Professor of the SSU Department of Human and Animal Physiology ‪Jürgen Kurths has become one of the winners of the contest held by the Idea Research Centre for the first time in Russia. Its award was achieving postgraduate places. Prof. Jürgen Kurths presented the study for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases: Alzheimer disease and the blood-brain barrier.

The researchers will develop breakthrough technologies for non-invasive diagnostics of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which protects the brain from the bacteria, viruses, and various toxins penetration into its tissues. Impaired barrier function of the brain is critical for its functions and causes the development of the vast majority of diseases of the central nervous system. The BBB dysfunction accompanies and often precedes the development of the overwhelming number of brain diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, cerebrovascular accidents, diabetes mellitus, and others.

Chair of the Department of Human and Animal Physiology Oksana Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya commented on the details of forthcoming work, ‘The pioneering technology for assessing the state of the blood-brain barrier will be developed for the first time in the world. It will be based on monitoring the electrical activity of the brain during deep sleep, when the processes of movement of its fluids are activated. When the BBB opens, this process is reflected in the scenarios of the formation of impulses, which can be detected on the EEG signals. This gives great prospects for the development of technologies for portable monitoring of the BBB state in risk groups,’ explained the researcher.

It should be noted that in modern medicine there is only one method for BBB assessing – MRI. This method requires the introduction of a toxic substance into the patient's body, the installation of bulky devices, special training of specialists, and for children even the usage of anaesthesia in order to scan in a motionless state. Non-invasive bedside technologies for monitoring the BBB state do not exist yet. It is this task that will be solved in the dissertation research implemented due to the current grant.

The Idea Research Centre provides funding to leading scientists to open postgraduate positions for research in neuroscience. The aims of the competition were to support talented youth in building a successful career in neuroscience in Russia and to create a favourable environment for attracting young researchers to Russian science.

Thus, the grant for the opening of postgraduate positions will provide the researchers with the opportunity to attract a promising student who is able to show high-level scientific results and provide the candidate for postgraduate courses with a competitive working environment.

After winning the contest the research group have to find a postgraduate during one calendar year. The amount of the grant is 80 thousand rubles accrued monthly to the postgraduate student during the academic year from the date of the agreement. The payment of the grant is renewed annually for the next year, but for no more than 4 years in total. As the grant result, the postgraduate student has to carry out the research in neurosciences under the scientific supervision of the leading scientist – the winner of the competition.

Professor Jürgen Kurths, one of the most cited scientists in the world with a high international rating, headed the megagrant. Thus, the postgraduate student – the winner of the competitive selection – will receive not only a good scholarship but also a “golden ticket” to the world of science, given the opportunity to work under the guidance of a leading scientist in the development of new technologies for neurosciences.