Cornerstone International Faculty: A win-win situation!
The University of Cologne aims to continuously further its internationalization in teaching and research. In 2013, UoC launched the International Faculty Programme. Thanks to this programme established researchers at the University may invite cooperation partners from across the world to work with them on projects and to be part of the faculty body for a few weeks during the course of two consecutive academic years. With 18 participants from across the world since 2013 the project has been extremely successful and is a very beneficial give-and-take for both, the international researcher and the university.
We talked to Dana Small, Professor of Psychiatry, Yale Medical School and Deputy Director of the John B Pierce Laboratory and currently a Member of Research Area on Aging-associated Diseases and Christina Elger, Coordinator of the Programme at the University of Cologne.
Christina, what is the International Faculty Programme about?
The International Faculty Programme is a corner-stone of the University’s internationalisation strategy. It aims at attracting outstanding international researchers who already have excellent collaborations with researchers based at the University and contributes to excellence in research in international embeddedness. International Faculty Professors are bound by contract for at least two years and contribute in various ways to research and teaching at UoC.
Dana, the University of Cologne is very proud to have you on board as one of the International Faculty Members in 2015. What are your areas of research and who do you collaborate with here in Cologne?
My laboratory studies taste, flavor and feeding, primarily in humans, using neuroimaging techniques. A major focus of my current work is to understand the effects of the modern food environment on human health and physiology. In collaboration with Jens Brüning and Marc Tittgemeyer we are conducting a clinical trial to test the effects of a high fat diet on brain function and cognition. Most of the work is being carried out by Alexandra DeFeliciantonio and Geraldine Coppin, two post-doctoral fellows who split their time between Yale and the Max Planck Institute for Metabolic Research.
Your research focuses on a combination of neuropsychology, neuroimaging, genetics, physiology, and psychophysics. Can you describe a project you are working on which touches upon day-to-day matters we are facing as a society?
Sure, the collaboration I am working on in Cologne is a good example. Prior work in my lab at Yale demonstrated that obese individuals have a blunted brain response to palatable food. In the ongoing study in Cologne we are testing the hypothesis that this blunted brain response is caused by a high fat diet independently of body weight. We are also trying to characterize the functional consequences of the brain adaptation.
What is it you like most about your vocation as a researcher in your field?
Dana:
I have always been fascinated by the biological basis of the mind. Recent research in my field suggests that diet can have a very deleterious effect on brain function resulting in cognitive impairment and even increasing risk for dementia. It is a privilege to study a topic that I find so interesting and that also promises to have an important impact on public health.
From your points of view, how do young researchers and students at the University of Cologne benefit from a programme such as the International Faculty Programme?
Dana:
In order to conduct our studies at the University of Cologne we established the infrastructure and local expertise to carry out neuroimaging studies of feeding. Students at the University will now have the opportunity to perform research in this emerging area.
Christina:
Students benefit a lot from an international faculty body at the University. It is highly enriching to follow a lecture from Professors of an international background, get new insights into first-class research in their fields, i.e. in form of a PhD supervision and to benefit from the Uni’s international network.
Would you recommend UoC and the programme to international colleagues and if so, why?
Dana:
I would. The exchange of ideas and resources clearly benefits all partners in the collaboration. It also opens the door to future collaborations by providing students and post-docs with the opportunity to study abroad and to make connections that they would not otherwise be able to make.
Christina:
International Faculty Members are in general already very well connected with the University through their research cooperation partners. The programme enables them to be part of the official faculty body and to make use of the research facilities on campus, to exchange with research partners and to deepen their joint research during their stays. It is a more privileged status than simply being a guest scholar as they are connected for a longer period of time. The Welcome Center of the International Office holds a great welcome package and helps in all administrational and logistic matters. The University is proud of being able to attract top researchers from across the world to Cologne and to further engage in internationalization in research and teaching. It is a win-win situation.