In the future, the Einstein Foundation will fund international scientists as Einstein Visiting Fellows at Berlin universities with a focus on stroke medicine, stochastics, auditory neurology and philosophy. Also new to the funding are an Einstein research project on the role of hydrogen in the energy transition, another project on the neural basis of schizophrenia, a multidisciplinary Einstein Circle on the concept of the "other," and nine fellows in the Freedom of Science program. In addition, the Einstein Centers in neuroscience, in catalysis research and for the interdisciplinary study of time (Chronoi) are to receive further funding. The total of all grants amounts to about 19 million euros until 2025.
In the area of individual funding, the Einstein Foundation will support the following scientists as Einstein Visiting Fellows in the future:
Alastair Buchan, Stroke Medicine, University of Oxford/Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
The Professor of Stroke Medicine from the University of Oxford will provide his expertise to the Charité - Universitätsmedizin at the Center for Stroke Research Berlin and collaborate with the Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure and the neurologist and Einstein Junior Fellow Philipp Mergenthaler. New neuroprotective therapies will be researched, i.e. treatment strategies and drugs will be developed to prevent the death of further nerve cells after a loss of blood flow in the brain. The most proven method in these cases is hypothermia, the artificial lowering of body temperature. The research group at Charité will investigate which molecular mechanisms play a role in so-called hypothermic neuroprotection for the treatment of stroke and how this is related to glucose metabolism in the brain. Another goal of Alastair Buchan's fellowship is to establish an international academy for the next generation of clinical scientists in neurological vascular research and to intensify collaboration between top researchers from Oxford and Berlin.
Gary Froyland, Mathematics, University of New South Wales/Freie Universität Berlin
Professor of Mathematics from the University of New South Wales (Australia), Froyland aims to use mathematical modeling to explore the predictability of complex dynamical phenomena in the oceans and atmosphere as well as in society. To bridge these vastly different fields, Froyland will work with colleagues from Freie Universität Berlin to explore an overarching mathematical abstraction of the issues. The scientists will investigate how atmospheric eddies and ocean currents form and disappear, thus addressing unresolved questions in fluid dynamics. Furthermore, Froyland also wants to examine the extent to which such methods could be applied to the emergence or decay of social coherence.
David McAlpine, Neurosciences, Macquarie University/Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
The project of the Professor of Auditory Neurology from Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia) focuses on a form of learning that occurs primarily through auditory perception and is referred to as statistical learning. This unconscious process occurs continuously in the brain as it perceives the environment and automatically scans it for information. In this way, it learns to distinguish important signals from background noise. The team led by McAlpine and Livia de Hoz (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin), in association with the Collaborative Research Center "Mechanisms and Disorders of Memory Consolidation", will record the neuronal structures of the auditory brain of mice and investigate the types of noise that enable statistical learning. The focus is on neural circuits and cellular mechanisms. The group will also explore auditory-driven learning in humans to improve methods for diagnosing dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and autism, and to develop new treatments. In addition to improving our understanding of the cognitive workings of learning and memory, this research could also be used to develop new technologies for hearing aids.
Alva Noë, Philosophy, University of California/Free University Berlin
As part of his project "Reorganizing Ourselves," the Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley (USA) at Freie Universität Berlin wants to investigate commonalities between art and philosophy as forms of reflection. To this end, he understands both as practices of rearranging and reordering historical-cultural contexts and examines them as creative means that serve to fathom the self and explore possibilities for change. To do so, Alva Noë draws on the concept of entanglement (entanglement/interconnectedness) by the historian of knowledge Donna Haraway. The researcher will analyze the reorganizing strategies in philosophy and art with his team, based at the DFG Research Training Group "Normativity, Criticism, Change", on the basis of certain focal points, including the different types of entanglement realized in philosophy and the arts respectively, concrete practices, and the added value of aesthetic and philosophical reflections.
The Einstein Visiting Fellowship of Peter Schröder, computer graphics expert from the California Institute of Technology (USA), has been extended until 2023.
In addition, the Einstein Center for Neuroscience (until 2025), Catalysis (until 2025) and Chronoi (until 2024) will continue to be funded with a total of around 13.7 million euros.
The Einstein Foundation Berlin is a non-profit, independent and science-led institution established as a foundation under civil law. It promotes science and research across disciplines and institutions in and for Berlin at a top international level - and has been doing so for over ten years. Around 200 scientists - including three Nobel laureates - over 70 projects and seven Einstein Centers have been funded to date. For science. For Berlin.