Why invest in HFSP? Editorial by Prof. Nobutaka Hirokawa, President of HFSPO The change in the global fiscal climate is forcing countries around the world to scrutinize their research budgets, often at the cost of visionary programs. Throughout this recent turmoil and the significant budget cuts, HFSP has Profs. Hirokawa & Winnacker present the 2012 Nakasone Award to Gina Turrigiano during maintained its unique niche supporting the Awardees Meeting in Daegu basic frontier research, allowing grant teams to pursue projects based on ideas that are sometimes off the beaten track. Its success arises from novel research collaborations based on an innovative idea which may launch a new research 2012 HFSP Nakasone Award direction for a laboratory or even an entire field. HFSPO President, Prof. Nobutaka Hirokawa, presented the 2012 Nakasone Award HFSP is convinced that a broad and to Gina Turrigiano of Brandeis University. Dr. Turrigiano received the award for unrestricted ‘hands-on’ collaborative approach is ideally suitable to attack introducing the concept of “synaptic scaling”. the future challenges in the life sciences. This entrepreneurial spirit The concept of “synaptic scaling” was introduced to resolve an apparent paradox: also applies to HFSP fellows, who how can neurons and neural circuits maintain both stability and flexibility? are required to propose a project that The number and strength of synapses show major changes during development broadens their expertise. and in learning and memory. Such changes could potentially lead to massive In light of significant fiscal shortfalls, changes in neuronal output that could have deleterious effects on the stability of international partnerships may be the neuronal networks and memory storage. Homeostatic mechanisms are therefore ideal strategy for any country, rich or required to control neuronal output within certain limits while still maintaining poor, because they ease the financial the relative weights of synaptic inputs that underlie information storage. The work burden on all participants and enable scientists to be involved in frontier of Gina Turrigiano’s laboratory has shown that neurons can “tune” themselves research projects. Science embraced by responding to an increase in firing rate by scaling down all excitatory synaptic this global dimension long before strengths and vice versa. She continues to explore these mechanisms that underlie other fields discovered the benefits of such scaling phenomena and their function in vivo using a variety of molecular, “going global”. Our member countries electrophysiological, imaging and computational approaches. consider their investment in HFSP as a vital element of their international science and technology strategy. HFSP is unique because of its support of high The 2013 HFSP Nakasone Award has been conferred upon risk – high yield projects that may lay the foundation for new domestic Stephen Quake of Stanford University for his pioneering work programs promising transformative that advanced biological measuring techniques. Stephen Quake is results. a full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Professor Quake will deliver the Nakasone Lecture at the 2013 HFSP at your fingertips Awardees Meeting in Strasbourg, France in July. Quick link to www.hfsp.org Issue N° 1 | January 2013 In this issue Insider impressions of HFSP By Carmen Gervais, Director of Fellowships and Career Development Awards, HFSP 2012 HFSP Nakasone Award ............ 1 Insider impressions of HFSP ............. 2 Six months ago I left a prestigious HFSP and Neuroscience: Myths and national program in Canada to join the HFSP in France. It’s like being Marty memory ............................................. 3 McFly1, transported to the future where the unexpected is really happening. Here HFSP Awardees Meetings ................. 4 are my initial impressions of working at the frontier, from my coveted “fly on the Snippets... .......................................... 5 wall” position. Looking back on the launch of single The first unexpected thing was the molecule biophysics .......................... 6 enthusiasm in the research community for HFSP. The groans are almost audible 2014 HFSP Nakasone Award ............ 8 at granting agency offices around the Carmen Gervais joined HFSPO as world when email “invitations” to review Director of Fellowships and Career Call for Letters of Intent for Research applications, or serve on a committee, Development Awards in June 2012 are sent out. But even armed with full Grants ................................................ 8 knowledge of the work involved, the positive responses to my requests were Awardees' Articles ............................. 8 quick. Clearly HFSP doesn’t function in One of the most salient features of Prizes & Awards ............................... 8 an alternate universe where researchers HFSP-funded research is that it’s have ample time on their hands to take weird. Off the beaten track, not likely on more work. I was intrigued. to be funded by bread-and-butter funding organizations, and thus wildly International organizations are a step interesting! Which is another reason Impressum more distant than national funding why the haute gamme of the research bodies, which everyone feels the community agree to devote a significant The HFSP Newsletter is issued on obligation to feed and nurture. Top chunk of their time to our peer review: behalf of the Human Frontier Science that off with competing for funds not there’s a lot to learn. Program by the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization. only against national peers, but global It contains announcements of HFSP- comrades. The competition is very tough, There are benefits realized by review related matters and other information and at HFSP cool ideas from dynamic committee members that you can only of interest to the support of young teams regularly trump big names. HFSP get from sweating in the trenches and scientists and to interdisciplinary is a niche organization, highly focussed working with people with different research in general. Please tell your on the emerging edge of interdisciplinary cultural and disciplinary perspectives - friends, colleagues, students, etc. about research, supporting exploration of the who approach the selection of excellence this mailing list. They can subscribe via “basic” questions in the life sciences. from different angles - which brings a link on the HFSP home page. So why are people so willing to help? vigour to any process. Exposure to new Part of the answer came at this year’s scientific approaches and questions, Please address any suggestions or Awardees Meeting in Daegu, Korea. as they are percolating to the surface, comments to: provides a bird’s eye view of the life [email protected] The Daegu meeting reminded me sciences, especially where it rubs up of small conferences I attended as a against other disciplines. doctoral student; a forum that promotes HFSP Matters issue n° 1 informal exchanges and a chance to I sat in on the discussions of the HFSP January 2013 meet and bounce ideas off some of the grants selection committee when they top guns in your field. Unlike small met in late June to review letters of The International Human Frontier conferences - which usually focus on intent. Listening to their deliberations Science Program Organization a sub-discipline - the presenters at the gave me the feeling that I was perched (HFSPO) Awardees Meeting cover a wide breadth on the edge, glimpsing at what’s new and 12 Quai St Jean - BP 10034 of fields. Attendees get a glimpse of the exciting and what just might change the 67080 Strasbourg CEDEX bigger picture, see emerging disciplinary way we see the world. France combinations and hear unpublished results. The energy builds as new ideas Email: [email protected] and connections form amongst the poster 1 Marty McFly is the main character in Website: www.hfsp.org boards. The commitment to discovery the “Back to the Future” movies, played Japanese website : http://jhfsp.jsf. and the dynamism of the intrepid by a great Canadian actor, Michael J. explorers HFSP supports is impressive. Fox. 2 HFSP Matters Issue N° 1 | January 2013 HFSP and Neuroscience: Myths and memory By Geoff Richards, Director of Research Grants, HFSP In the course of a year the HFSP was to reduce team size from vague secretariat hears many ‘facts’ (or rather consortiums to a small group of 2 to 4 urban legends) about its programs which investigators who would combine different never fail to surprise us. The two extremes expertise in an innovative experimental are, on the one hand, that HFSP is a approach to a biological problem. These neuroscience program and, on the other, ideas spread at different speeds in different that HFSP doesn’t support neuroscience member countries and disciplines. any more. As is often the case, the truth is The cell and developmental biologists somewhere in between. largely disappeared for a few years before reforming teams that respected In its first decade, both the fellowship the more focused aims of HFSP. A and grant programs were divided into decade later, the last bastion of larger a ‘Brain Functions’ and a ‘Molecular teams is found in systems neuroscience. Approaches to Biological Functions‘ While both the applicants and the section. These were run quite separately neuroscientists participating in the various with specialized review committees HFSP