Doctoral students Lia Sanders and Shereen Chaudhry are among the finalists of the annual competition for science communication “Science Interactive”. Winning the competition's first round includes 8,000 euros in prize money, a sum the students will use to fund their fair project and prepare its presentation in Mainz at the "Science Summer" (4-9 June 2011), the major public science fair organized by "Science in Dialogue". In Mainz, the doctoral students of Humboldt-Universität will compete with two other finalists for the prize of 10,000 euros.

"Science Interactive” awards the prize to young scientists and professional communicators working together to create a concept which presents science across the disciplines so innovatively as to appeal to and be understood by a wider audience.

Neuroscientists Lia Sanders and Shereen Chaudhry conduct research in the field of obesity and its causes. Exhibition visitors will be welcomed to participate in a behavioral food-decision task. With the help of a giant 3D brain model testers will also learn about the neuroscientific processes occuring during the experiment. They will thus understand why people tend to give in to the “craving” system when the “reasoning” system of the brain is kept busy.

The initiative Science in Dialogue is Germany's centre of expertise for science communication. It was founded in 1999 by the major German research organisations, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, and the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany with the goal of strengthening dialogue between science and society.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Berlin School of Mind and Brain
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
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10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 2093-1707
Email:info@mind-and-brain.de