Fun things!

Our group hardly ever passes on the opportunity to show the laboratories to the next generation of researchers and the scientifically inclined public. This time, we hosted the Next Stop: Job lab tour, which is an event organized by the city of Bonn in cooperation with the DZNE, to advertise our institute as a future employer. We had a blast showing off the techniques we use, explaining our research and getting our visitors excited for the work we do here. We're looking forward to seeing many of these faces at the next conference, in job interviews or elsewhere in scientific circles.

With Jarred, another veteran of the Bradke Lab is leaving. After joining the group in 2019 and conducting countless studies on rats in hand-knitted sweaters, Jarred has had enough of rainy Germany and is going back to the sunny southern hemisphere. But do not despair yet, Dr. Griffin is staying in science and will continue to enrich our understanding of spinal cord injuries, rehabilitation and pharmacological interventions to combat SCI.

Since 2009 a small group of labs from the axon repair field meet to discuss their most recent advances in an informal "extended lab meeting" format. This year we got to host the meeting in Bonn and Juliane and Eissa were eager to take on the challenge of organizing this event. Our little conference was an absolute blast with all around great talks and discussions. Thank you to our great organizers and all the active participation.

As team work is a major strenght of our group, the Bradke Brain Runners shared the burden of completing the 42 km of the Post Marathon Bonn 2024 in 3:37 h.

Another prize another dinner on the Boss! This time the food was so good that we forgot to take an actual group picture. Thank you to Frank for treating us once again, and congratulations on being awarded this prize for your body of work on axon regeneration.

Sadly, another brilliant mind leaves our group to pursue new things. Dr. Emily Handley was a post-doc with us since 2020 and is now back home in Tasmania. To celebrate our time together we rented a party bus and raised one last glass before sending her off. You will be missed!

The Boss won another prize and -as he does- invited all of us to a dinner to celebrate. Great food, great wine, and great conversations made this a memorable evening.

Recently, everyone who was not on holiday already dressed up in their Christmas best! How could you not be in the Christmas mood, with everyone rocking these comfy sweaters?

Eissa and Seba published their video protocol on Jove. To celebrate we dressed up and watched the movie on the big screen in the lecture hall. PS If you ever meet one of us at a conference, ask for the bloopers.

On a beautiful autumn day, Thorben took us on another great hike through the Ahrtal. As in the last years, the hike was accompanied by great conversations, great views, and of course great wine! Another big thank you to Frank for buying the first round and Thorben for keeping this tradition alive.