Friday 22 July 2011

Visiting Genova and attending IBRO meeting in Firenze

From 7/12 to 7/20 I visited Italy. It was not my first time to visiting Italy, but first time in Genova and Frenze. Really excited! I flew via Milano and visited my friend Dr. Davide Di Pietri at Italian Institute of Technology in Genova, and it was really cutting edge and gorgeous! After that I took a train to Firenze, seeing beaches and beautiful sunflower fields. About 3 hours.


Then I attended International Brain Organization (IBRO) meeting in Firenze. Again my first time there. It was just the 50th anniversary of IBRO. I presented a poster for our work showing importance of adolescent neurogenesis, and organize Japan Special Event together with Dr. Hiroshi Okamoto@RIKEN BSI. I introduced what was like in Sendai at 311 earthquake and how it is like at the moment.

The meeting looks more international than any other international meeting in neuroscience. I have heard that Japan was the number 3 in the number of participants following Italy, of course, and the US. I saw many people, especially female with veil, from Islamic countries.

At the social dinner of IBRO, which was held at very gorgeous manor house, I fortunately sat at the main table, together with Torsten Wiesel, a Nobel Prize Laureate, and other Italian Neuroscience authorities. That is why I could not take pictures of the dinner; I thought it is impolite before those people. It was a kind offer from Dr. Marina Bentivoglio, a professor at University of Veona and was the past IBRO Secretary General. I was sitting just to the next to Dr. Marty Saggese,  Executive Director of Society for Neuroscience, who told me he read my blog! It was a small world.

A word from Marina Bentivoglio, past IBRO Secretary-General
IBRO Day4

I also enjoyed Ufitti, Palazzo Vecchio, and beautiful and cozy streets with the atmosphere of mid Europe.