Vis à vis in the Brain: The Neuron-Glia Interface

The human mind is conventionally recognized as only derived from neuronal activity, with the dynamic activity of neurons involved in the transfer and processing of information. Glial cells, traditionally thought of simply as the “glue” of the nervous system, were thought to be uninvolved in information processing and only ensuring homeostatic maintenance. Recent evidence has now largely recognized that these cell types play many critical roles in the development and function of the brain.

Our conference entitled “Vis à vis in the Brain: The Neuron-Glia Interface” will bring together experts from Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Neuroimmunology to highlight and present the most recent developments and unpublished discoveries. It will take place at the Medical Center-University of Freiburg, just a few minutes from the bustling city center.

We cordially invite everyone to join us in Freiburg, inviting participants at all career stages working to participate in this meeting, discussing and exchanging latest discoveries and findings with regards to the Neuron-Glia interface.

Monday Sept. 9, 2024

11:00 - 11:30 | Registration Hörsaal Killianstraße
11:30 - 11:45 | Opening and Welcome
11:45 - 12:30 | Keynote Lecture | CNS myelination & its regulatory network | Michael Wegner (Erlangen)

12:30 - 13:45 | Lunch Break

13:45 - 15:45 | Session I: Neuron and Glia in Health
Chair: Marco Prinz & Katrin Kierdorf

13:45 - 14:15 | Functional diversity of inhibitory amygdala circuits | Sabine Krabbe (Bonn)
14:15 - 14:45 | Microglia modulate neurovascular responses via compartment-specific actions | Adam Denes (Budapest)
14:45 - 15:15 | Microglia – mediators of synapse remodeling in health and disease | Martin Fuhrmann (Bonn)
15:15 - 15:30 | Short Talk: Gut microbiome derived trimethyl-5-aminovaleric acid (TMAVA) is a regulator of CNS-aGVHD | Sangya Chatterjee (Freiburg)
15:30 - 15:45 | Short Talk: Rapid phagosome isolation enables unbiased multiomic analysis of human microglia phagosomes | Emile Wogram (Freiburg)

15:45 - 16:30 | Coffee Break

16:30 - 17:30 | Workshops | Ute Häussler (Freiburg)

16:30 - 16:55 | ScaleBio (Workshop) | Where Simplicity Meets Scalability: Cost-effective single cell omics with Scale Bio | Michal Rokicki

16:55 - 17:15 | Optronix (Workshop) | Supporting reproducibility of cell culture and organoid research | Petra Mayr

17:15 - 17:30 | Open Discussions

18:00 - 21:00 | Poster (Wine and Finger Food)

Tuesday Sept. 10, 2024

08:45 - 10:15 | Session II: Bench to Bedside
Chair: Juergen Grauvogel & Ioannis Vasilikos

08:45 - 09:00 | Disentangling the microstructure of cortical malformations – from neurons, myelination and structural epileptic network integration | Julia Nakagawa (Freiburg)
09.00 - 09:15 | From Scalpel to Science: Unveiling the Intricacies of Neurosurgery for Basic Scientists | Roland Rölz (Freiburg)
09:15 - 09:30 | Genomic influences on the characteristics of meningioma | Tareq Juratli (Dresden)
09:30 - 09:45 | Differences of cystic and solid hemangioblastoma on a single-cell level | Nicolas Neidert (Freiburg)
09:45 - 10:15 | Microglia activation after cellular therapy | Robert Zeiser (Freiburg)

10:15 - 10:45 | Coffee Break

10:45 - 13:15 | Session III: Neurodegeneration & Neuroinflammation 
Chair: Andreas Vlachos & Paolo d’Errico

10:45 - 11:15 | The role of microglia in Ab propagation and spreading | Melanie Meyer-Luehmann (Freiburg)
11:15 - 11:45 | Neuroimmune interactions and metabolic control of sensorimotor physiology and repair | Simone Di Giovanni (Imperial College)
11:45 - 12:15 | Biology and modulation of human microglia in vivo in Alzheimer’s disease | Renzo Mancuso (VIB Antwerp)
12:15 - 12:45 | Development of innate barrier immunity | Philipp Henneke (Freiburg)
12:45 - 13:00 | Short Talk: Astrocytes protect Neurons from Brain Injury via Cytoskeleton-assisted membrane trafficking | Kai Murk ( Berlin)
13:00 - 13:15 | Short Talk: Role of neuroglial interactions in regulating the hypoxia response and arousal | Jan-Marino Ramirez (Seattle)

13:15 - 14:30 | Lunch Break & Group Photo Session

14:30 - 16:30 | Session IV: Cancer Meets Neuroscience
Chair: Vidhya M. Ravi & Roman Sankowski

14:30 - 15:00 | Cancer Networks in Brain Metastases | Matthia Karreman (Heidelberg)
15:00 - 15:30 | Functional synapses between small cell lung cancer and glutamatergic neurons | Filippo Beleggia (Cologne)
15:30 - 16:00 | Neuroglial remodeling in pancreatic cancer | Fanny Mann (Marseille)
16:00 - 16:15 | Short Talk: The Use of Atomic Force Microscopy to Explore the Mechanical Landscape of Brain Tumors | Sukesh Mysore Swamy (Freiburg)
16:15 - 16:30 | Short Talk: Exploring multicellular dynamics in glioblastoma: a 3D open-top chip model with integrated neurovascular networks for drug testing | Lotta Isosaari (Tampere)

16:30 - 17:20 | Keynote | Glioma remodeling of neuronal circuits: therapeutic implications | Shawn Hervey-Jumper (UCSF)

18:30 - 23:00 | Social Dinner @La Mucca Freiburg

Wednesday Sept. 11, 2024

08:30 - 10:45 | Session V: Neurotechnologies
Chair: Kevin Joseph & Benjamin Newland

08:30 - 09:00 | Mapping the rules of glioblastoma using single cell and spatial genomics | Omer Bayraktar (Wellcome Sanger Institute)
09:00 - 09:30 | Seeing the invisibles: Intraoperative optical technologies for neurosurgical guidance | Yijing Xie (Kings College London)
09:30 - 10:00 | Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Reveal Microglial Dynamics in Injury and Aging | Ozgun Gokce (Bonn)
10:00 - 10:15 | Short Talk: Intraoperative Optical Imaging- Visualization of Functional Brain Areas Based on Cortical Hemodynamics | Martin Oelschlägl (Dresden)
10:15 - 10:30 | Short Talk: Clear-omics: 3D Spatial Molecular Maps in Intact Specimens | Harsharan Singh Bhatia (Munich)

10:30 - 11:15 | Coffee Break

11:15 - 12:15 | Session VI: Panel Discussion: AI and Precision Medicine in Neurology
Philipp Kellmeyer (University of Freiburg) | Melanie Börries (University of Freiburg) | Ulrich G. Hofmann (University of Freiburg) | Peter Reinacher (University of Freiburg)

12:15 - 13:00 | Keynote Lecture: Merging light and sound for stimulation and interrogation of the brain | Daniel Razansky (ETH Zurich)

13:00 - 13:15 | Closing Remarks & Poster Prize

Internals:

MD/M.Sc Students: 40 €
PhD/ Post Doc: 100 €

Externals:

M.Sc Students/MD: 60 €
PhD/Post Doc: 150 €

Industry: 230 €

Conference Dinner:

All participants (except invited speakers): 80€

Online participation: 55 €

Poster Size

You may submit a contribution for this event (Oral Communication or Poster). Extended Deadline for submission is August 15.

Accepted posters will be asked to produce a poster for display at the conference. Presenters are asked to take note of the following guidelines when producing their poster:

Maximum poster size is A0 (0.84 x 1.19m) (portrait orientation)
Keep text to a minimum
Ensure any text is in large font
Use graphs, charts, and/or tables
Ensure contents have a logical flow
Make it colourful

Removal and collection of posters at the end of the display period remains the responsibility of the presenter. Posters not removed by the indicated take down time will be removed and disposed of.

Medical Center University of Freiburg
Hörsaal Killianstrasse
Killianstrasse 5
79106 Freiburg (Germany)

B6 on the map (click to enlarge)

How to reach the Medical Center - University of Freiburg

... by Airplane: Freiburg is located in the middle of a dense network of international airports. The nearest international airport, EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, is only 40 minutes away from Freiburg. Direct connection to Freiburg is provided by the Flixbus.

Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe's largest hubs is only a two hour train ride or car drive away. Trains leave from the airport's long distance train station  to Freiburg at least once every hour.

... by Car: Over the motorway A-5 Frankfurt-Karlsruhe-Basel; exit "Freiburg Mitte".  Over the motorway A-5 Frankfurt-Karlsruhe-Basel; exit "Freiburg Mitte". Follow B31 until the exit  “Stühlinger”. Turn left. Follow the street "Escholzstraße" and the signs "Universitätsklinikum Freiburg".

... by Train: Freiburg is located on the ICE/Intercity route Frankfurt-Karlsruhe-Freiburg-Basel. Twice an hour, trains from allover Germany or from Switzerland (Zurich/Basel) stop at Freiburg's main train station. From here, you can reach the Medical Center - University Freiburg with Freiburg's public transport (tram).

Organizing and Scientific Committee

Vidhya M. Ravi
(Medical Center University of Freiburg, FRIAS Junior Fellow)

Vidhya.ravi@uniklinik-freiburg.de

Katrin Kierdorf (Medical Center University of Freiburg)
Kevin Joseph (Medical Center University of Freiburg)
Paolo d’ Errico (University of Freiburg)

Scientific Board Members

Prof. Dr med. Juergen Beck

Prof. Dr med. Marco Prinz

Prof. Dr med. Andreas Vlachos

Prof. Dr med. Frank Winkler

Congress Organizer

Medical Center University of Freiburg
Department of Communication - Event Management

Elke Bührer
Breisacher Str. 153
79110 Freiburg
veranstaltung@uniklinik-freiburg.de

+49 761 270-19210