Eric Nestler awarded the 2025 Synapsy Prize!

The Synapsy Centre is proud to announce that Prof. Eric Nestler has been selected as the 2025 laureate of the Synapsy Prize. The prize celebrates outstanding contributions to the neurobiology of mental disorders and promotes translational research bridging basic and clinical science.

Researcher and dean at the Icahn school of medicine at Mount Sinai (New York) and former director of the Friedman brain institute, Eric Nestler has devoted his career to exploring the biological basis of depression and addiction. His pioneering work has revealed how stress and addictive substances can durably alter gene expression in the brain, reshaping the neural circuits involved in reward and mood.

Eric Nestler career embodies the spirit of Synapsy : a research vision that unites neurosciences and psychiatry to better understand mental illness.

He will deliver a masterclass with students and a lecture at Campus Biotech (see program here – registration free but mandatory).

Stay tuned — all details will be announced soon!

Location: AGORA-CHUV, Auditoire Paternot, Lausanne

In the making

Detailed program

Website

On World Mental Health Day and as part of the Public lectures during EPFL-UNIL Health Days (September 30 to October 10, 2025), the Synapsy Research Center will welcome Thomas Insel.

About the Lecture:
The smartphone and tablet are revolutionizing how mental health conditions are diagnosed and mental health care is delivered. This revolution is solving old problems of access and stigma, but it is introducing new problems of privacy and quality. How we navigate this brave new world of mental health can be the difference between life and death for millions of people with untreated mental illness. In this lecture, Dr. Thomas Insel describes recent progress in the use of technology and explores what we need to do to ensure that innovation delivers on its promise to transform mental health.

All details and the full program available are available here.

Save the date

“Understanding Emotions to Foster Kindness” – This year, Health Days invite you to explore your emotions and cultivate kindness—toward yourself and others. Taking care of your mental and physical health means listening to your body and what’s going on in your mind, which isn’t always easy in a fast-paced society full of constant demands.

Public conferences

We are delighted to announce that the 2025 Synapsy Network Annual Meeting will be held on March 20, 2025, at the Salle des Quais in Grandson, Switzerland.

The venue is easily accessible in 10 minutes from Yverdon-les-Bains, 40 minutes from Lausanne, and 65 minutes from Geneva by train. Additionally, it is conveniently located just a 3-minute walk from Grandson train station.

The Program and the Poster session promise to be exceptionally engaging!

As our keynote speakers, we are honored to have Professor Masud Husain, a distinguished expert in Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Oxford, and Professor Birgit Kleim, from the Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich.

Registration (Synapsy Network affiliated groups only).

La Semaine du cerveau 2025 propose à Lausanne une variété d’activités destinées à tous les publics : forums, ateliers interactifs, conférences thématiques et visites guidées. Parmi les points forts, une après-midi d’échanges et de découvertes sur la santé mentale des jeunes, des discussions sur l’épilepsie, le rôle du microbiote dans la santé mentale, et les avancées dans le traitement des tumeurs cérébrales. Pierre et Christine Magistretti, figures bien connues des neurosciences et de la santé publique, ont également achevé « La Corne d’Ammon », un roman captivant à quatre mains qui mêle neurosciences, intrigues et voyages à travers l’Europe. Le couple sera présent le vendredi 14 mars pour parler de la maladie d’Alzheimer et réponde à la question : pourquoi n’existe-t-il toujours pas de traitement pour cette maladie ?

Les activités se dérouleront dans divers lieux emblématiques de Lausanne, avec la participation de spécialistes de renom pour rendre la science accessible à toutes et tous.

Programme complet

The city of Lausanne will host the second edition of the international conference ‘Cities and Mental health’.

Program
Registrations: the deadline for registration is October 15, 2024. There is no possibility to register on-site!

La santé mentale, à l’image de la santé physique, est indispensable pour une bonne qualité de vie. Les expériences du quotidien, celles vécues et transmises par nos proches ainsi que l’héritage biologique familial impactent le cerveau, et par rebondissement la santé mentale. Comment ? Les chercheurs et les chercheuses en neurosciences et en psychiatrie y travaillent.

Le festival Les Célébrales est un événement qui vise à partager les dernières connaissances en la matière avec le grand public sous un format ludique et décontracté.

The Stress and Resilience conference: Exploring New Horizons in Science and Applications will take place on April 15 and 16, 2024 at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.

This two-day scientific conference will bring together leading scientists and stakeholders from around the world. This event will cater to a diverse audience, including early career researchers, PhD students, postdocs, and seasoned academics.

The conference will feature presentations showcasing the state-of-the-art work on stress and resilience research, offering insights into the sources of stress across various contexts and discussing targeted interventions to reduce stress and promote mental health.

This event will also be the opportunity to officially launch the Global Stress and Resilience Network (GSRNet), funded by the Swiss Academy of Sciences and co-directed by Profs. Carmen Sandi (EPFL) and Dominique de Quervain (Uni Basel).

Deadline to register: March 31st, 2024

This half-day symposium will feature EPFL speakers performing research related to mental health, as well as two external speakers. 

The inaugural symposium of the EPFL Synapsy Research Center is free and open to all, but mainly to researchers and an informed public.

Program

« Prenons soin de notre corps et de notre esprit »

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic. It is the time when we have an opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress.

Dedicated time to removing the guilt, shame, and stigma around mental health.

To talk about stress, and its effects and open up about our mental and emotional state with friends, families, colleagues, and professionals.

Pour la deuxième année consécutive, le Département de la santé et de l’action sociale soutient le mois de la santé mentale. Cette action, qui a connu un vif succès lors de sa première édition, vise à donner de la visibilité à cette thématique et aux ressources disponibles en matière de prévention et d’accompagnement. De nombreuses activités seront proposées au public, notamment la Mad Pride qui rassemblera les partenaires le 7 octobre à Lausanne.

On 23 March, a variety of events will be held to provide more background information and to highlight effective responses to the problem.

Brain Awareness Week 2023 is an event for all audiences that takes place every year in several cities in Switzerland (and all over the world). In Lausanne, public forums, public conferences, workshops, and open house event are organized.

Program

Here to provide a focal point for all mental health-related research topics at EPFL, the Synapsy Center opens its web portal today.