Presentation

The objectives of the SENC, the Spanish Neuroscience Society, are:

Letter of President

Dear colleagues and members, friends and acquaintances,

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the trust you have placed in me by electing me to the presidency of our society. I also want to extend my thanks to the members of the Board of Directors who have accepted the responsibility of leading SENC alongside me during this period. We approach this with great enthusiasm. I take this opportunity to greet those who already know me and introduce myself to those who do not, as well as to share the key ideas I wish to promote in my role as President.

I have noticed with great pleasure that our Society has grown and strengthened over time. It has been an exciting challenge to welcome young scientists from other countries who come to Spain with excitement, and whom we receive with dedication and responsibility. Our task is to maintain this international projection, but is also essential we strengthen SENC close to home. To this end, our upcoming goals include hosting the Cajal Conference in 2024, announcing our next congress in 2025, before the holidays, and preparing for FENS 2026, which will take place in Madrid.

I hope that my words inspire you and I wish to invite you all to join me in driving the activities that benefit our society. This includes organizing thematic meetings, creating active discussion forums, and offering training and informative activities aimed at young researchers. Among the key topics we would like to address are the following:

• The use of animals in research, its necessity, advantages, and limitations.
• Advancing towards rational, non-disruptive, and equitable open science and publication for all.
• Reforming the research evaluation system, supporting our researchers, and bringing our institutions in line, for we must be at the forefront of the international debate on the value of indicators as a measure of scientific excellence.

In summary, our goal is to keep the Society active and vibrant. We not only want our scientists, especially the younger ones, to present their work at major international events but also at our own National Congress. We will strengthen and expand activities between congresses so that our Society never experiences dormancy.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán Foundation for their continuous support as the sponsor of the Young Investigator Award since 2023.

Last but not least, I would like to invite all of you to integrate research with teaching, as both fields complement each other and are indivisible. Let us remember that our admired Cajal was both a researcher and a teacher, and it is in that duality that excellence lies. That is what we aspire to for our Society: a community that inspires research and education, that radiates knowledge, teaches, and manifests itself.

Warm regards,,

Manolo
Salamanca, September 28,2023