About us

About us

SiNAPSA brings together experienced researchers, experts and students interested in the inner workings of the nervous system in health and disease. Effective integration of experts from different research orientations and diverse methodological approaches is key for designing successful interdisciplinary projects and establishing a comprehensive understanding of nervous system (dys)function, from individual neurons to higher cognitive processes. Thus, SiNAPSA regularly implements projects for researchers (international scientific conferences, symposia and seminars), professional-educational events (workshops and summer schools) as well as science promotion events (such as the annual Brain Awareness Week and Neuroscience and Society Dialogue events at biennial SiNAPSA Neuroscience Conferences), aimed at the general public. Our efforts have also resulted in several noteworthy publications in Slovenia and abroad.

 

SiNAPSA has approximately 200 members, a third of which are undergraduate and graduate students.

2003

May 27th, 2003: the association is founded and registered as SiNAPSA, Slovenian Neuroscience Association.

 

SiNAPSA gains FENS and IBRO membership status.

 

Our name is both a reference to the connection between two neurons, as well as an acronym for the Slovenian Neuroscience Association. The credit for it, and our popular logo (an image of Slovenia embellished with cerebral sulci and gyri) goes to two young designers at Studio Marketing.

2004

SiNAPSA organises its first Brain Awareness Week.

 

SiNAPSA carries out its first summer school (Memos 2004 Bled), dedicated to the neuroscience of working memory. The gathering results in a special issue of the scientific journal Neuroscience.

 

Prof. dr. Andrej Oton Župančič, the nestor of slovenian neurobiology, is awarded SiNAPSA’s first honorary membership

2005

SiNAPSA organises its first international neuroscientific symposium (a predecessor of subsequent SiNAPSA Neuroscience Conferences, SNC).

2006

SiNAPSA is granted the status of a non-governmental organisation operating in the public interest in the field of science by the Slovenian Ministry for Education, Science and Sports for its systematic efforts in neuroscience advocacy and educating the general public about about the inner workings of the nervous system in health and disease, the importance of researching the nervous system and the application of gained insights in improving our individual and collective quality of life since 2003.

2007

The Slovenian Brain Council (SBC) is established on March 16th, 2007, as a special project group within SiNAPSA.

 

SBC follows the example set by the European Brain Council in striving to unite and promote the efforts of local patient, caretaker and expert associations, as well as relevant industry representatives, in improving conditions for neuroscientific and translational research with the aim of improving the quality of live in Slovenia.

2009

Prof. dr. Milan R. Dimitrijević, the founder of University Medical Centre Ljubljana’s Department for Clinical Neurophysiology and a leading expert in clinical neuroscience, is awarded SiNAPSA honorary membership.

 

The first Neuroscience and Society Dialogue Event, open to the general public, takes place at SNC’09, on the topic of consciousness.

2010

Establishment of the SiNAPSA Scholarship Fund.

2011

SiNAPSA publishes the first edition of eSiNAPSA, the online journal for neuroscientists and neuroscience enthusiasts.

 

SNC’11 is awarded the status of FENS Featured Regional Meeting. The conference is co-organised by the Croatian Society for Neuroscience and neuroscience colleagues from Trieste, Italy.

2013

Bon J et al. publish a report in the Slovenian Medical Journal detailing the estimated annual burden of neurological disorders in Slovenia for 2010. The report represents the foundation of SiNAPSA’s advocacy effort For the Brain (Za možgane) and the Manifesto for the Brain (Manifest za možgane) signature-collection campaign.

2015

Following a successful Manifesto for the Brain signature-collection campaign, the Government of Slovenia declares every Wednesday in the third week of March to be Slovenian Brain Day, first commemorated by SiNAPSA in 2016.

2017

Following SiNAPSA’s initiative and in partnership with University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Medicine and Umni institute, an interdisciplinary team of students carries out a project entitled Aim for the Brain (Z možgani za možgane, ZMZM), which offers the first insight into Slovenian lay public’s perceived importance of, and engagement in, activities that promote brain health. The project concludes with a public discussion in the context of SNC’17 Neuroscience and Society Dialogue Event, and its  first results are presented in a paper by Tomat N et al., 2021, and a lay-friendly, freely accessible publication Zdravje možganov 1.

2019

Prof. dr. Richard S. Frackowiak, professor emeritus at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, co-founder and one of the lead investigators in the Human Brain Project and a longtime supporter of SiNAPSA is awarded SiNAPSA honorary membership.

 

Building on the results of Aim for the Brain, SiNAPSA’s project Knowledge for Health (Projekt Znanje za zdravje, p3Z), in partnership with University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Fine Arts and Design, launches the first edition of the website zdravaglava.si, and presents it to the public on March 19th, 2019. The project’s subsequent iteration, Mens sana in capite sano (Zdrav duh v zdravi glavi, ZDZG), is chosen as one of the health-promotion programs that qualify for financial support from the Slovenian Ministry of Health.

2022

SiNAPSA (ZDZG) organises a panel discussion with Slovenian Ministry of Health and Slovenian National Institute of Public Health representatives to establish a national brain health strategy.

 

SiNAPSA (ZDZG), in partnership with the Public Opinion and Mass Communication Research Centre at University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Sciences, includes a set of questions pertaining to perceived importance of, and engagement in, activities that promote brain health in the autumn edition of the 2022 general social survey (RSJM 2022/2). The preliminary results are presented in the second edition of our lay-friendly, freely accessible publication, Zdravje možganov 2.

Brain Awareness Week

eSiNAPSA

Mens sana in capite sano

SiNAPSA Neuroscience Conference

SiNAPSA Scholarship Fund

SiNAPSA has the following aims and tasks:

To advance neuroscience activities in Slovenia:

  • intensify aquisition of neuroscientific knowledge,
  • enhance and facilitate transdisciplinary research within neuroscience,
  • organize scientific and professional meetings,
  • cooperate with international and national organizations with the same or similar goals,
  • support basic, clinical, behavioral and epidemiological research in neuroscience,
  • collect and disseminate neuroscientific information via the internet, in print and through other media.

 

To enhance neuroscientific education at all levels. Participation and assistance in graduate and postgraduate education in neuroscience.

 

To advance public information and general education about the nature of scientific discovery and the results and implications of the latest neuroscience research. Promoting general awareness of prevention of nervous system illness and injury.

 

To inform legislators and other policy makers about new scientific knowledge and recent developments in neuroscience research and their implications for continued scientific progress, development of medicine and general societal benefit.

Bodies of SiNAPSA

 

· General Assembly

· Management Board

· Supervisory Board

· Honorary Arbitration Board

 

 

Management Board

 

The Management Board consists of the following elected members:

 

  • Boris Rogelj, president
  • Matej Perovnik, general secretary
  • Vid Ramšak, treasurer
  • Blaž Koritinik
  • Sergej Pirkmajer
  • Nastja Tomat
  • Helena Motaln

 

… and project group leaders:

 

  • Lovro Pečnik and Amadeja Oder, Brain Awareness Week
  • Mateja Drolec Novak, SiNAPSA Scholarship Fund
  • Maša Čater, eSiNAPSA
  • Maja Bresjanac, Mens sana in capite sano

 

Supervisory Board

 

The Supervisory Board consists of the following elected members:

 

  • Andraž Matkovič
  • Samo Ribarič
  • Matjaž Deželak

 

 

Honorary Arbitration Board

 

The Honorary Arbitration Board consists of the following elected members:

 

  • Simon Brezovar
  • Rok Berlot
  • Grega Repovš

 

Members of the association’s bodies were elected in online elections held in April, 2024.

 

SiNAPSA Membership

 

If you are a student or expert in neuroscience (or a related field) and interested in becoming a member of SiNAPSA, please read the association’s bylaws and fill out the membership form below. Send the filled out and signed form to info@sinapsa.org or to the following address:

 

SiNAPSA, Slovenian Neuroscience Association
Zaloška cesta 4
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia

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