Young researcher Samia Afzal from CRC 1436 subproject A01 “NMDA receptor-dependent prefrontal circuits for cognitive flexibility” at the University of Magdeburg, Germany, has received a prestigious Starting Grant from the Medical Faculty under the Polycarp Leporin Program (PLP).
Over the next two years, she will receive €80,000 in intramural funding to advance her research. In July 2025, Dr. Afzal was also accepted into the MED-4-SCIENCE Academy, a structured program consolidating funding and career-development opportunities for early-career researchers. Her PLP project, titled “Investigating the Role of PHGDH in Age-Related Cognitive Decline: A Molecular to Clinical Approach,” will examine whether the enzyme PHGDH contributes to age-related declines in working memory. The study combines molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral experiments in mice with complementary analyses in humans, bridging basic research and clinical insights.
More information about the MED-4-SCIENCE Academy and the UMMD’s initiatives to support young researchers can be found here.
Congratulations, Samia!