MPZPM opens doors for young visitors: Insights into fundamental research at the interface between physics and medicine
After its festive opening in September, the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin has begun its scientific work. The first visitors have been able to form their initial impressions of the pioneering research facility in Erlangen. Tomohisa Toda, associated with the MPZPM in his role as Professor of Neuronal Epigenomics at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), welcomed the first group of students from Nuremberg. The guests were given exciting insights into the fascinating fundamental research being conducted at the interface between physics and medicine.
The MPZPM is opening its doors to groups of school and university students, who will be able to gain insights into research through lectures and guided tours, thereby fulfilling its educational mission.
Prof. Toda, Dr. Koki Sakurai (Toda Research Group) and Dr. Yuichi Maeda (Universitätsklinikum Erlangen) – all of whom have Japanese roots themselves – were very happy to accept the request to visit from the Japanese Saturday school “Hoshuko”. The scientists first presented the general goals of the MPZPM and their own research work on brain diseases and rheumatism to the children and young people. The researchers explained how their own enthusiasm for science was awakened and showed possibilities for the visitors to later pursue careers in science themselves.
The school encourages its students to visit places like MPZPM to give them insights into how Japanese people in Germany work in international environments. “We are happy to help broaden their horizons and introduce them to possible career paths for the future,” explains Toda, whose laboratory studies brain aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on gene regulation and nuclear mechanics.
After the theory, it was time for the visitors, aged 11 to 15, to get hands-on: under the fluorescence microscope in the molecular biology laboratories, the students observed various brain sections and learned about the similarities and differences between the brains of mice and humans.
“They were obviously very excited to see the inside of a research building like this for the first time and were very interested,” says Toda, reflecting on the event. “We hope that the children will be able to build a bridge between Germany and Japan in the future and that we will continue to benefit from scientific exchange.”
Photos: © Max Rinke
