BRFAA | ESN-ISN School 2024

The Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens(BRFAA, IIBEAA in Greek) was established in 2002 and the Board of Trustees, acting through a selection committee of internationally recognized scientists, recruited and still support strongly investigators working in the fields of Neurobiology, Genetics, Immunology, Cardiovascular Biology, and Cancer Biology.

BRFAA is the most recent addition to the Biomedical Research institutes in Greece, yet has achieved an excellent track record in attracting and managing research.

The founding and guiding principles of BRFAA are

to host both basic and clinical research, thereby providing an ideal setting for translational research activities (a unique feature in Greece);
to provide specialized health services to the public (e.g. PET-CT, Cord Blood Bank, molecular diagnosis)
to contribute to the postgraduate training of young scientists

The activities of the 65 research groups of BRFAA are organized around six thematic areas namely Neuroscience, Cancer Biology, Immunology, Cardiovascular Biology, Regenerative Medicine, and Artificial Intelligence.

Neurosciences at BRFAA is the largest concentration of neuroscientist-researchers among all institutions in Greece. It has been developed since 2003 with investigators with solid track records and international prominence in their respective fields, interested in several aspects of brain function, ranging from genes and molecules, to cells and synapses, to neural and endocrine circuits and behavior. There are strong interests in the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and repair of the nervous system, of tumorigenesis, and in those of stress.

Another unique feature of our combined expertise is the overriding focus on functional DNA, RNA, or protein interactions, critical to the mechanisms that regulate acquisition and maintenance of differentiation and survival. The importance of this research is also pivotal in developing new therapeutic strategies for oncogenesis, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, stress and depression, and ageing. Their combined expertise has generated an extensive array of tools for analyses in neural cells. The experimental systems they use and will make available encompass: almost every known primary neural culture system from both the CNS and PNS, and cell line models, naïve or genetically modified as to allow regulation of expression of genes and proteins; all tools for recombinant protein expression and regulation; tools for the study of protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions; imaging in real time of protein expression in live cells; genetic cellular, and mouse and C. elegans models of ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, cannabinoid abuse and of stress, as well as relevant neurotransplantation and behavior protocols.

Immunology is another major discipline at BRFAA. Immunology studies the functioning of the immune system in states of health and disease, and intersects with all fields of human biology including neurosciences and cancer biology. The malfunctioning of the immune system can cause susceptibility to infections or lead to the development of chronic inflammatory, autoimmune and allergic diseases, and related pathologies, including tissue destruction, neurodegeneration, and tumorigenesis, while its activation or programming forms the basis of immunization against pathogens or tumors. At BRFAA efforts focus on the unwinding of the complexity of the immune system, and the development of novel strategies to treat illness and promote wellbeing.

Cancer Biology is equally strong at BRFAA. Cancer is often considered as a condition of malfunctioning cellular signalling networks, which, through complex interactions, positive or negatively affect processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis, DNA repair, crosstalk with the microenvironment, immune system invasion, tissue invasion and finally therapeutic response. Commonly, signaling pathways involved in normal development and stem cell homeostasis are often deregulated in carcinogenesis and apparently such pathways are the targets of neurodegeneration processes.

Therefore, BRFAA is a most suitable research environment for the specific school to be held, as it will afford viewing of specific biologies, common to neurodegeneration and carcinogenesis, to be scholarly addressed.

A main mission of BRFAA is to cultivate and advance the Sciences, the conduct of scientific research and study, and the offer of learned advices in these areas. In the pursuit of these objectives, the Academy of Athens supports scientific research and every aspect of advancement of knowledge, education and development of scientists, of young and emerging investigators, all common intellectual places with the European and International Societies for Neurochemistry.

Location - BRFAA is conveniently located in a central area of Athens, yet in a large park with several University Hospitals, thus enjoying both a natural setting and easy access by all means of transportation, including metro and bus from the Athens airport.