Transatlantic Exchange for Neuroscience Discovery (TEND)

Drs Trevor Humby and William Davies were awarded the Sêr Cymru Strategic Partnership Accelerator Award alongside Western University’s BrainsCAN. Announced in March,  the award for BrainsCAN and Cardiff’s Transatlantic Exchange for Neuroscience Discovery (TEND) project will foster links between these neuroscience communities.

Established in 2019, BrainsCAN and Cardiff’s TEND project will enable the further transfer of knowledge and skills between these two world-leading research centres in the fields of neuroscience and mental health, with the aim of developing novel therapeutic approaches for treatment.

The TEND project application was led by Cardiff University researchers, Dr. Trevor Humby, Dr. William Davies, and Dr. Kim Graham, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, Innovation and Enterprise, along with Dr. Lisa Saksida, Co-Scientific Director of Western University’s BrainsCAN.

“The Sêr Cymru funding from the Welsh Government to Cardiff University, together with reciprocal funding from Western University, will enable these two leading institutions in neuroscience research in the UK and Canada to establish and develop a number of research collaborations,” said William Davies. “These new links will generate findings to improve our understanding of the brain and behaviour, will suggest routes for more effective treatment of mental health conditions, and will enhance training opportunities for early-career researchers.”

The TEND project will combine each institution’s unique expertise to collaborate on critical research questions. In addition, the project will train the next generation of neuroscience researchers with eight travel fellowships offered – four at each institution. These will promote the development of early-career researchers while also building the potential for future research.

The eight TEND fellowships will enable postdocs to spend time at the two institutions in the summer of 2021, learning and bringing back new skills to their home institutions and building collaborative links to foster further research in the field of neuroscience.

The Strategic Partnership Accelerator award is part of Sêr Cymru’s new funding opportunities available through the Welsh Government Office for Science. These awards are focused on further developing Wales’ academic and industrial partnerships, both in the UK and globally.

Opportunities for researchers to take part in the TEND project will be available shortly.