KU-SIGN was founded in late 2019 with volunteering medical students as the first and only official AAN (American Academy of Neurology) chapter in Türkiye. AAN is one of the leading Neurology and Neuroscience associations worldwide and offers student chapters since 1998, and there are more than 150 chapters (mostly in the States). Since medical school is a graduate degree in the States, SIGN chapters recruit medical students. Undergraduate students from various majors are enrolled in the co-SIGN group. However, here at Koç University, we believe that anyone who is interested in neurosciences will contribute to the community, and we need a strong interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. We wanted to create such an environment here, bringing all people under one shared roof and started our group, “KU-SIGN Neurological Sciences”. The difference of our chapter is that we invite not only medical students but also undergraduate and graduate students as well as academicians from non-medical fields who are interested in neuroscience. In neurology, we study the human nervous system. This is not only limited to the human brain but also includes various structures, the spinal cord, peripheral nerves coming out, and innervating organs and muscles. We study cognition, memory, mood and affect movement and many more. That being said, we study the phenomena that make humans “humans” the most and on the most complex system, we have encountered so far. Today, there is tremendous funding and support for interdisciplinary research in Neurosciences/Neurology. Therefore, we encourage our members to look for those opportunities, be aware of projects, and keep in contact with their faculty members. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Diagnostic Algorithms, Prosthesis Development, Medical Device Development, Pharmaceuticals, Behavioral Sciences, and Economics are only some of such areas. We are open to every student/researcher who has similar interests!

We are looking forward to seeing you as a member of our growing family in the new term. May the Blue Spirit of EMSA be with you!