Director of the CNE Professor Rebecca Campbell believes that the strength of the Centre comes from their collaborative and collegial way of working together, where the academics share their space, time and ideas to become something that is greater than the sum of their parts.
The Centre for Neuroendocrinology (CNE) will be hosting a 20th Anniversary Symposium at the end of this month to celebrate how far it has come since its inception in 2003.
Taking place at Caroline Freeman College from Wednesday, 29 November to Friday, 1 December, the event will commemorate the past two decades by featuring presentations from both former and current members of the Centre, many of whom are now leading research projects and groups around the world.
“Over 40 national and international guests are funding their own travel to attend this three-day event, with the symposium evolving into a who’s who of neuroendocrinology research,” says CNE Director Professor Rebecca Campbell.
It will feature presentations by researchers from Scotland, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark and the United States, and several Otago postdoctoral scientists who have managed to sustain externally funded positions within the CNE in a highly competitive funding environment.
Based in the School of Biomedical Sciences, this flagship research centre has exclusively focused on the field of neuroendocrinology – how the brain controls hormone levels in the blood and how those hormones in turn influence brain function.
In recent years, this has taken the shape of investigating how the brain and hormones work in concert to drive fundamental functions like metabolism, reproduction, stress and parenting behaviour.
Professor Campbell says that the approximately 60 members in the 11 key research groups at the Centre are very proud to be celebrating this anniversary.
“Reaching this milestone speaks to the strong foundations of the Centre, originally established by Professor Allan Herbison and Professor Dave Grattan, as well as being a testament to the collective dedication and hard mahi of all of our team members, both past and present.
“We are thrilled to be able to mark this occasion and celebrate that commitment with a reunion symposium.”
Find out more about the CNE:
A staple part of the Centre, both historically and now, has been the pride it takes in its team culture where they collectively celebrate successes and support one another to strive towards research excellence with both local and international impact.
Kōrero by the Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser, Kelsey Schutte.