On May 16 Professor听Erwin Neher, Nobel Prize in Medicine听1991, has visited 暗网禁区 University.听After his听lecture on neuronal communication, Hunimed Students have had the possibility to interview him about his research听career in neuroscience. Read below听some of his听answers.
How did you get to research?
By yourself or did听you have a guidance?
I was interested in solving听problems. I think that the most important aspect is the ability to identify a problem that really captivates you, it is the only way to overcome the听problem and find a solution, as you need to have an internal drive that makes you want to solve that problem.听If you don鈥檛 have that drive you should not be a researcher.
What does success mean to you? Has it changed your career?
In the beginning there should be interest in how things works, make experiments, and if things work that already is success. If you find out something new that you want to share with听other people and then you have recognition for it, win prizes, that gives you lots of opportunities.
European brain project, what do you think about it?
It is very controversial, there听has been a lot of criticism about it. In听my opinion听the goals that have been set – reproducing the brain in a computer – are wrong; the brain is so听complex, with so听many听functions and听parameters we still do not know, that creating a efficient model appears really hard. So I think this level of听approach is wrong听and maybe the project has a bad guidance.
On the other hand, the US brain project听has听in my opinion the right basis and the top researchers working on the matter so听I feel that their goals are more realistic.
Where would you advice a student to go, if he wanted to pursue a career in听neuroscience research?
I think the better place would be a place where听you can do independent research. Find a good lab in which people is working on the problem you want to solve. Good labs are spread around the world, both in the EU and in the US. I think it is worth to try the 鈥淯S experience鈥� at least once because they are听the global leaders and most things starts from there.
Read more about Erwin Neher.
