STRATEGY

The overall strategic goal of the NNB is to foster and promote interdisciplinary and translational neuroscience research at the highest level possible. The NNB will contribute to establishing a leading role of the University of Basel in a central and highly relevant area of modern life sciences. 

To do so, the NNB sets the following strategic targets:

• The NNB encourages integration of basic and clinical neuroscience research and promotes an orientation towards translational research, which strives to take key research findings from laboratory bench to hospital bedside. NNB’s credo is to: “explore function-understand dysfunction-improve diagnosis and treatment”.

• The NNB focuses on the development, function and dysfunction of neuronal circuits in order to understand the basis of neurological diseases and mental health disorders.

• The NNB capitalizes on the documented expertise in basic and clinical neuroscience in Basel and integrates research from different disciplines and institutions.

• The NNB has identified priority research and treatment areas, based on Basel’s strengths and expertise.

• The NNB fosters collaboration with the neuroscience programs at the universities in the triregional upper Rhein area and with neuroscience groups at other Swiss Universities and Federal Institutes.

• Given the unique concentration of applied neuroscience research in Basel, the NNB promotes and nurtures the cooperation of university groups with applied research labs in the international pharmaceutical corporations in Basel as well as with the small and medium size enterprises in the area of northwest Switzerland.

• In view of the role of the university as a center of learning, the NNB strives to integrate the most recent research findings and methods into student education by early exposure of students to active, research-oriented neuroscience teaching with hands-on practical courses beginning at the bachelor level.

• The NNB will further develop the communication and scientific dialog both within the university and between university researchers and the general public in order to promote and explain the importance of neuroscience research for treatment of mental health disorders and neurological as well as neurodegenerative diseases.