UNESCO Chair of Biophysics and Molecular Neurobiology

The existence of a critical mass of talented scientists in the fields of Biophysics and Neurobiology in Latin America gave impetus to efforts to foster cooperation at the regional level. Following on from ameeting of scientists from five South American countries in Caracas in 1989, a survey was carried out to determine which laboratories in the region were conducting leading-edge research in the area of Biophysics and Molecular Neurobiology, and to lay the basis for a coordinated network of human resources in these fields of research. The leadership of a few laboratories in LatinAmerica emerged and a pipeline project was submitted to governmental bodies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela. At this stage no further progress was achieved owing to the lack of financial commitment at government level. The project was then pursued in the form of a request to UNESCO in Paris for the creation of a Chair in the fields of Biophysics andMolecular Neurobiology. The candidacy of the Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca (INIBIBB) for this Chair was strongly supported by the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile, the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, and the Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.A key aspect of the requestwas the commitment of the designated Chair to capitalize on the existence of the first-rate laboratories in the region, making more efficient use of their teaching resources for the benefit of further education in these fields throughout Latin America. This proposal was aimed at providing a competitive alternative to the classical format of postgraduate students leaving for extended training in the Northern hemisphere, a scheme which more often than not results in the permanent emigration of the students. Offering South American students, particularly those from scientifically less well-endowed countries, the opportunity to benefit from high quality training of international standard in laboratories in the region emerged as a viable option to retain talent. After four years of negotiations between UNESCO and the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, the UNESCO Chair of Biophysics and Molecular Neurobiology was formally created in 1998. The Chair is the first UNESCO programme in Argentina in the field of Biophysics and Molecular Neurobiology and Figure 1: Aerial view of the Institute for Biochemical Research / UNESCO Chair in Bahia Blanca, Argentina.