News from the neurosciences of the CRC
We are pleased to announce the next talk in the Syntophagy Lecture Series.
Who: Dr. Luca Ferrari (Max Perutz Labs, Vienna) will be hosted by Dr. Katarzyna M. Grochowska.
📅 Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
🕒 Time: 3:00 pm
📍 Location: ZMNH, Falkenried 94, 20251 Hamburg, Big Seminar Room E.82, Ground Floor
🎓 Title: Reconstituting Proteostasis Failure in Neurodegeneration: From Patient-Derived Aggregates to Mechanism
For the Zoom link, please contact:
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Female Career Days, we are kicking off this year’s program with a special keynote by Lisa Niendorf on “Between Dependence and Resistance: Abuse of Power in Academia.”
Abuse of power, dependency, and hierarchical structures are critical and sensitive issues in academia and higher education. With this event, we aim to make these challenges more visible, foster open dialogue, and explore how meaningful and sustainable change can be achieved.
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026
4:00 p.m. Opening of the kick-off event
4:15 p.m. Keynote lecture by Lisa Niendorf
5:00 p.m. Q&A session
5:15 p.m. Panel Discussion with representatives from the universities, the City of Magdeburg, and the State of Saxony-Anhalt
6:00 p.m. Social gathering
From 18 to 20 August 2026, the doctoral candidates of our Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) came together for this year’s Summer School, held at Festung Mark in Magdeburg. Over three packed days, the program combined scientific exchange with hands-on training in the transferable skills doctoral researchers need beyond the lab.
Day 1: Progress reports and a choice of hands-on workshops
The Summer School opened with a welcome and introduction by Prof. Dr. Dr. Anne Albrecht, followed by a full morning of progress report presentations from our PhD students, split into two groups and chaired by members of the IRTG. After a lunch break, participants chose between two parallel afternoon workshops: a hands-on session on Bayesian regression and its applications, or an entrepreneurship workshop exploring AI. The day rounded off with a social evening at Moonlight bar.
Day 2: From data to a compelling poster
Day two was dedicated to scientific communication, led by Dr. Alexander Schiller. In the morning session, “Poster Design & Structuring Your Message,” participants learned how to turn data into a clear visual story, covering content, structure, and visual hierarchy for effective posters. In the afternoon, students put that training into practice at a guided poster walk with structured peer feedback. The day closed on a creative note with “Creativity in Science,” a session using LEGO Serious Play to explore new ways of thinking about research.
Day 3: Presenting with impact and managing the PhD journey
The final day began with an Oral Presentation Workshop on structuring, wording, and delivering research talks with impact, again led by Dr. Alexander Schiller, followed by a short feedback survey. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to “Managing Yourself & Your Project,” covering time management and practical project management for PhD life. The Summer School concluded, fittingly, with a potluck barbeque.
Our thanks go to all speakers, chairs, and organizers who made this Summer School possible, and to our PhD students for their active participation and excellent presentations throughout the three days.
Copyright @ Christoph Knoll
On September 25, 2026, CRC spokesperson Emrah Düzel was a guest on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
The podcast “Dementia and Alzheimer’s: Staying Optimistic Is the Best Prevention” explores how we can keep our brains healthy and functioning at their best for as long as possible, and what we can do ourselves to reduce our risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. In addition to physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, mental stimulation, social connections, and a positive, accepting attitude toward one’s own aging also play an important role.
The podcast shows that brain health can be promoted throughout one’s entire life—and prevention doesn’t just begin in old age.
In an interview with Hessischer Rundfunk, CRC 1436 spokesperson Emrah Düzel discusses these topics, as approximately 1.8 million people in Germany are living with dementia, most of them with Alzheimer’s. At the same time, the approach to the disease has changed: early detection, new treatments, and a better understanding of dementia are opening up new possibilities.
However, those affected and their families continue to face major challenges. There is a lack of suitable care, support, and assistance services, while a large portion of the care is provided by families.
How do you cope with dementia? Where can those affected and their families find medical and nursing care? And does dementia really only affect older people? Experts in neurology, nursing, and gerontology, as well as family members affected by the disease, discuss Alzheimer’s, dementia, care, and support in everyday life.
You can listen to the podcast here.
On Monday, September 21st, 2026, Dr. Raymundo Báez Mendoza (German Primate Center and Leibniz Center for Primate Research Göttingen) will be a guest in our CRC Lecture Series.
When: Monday, September 21st, 2026 / 2:30 pm
Where: DZNE, room 121
Title: Prefrontal mechanisms for social behavior
Guests are very welcome.
On 26 September 2026, the 5th Magdeburg Dementia Day will take place. The University Clinic for Neurology, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Magdeburg Dementia Network invite people living with dementia, family members, healthcare professionals and anyone interested to join an informative day dedicated to the topic of dementia.
The program will focus on current developments in dementia research, treatment options and approaches to prevention. Experts will also provide information on support services and resources available to people living with dementia and their families.
Expert talks, interactive activities and opportunities for personal exchange will provide space for information, advice and discussion.
As part of the CRC 1436, four postdoctoral researchers are being sought who will closely align their research during their postdoctoral phase with the CRC’s thematic focus. Through these positions, the CRC aims to strengthen and further develop the support and career development of early-career researchers while fostering research closely connected to the CRC’s overall objectives.
The deadline for applications has been extended to 30 September 2026.
How can we maintain and strengthen our brain health in the long term and reduce the risk of dementia? Scientific studies show that lifestyle changes and environmental factors can play an important role in dementia prevention.
Effective prevention requires strategies that are tailored to each individual’s needs and personal risk factors. This is where the European research project PrecisePrevent comes in: its goal is to develop personalised prevention strategies that promote brain health and help delay the onset of dementia for as long as possible.
A contribution by Prof. Dr. Emrah Düzel, Dr. Judith Wesenberg and Dr. Lucía Penalba Sánchez.
How can we strengthen our brain health and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia? The awareness campaign “Bevor du es vergisst” highlights how a mindful, active, and healthy lifestyle can help maintain cognitive health and support dementia prevention.
Experts such as Prof. Dr. Emrah Düzel and Prof. Dr. Agnes Flöel explain why prevention begins many years before the first noticeable memory problems appear. Exercise, mental activity, social interactions, and managing other risk factors can play an important role in this process.
The campaign aims to make scientific findings accessible and translate them into practical ideas for everyday life – supporting long-term brain health, self-determined aging, and dementia prevention.
Our research focus
Is it possible to increase the performance of memory?
What is the hidden potential of the brain and what are its limits?
How can the brain’s cognitive potential be mobilized and enhanced?
The architecture of our brain provides biological limits for the performance of memory, attention, and our capacity for learning; this is evident on both the micro and macro scale. However, there is large variability within these limits and individual cognitive abilities can be improved through directed training. The goal of our Collaborative Research Center (CRC) is to uncover the performance limits of the human brain and to explore methodological approaches for improving this performance. We aim to understand which neurobiological principles limit cognitive resources and how these resources can be fully accessed or even enhanced. Further, we will identify new ways to preserve neural resources across the lifespan with targeted interventions.
More than 40 scientists in 20 individual projects are currently working in our CRC towards this exciting neuroscientific topic, which is also highly relevant in our current society.
Co-Spokesperson Prof. Dr. Michael Kreutz & Spokesperson Prof. Dr. med. Emrah Düzel
PUBLICATIONS OF THE CRC
Prabhu NM, Matke M, Lehmann N, Aye N, Ziegler G, Taubert M.
Marwa Al Dubai, Mahima Verginia Rebello, Katja Neumann, Mirjeta Berisha, Dimitrios Katsaros, Tobias Ronny Haage, Denise Walther, Jörn Kaufmann, Stephan Fricke, Daniel Uher, Oliver Speck, Johanna Engel, Sven G. Meuth, Bohdan Melekh, Daniel Behme, Hendrik Mattern, Solveig Henneicke, Stefanie Schreiber, Dimitrios Mougiakakos
bioRxiv (2026)
Arboit A, Krautwald K, Angenstein F
Lucia Penalba-Sánchez, Yeo-Jin Yi, Elif Kurt, Grazia Daniela Femminella, Clare Loane, Millie Duckett, Alina Zhunussova, Nikolaus Weiskopf, Martina F Callaghan, Ray Dolan, Robert J Howard, Emrah Düzel, Dorothea Hämmerer
Alzheimers Dement (2026)
Anil Annamneedi, Carolina Montenegro-Venegas, Gürsel Çalışkan, Endre Levente Marosi, Armand Blondiaux, Nikhil Tiwari, Misbah Razzaq, Judith C. Kreutzmann, Lucie P. Pellissier, Anna Fejtova, Sanja Mikulovic, Markus Fendt, Eckart D. Gundelfinger & Oliver Stork
Molecular Psychiatry (2026)
Anne Maass, Berta Garcia-Garcia, Niklas Behrenbruch, Beate Schumann-Werner, Eóin N. Molloy, Svenja Schwarck, Michael Rullmann, Anne Hochkeppler, Larissa Fischer, Anna-Therese Büchel, Jose Bernal, Niklas Vockert, Enise I. Incesoy, Wenzel Glanz, Michaela Butryn, Peter Schulze, Kathrin Baldauf, Andrew W. Stephens, Andreas Schildan, Marianne Patt, Gusalija Behnisch, Barbara Morgado, Hermann Esselmann, Constanze I. Seidenbecher, Björn H. Schott, Jens Wiltfang, Henryk Barthel, Osama Sabri, Michael C. Kreissl and Emrah Düzel
Inga Menze, Jose Bernal, Rogier A. Kievit, Kumar Parijat Tripathi, Timo Kaleck, Renat Yakupov, Slawek Altenstein, Claudia Bartels, Katharina Buerger, Michaela Butryn, Peter Dechent, Michael Ewers, Klaus Fliessbach, Ingo Frommann, Maria Gemenetzi, Wenzel Glanz, Daria Gref, Julian Hellmann-Regen, Stefan Hetzer, Enise I. Incesoy, Daniel Janowitz, Ingo Kiliman, Luca Kleineidam, Marie Theres Kronmüller, Christoph Laske, Debora Melo van Lent, Falk Lüsebrink, Robert Perneczky, Oliver Peters, Lukas Preis, Josef Priller, Boris-Stephan Rauchmann, Ayda Rostamzadeh, Sandra Roeske, Klaus Scheffler, Björn-Hendrik Schott, Anja Schneider, Sebastian Sodenkamp, Annika Spottke, Eike Jakob Spruth, Melina Stark, Stefan Teipel, Michael Wagner, Jens Wiltfang, Frank Jessen, Alfredo Ramirez, Stefanie Schreiber, Emrah Düzel & Gabriel Ziegler
Nat Commun (2026)
Johannes Lauer, Julia Poppke, Thomas Nickl-Jockschat, Daniela C. Dieterich, Markus Fendt & Samia Afzal
David Baidoe-Ansah, Hector Carceller, Hadi Mirzapourdelavar, Marta Pérez-Rando, Luisa Strackeljan, Borja Garcia-Vazquez, Constanze Seidenbecher, Rahul Kaushik, Juan Nacher & Alexander Dityatev
Kraus P, Marunde M, Ryzynski A, Düzel E, Kaether C, Kreutz MR, Oelschlegel AM
Sci Rep. (2026)
