The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI), is a research facility located in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

. Its research focuses on brain function and neural circuits, using techniques to visualize microscopic molecular processes. It is the first institute established by the Max Planck Society in North America.

Research

The focus of the research at this institute is to better understand the structure, function, and development of neural circuits. It is a basic research institute.

Scientific Directors

The current Scientific Director of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience is David Fitzpatrick. David Fitzpatrick was named CEO and Scientific Director of MPFI in 2011. Previously, Fitzpatrick was the James B. Duke Professor of Neuroscience at the Duke University School of Medicine and was the Founding Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. Fitzpatrick's professional awards for his research accomplishments include the Alfred P. Sloan Research Award, the Cajal Club Cortical Discoverer Award, and the McKnight Neuroscience Investigator Award. Dr. Fitzpatrick has also served on many scientific advisory boards including the

Searle Scholars Program The Searle Scholars Program is a career development award made annually to the 15 young US professionals in biomedical research and chemistry considered most promising. The award was established in 1980 by a donation from the Searle family, and is ...

, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the

RIKEN Brain Science Institute RIKEN Brain Science Institute (RIKEN-BSI) was established in 1997 as part of RIKEN, focusing on neuroscience research located in Wakō city, Saitama Prefecture in the greater Tokyo area, Japan. In 2018 RIKEN-BSI has been reorganized as RIKEN ...

, the

Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology was a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Martinsried, a suburb of Munich in Germany. It existed between 1984 and 2022 and merged with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology to the new, ...

, and the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(NIH). Dr. Fitzpatrick also served as a Senior Editor for the

Journal of Neuroscience A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

, among other scientific publications. Ryohei Yasuda was named Scientific Director of MPFI in 2012. He has a PhD in Physics from Keio University Graduate School of Science and Technology in Yokohama, Japan. From 2000 to 2005, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, and quantitative biology. It is one of 68 institutions supported by the Cancer Centers ...

and was an assistant professor of Neurobiology at

Duke University Medical Center Duke University Hospital is a 957-acute care bed academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health System, a network of physicians and hos ...

from 2005 to 2012. Yasuda also served as an Early Career Scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 2009 to 2012. Yasuda's professional awards for his research accomplishments include the Career Award at the Scientific Interface from the

Burroughs Wellcome Fund The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is an American non-profit medical research organization that provides funding for biomedical research, STEM education, and areas of career development for scientists. Since 1970, it has been headquartered in Nor ...

, the

Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This program is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. ...

, the

New investigator Certain scholarly funding agencies make a distinction between investigators and new investigators. New investigators would be evaluated in a different way when competing for funding with more seasoned researchers, or they would be able to access ...

Award from the

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, and the Research Award for Innovative Neuroscience from the

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, DC, for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well kn ...

Discoveries

CentA1

In 2013, a research study led by MPFI's Scientific Director, Dr. Ryohei Yasuda, discovered a signaling protein involved in the neuronal dysfunction seen in Alzheimer's Disease. This study showed that reduction in production of the protein, centaurin-1 (CentA1), using

RNA silencing RNA silencing or RNA interference refers to a family of gene silencing effects by which gene expression is negatively regulated by non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs. RNA silencing may also be defined as sequence-specific regulation of gene express ...

techniques led to amelioration of Alzheimer's-related symptoms in neurons.

Facilities

The Florida campus of the Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience opened their new 3-story, research facility on the John D. MacArthur Campus of the

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

's Honors Campus in

in 2012. Almost 58,000 square feet (5,400 m²) of the building is dedicated laboratory space, including guest labs for visiting scientists. The building also includes a 100-seat auditorium. The MPFI building was designed by the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

architectural firm,

ZGF Architects LLP ZGF Architects LLP (ZGF), formerly Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, is an American Architectural firm founded in 1942 based in Portland, Oregon with seven offices in the United States and Canada. History The company was founded in 1942 in Por ...

and built by DPR Construction. The building meets the requirements of the

US Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

's LEED-NC accreditation program and has incorporated laboratory-specific energy-use reduction recommendations from the US Department of Energy's Lab 21 environmental performance criteria. Features of the building include: * air-conditioning zoning strategy reducing loads * mechanical systems with energy recovery wheels to capture usable energy from building exhaust * recycling of moisture removed in the process of dehumidification that contributes to the building's cooling system * landscape irrigation provided by municipal reclaimed water system The building is also designed to provide high levels of stiffness and vibration isolation for sensitive imaging technologies.

References

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Neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

Neuroscience research centers in the United States Jupiter, Florida Research institutes in Florida