Neuroscience Research Priority Group

MISSION
The mission of the Group shall be to: Support and promote neuroscience research in the UAE and the region. Give encouragement and assistance to, and strengthen collaborative research ties between, its members. Organise congresses, seminars, workshops and courses in the field of neuroscience. Participate in the scientific activities and collaborate with, other groups in the field of neuroscience nationally and internationally. Develop educational programs at the UAE University that lead to higher degrees in Neuroscience.

comed, and Prof. Fahim represented the UAEU group in the Atlanta meeting. 1st UAE IBRO Neuroscience School: This School, the first of its kind in the region, was made possible by the partnership between the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University. The 8-day School held at FMHS from 24th to 31st January 2007 was attended by 28 registered students from 13 countries. The program contained several lectures in 6 modules and 8 workshops, which was enriched by the contribution of five International IBRO faculty and 13 FMHS faculty. The School was indeed a great success and it provided a unique opportunity for young students from the region to foster collaboration among themselves, and to have exposure to scientists from leading Institutions. The feedback from the students has been overwhelmingly positive and there is no doubt that the School will help to develop new initiatives in the field of neuroscience in the region. Furthermore, it is hoped that this School will serve as the starting point for future collaborative activities with IBRO. Masters & PhD Program: Planning is underway for Masters & PhD program in Neuroscience, and we believe that linking our Programs to IBRO might make it feasible for IBRO to fund students from the region to pursue graduate program studies here in the UAE.

Major Achievements
One of the major achievements of the Group in 2006 was gaining membership to the International Brain Research Organization. Further to the visit of Professor Albert Aguayo, President International Brain Research organization (IBRO) and his discussions with Dr Hadef Al Dhaheri, Vice Chancellor of the UAE University, the UAEU Neuroscience Group was officially formed. The terms of reference are outlined in a Decree from the Vice Chancellor, and the constitution and bye-laws were drafted in consultation with FMHS Governance committee. Subsequently, a formal application was made to IBRO and it is indeed a great honour and privilege to the Al Ain Neuroscience Community that we have been successful in obtaining the membership of IBRO. IBRO Collaboration: After our entry to the Governing Council of IBRO, there were two meetings of the Executive Council; the first one during the Federation of European Neuroscience Meeting in Vienna, Austria and the second with the American Society for Neuroscience meeting in Atlanta, USA. Prof. Adem represented UAEU group in the Vienna meeting where our Group was warmly wel-

Scientific Meetings, Seminars and Workshops organized by the Group

Members of the group contributed to The 4th Dubai International Conference for Medical Sciences organized by the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences in Dubai from 19 -21 December 2006. In keeping with this years theme on Neuroscience, the members participated actively in the organization and in the scientific program.

Seminars & Workshops Organized by the Group Epilepsy and Psychosis: Status of the evidence by Professor Perminder Sachdev, President of International Neuropsychiatry Association & Professor, School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia was held on Monday, 23 January 2006 at Hotel Intercontinental Resort, Al Ain. Diabetic neuropathy differs in type 1 and type 2 diabetes by Professor Anders Sima, Department of Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, USA was held on Thursday, 9 March 2009 at Hilton Hotel, Al Ain. Searching for ways to repair the brain by Professor Albert J. Aguayo, President, International Brain Research Organization, Director, Center for Research in Neuroscience, Professor of Neurology & Physiology, Mc Gill University, Montreal, Canada was held on Tuesday, 18 April 2006 at Hotel Intercontinental Resort, Al Ain. When cortical development goes wrong: Schizophrenia as a Neurodevelopmental disease of microcircuits by Professor Laurence Garey, Centre for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday, 27 November 2006 at Hotel Intercontinental Resort, Al Ain. Effect of Atypical Antipsychotics on Cognition in Schizophrenic Role of Aripiprazole by Dr. Youssef Abou-Allaban, Behavioral Sciences Pavilion, Sheikh Khalifa Medical city, Abu Dhabi on Monday, 27 November 2006 at Hotel Intercontinental Resort, Al Ain.

Abroad: Boston College, MA, USA Conway Institute, Dublin, Ireland Columbia University, NY, USA Chinese University of Hong Kong, China Center of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Hamburg, Germany Harvard Medical School, USA Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany Imperial College, London Institut Pasteur de Lille, Cedex, France Institute of Virology, Vienna, Austria Institutes for Medical Research and Neurology, Belgrade, Yugoslavia Iowa Medical School, USA James Cook University, Queensland, Australia Janssen Research Foundation, Belgium Lancaster University, UK Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, Maryland, USA Mayo Clinic, Florida, USA McMaster University, Canada National Academy of Sciences, Kiev, Ukraine Royal Free & University College London Medical School, UK SGHMS, University of London, UK Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman The Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Summary of Grants and Publications, 2006

The members of the group have active collaborations with a number of groups, institutions and organizations within the UAE and abroad, and this has resulted in a number of joint grants and publications. UAE: Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Dubai Centre for Arab Genomic Study Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research (DHFMR) Faculty of Science, UAEU Hamdan Award for Medical Sciences School Health Authority Tawam Hospital, Al Ain Al Ain Hospital, Al Ain Zayed University, Dubai

The Queens University of Belfast, UK University of Manchester, UK University of Aarhus, Denmark Universita La Sapienza, Rome University of Aalborg, Denmark University of Amsterdam, Netherlands University of Bonn, Germany University of California and San Diego, USA University of Gevle, Sweden University of Glasgow University of Groningen, Netherlands University of Turin, Italy Utrecht Medical Centre, Netherlands Grants and Publications 2006 (refer to departmental reports as below) Shehab S (Anatomy)

Padmanabhan R (Anatomy) Adeghate E (Anatomy) Mensah-Brown E (Anatomy) Lorke D (Anatomy) Conlon JM (Biochemistry) El-Agnaf O (Biochemistry) Galadari S (Biochemistry) Braun J (Internal Medicine) Lukic M (Medical Microbiology) Al-Gazali L (Paediatrics) Petroianu G (Pharmacology) Adem A (Pharmacology) Hasan MY (Pharmacology) Bastaki S (Pharmacology)

Attoub S (Pharmacology) Morrison J (Physiology) El-Sharkawy T (Physiology) Fahim M (Physiology) Lammers W (Physiology) Ljubisavljevic M (Physiology) El-Rufaie O (Psychiatry) Eapen V (Psychiatry) Osman O (Psychiatry) Sadeghi R (Psychiatry) Salem MO (Psychiatry) Moselhy H (Psychiatry) Corr P (Radiology) Gorkom van K (Radiology)

Valsa Eapen; Abdu Adem; Milos ljubisavljevic and Safa Shehab For Neuroscience Research Priority Group