate the clinical and neurophysiological aspects of epilepsy.
NEUROREHABILITATION: Acquire knowledge about central mechanisms involved in motor recovery in patients with neurological diseases undergoing rehabilitation treatment.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY: Perform research on neurodegenerative diseases starting from data analysis in animal models to understand the pathogenic processes underlying human diseases, also using experimental approaches in quantitative neuroimaging and molecular biology.
NEUROLOGICAL, NEURODEVELOPMENTAL, AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE: Develop and test hypotheses related to the pathophysiology of these disorders, define specific observational and therapeutic approaches aimed at validating early clinical outcome measures, and design experimental trials for new pharmacological treatments or innovative diagnostic procedures.
AUDITORY IMPLANTOLOGY AND NEUROSTIMULATION: Gain knowledge of electrophysiological, psychoacoustic, and audiological prosthetic aspects, to study issues related to auditory processing through these devices, their therapeutic effectiveness in restoring auditory function, and their impact on language development.
PSYCHIATRY: EARLY INTERVENTIONS IN PSYCHOSES AND MOOD DISORDERS: Address current needs in psychiatric disciplines by integrating existing knowledge and expertise in neuroscience, genetics, molecular and cellular biology, brain imaging, epidemiology, psychometrics, and pharmacology.
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY: Study the physiological mechanisms of synaptic function, communication between nervous system cells, and interactions between the nervous system, immune system, and gut microbiota, as well as their alterations in pathological conditions, including using animal models of brain disorders.