On March 3 and 4, 2017, the first international symposium on the interplay of adipose tissue and brain took place at the University of Lübeck in the Center for Brain, Hormone and Behavior (Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, CBBM). What's special about this "International Adipocyte Brain Crosstalk Symposium": it was planned and organized by the students of the Graduiertenkolleg 1957 "Adipocyte-Brain Crosstalk".
The Graduiertenkolleg (GRK 1957) was established in 2014 and financed by the German Research Foundation, currently comprising 18 natural science doctoral students and eleven medical students from eleven research groups at the University of Lübeck. Research topics are the communication between brain and adipose tissue, the connection between circadian rhythm and metabolism, brown fat and thermoregulation as well as translational approaches.
From the scientific program to negotiations with sponsors, from the venue setup to the evening social event, everything was in the hands of the doctoral students under the leadership of Jenny Backhaus, Jana-Thabea Kiehn and Isa Kolbe. "The result was a very successful event with over 100 participants," says doctoral student Franziska Schuster. Exciting lectures by internationally renowned scientists from Germany, Spain and France as well as many interesting contributions by German and Dutch young scientists laid the foundation for a lively exchange on the core topics of the Graduiertenkolleg.