“Science is a human endeavour that requires an open and objective mind. Scientific collaboration therefore is particularly suited to eliminate prejudices and false beliefs that may persist through generations. Furthermore, due to its complexity modern science can only be successful when efforts of people coming from rather diverse backgrounds are joined. I therefore believe that ‘The Science Bridge’ Initiative provides an ideal platform not only for pursuing questions of utmost importance for all human societies but also for creating joint interests and trust between individuals and nations from East and West.”
Heinrich Betz graduated in Biochemistry and Medicine from the University of Tübingen, where he also obtained his MD. After post-doctoral stays at the University of Freiburg and the Institute Pasteur, he became a group leader at the Max-Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich and then Professor at the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) of Heidelberg University. In 1990, he was appointed as director of the Department of Neurochemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, a position from which he retired at the end of 2009. Heinrich Betz is interested in the development and plasticity of inhibitory synapses.
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