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The establishment of this centre will not only foster collaboration leading to more translational research but will also create a critical mass within the research community to secure major funding. Students will also benefit from the high quality teaching and training in such an interdisciplinary field.

The launch was opened with a welcome address from Prof. Faraneh Vargha-Khadem, director of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê CDCN. Without her vision and leadership, along with the help of the steering committee, this idea, which has been 2 years in the making, would not have been a reality. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Vice Provost for Health, Prof. Sir John Tooke and Dr. Jane Collins, Chief Executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust also fully endorsed the need for such a centre in their opening remarks.

Prof. Annette Karmiloff-Smith (Birbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development), Prof. Kevin Pelphrey (Yale University), Dr. Nicola Robertson (Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Institute of Women's Health), Dr. Francesca Cacucci (Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience) and Prof. Nicola Clayton (University of Cambridge) all marked the inaugural symposium by delivering fascinating talks across the various areas of developmental cognitive neuroscience. This ranged from autism to a Phase II clinical trial of xenon neuroprotection, from hippocampal spatial representations to corvids.

Regardless of the breadth and nature of the field, in the closing remarks made by Provost and President of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê, Prof. Malcom Grant, he aptly concluded that this centre will not only span world class research interests but also invest in the future.

By Fidel Anaya, PhD Student, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Institute of Neurology

For more information about the centre, please contact cdcn@ucl.ac.uk.