Applications for this meeting must be submitted by February 13, 2011. Please apply early, as some meetings become oversubscribed (full) before this deadline. If the meeting is oversubscribed, it will be stated here. Applications will still be accepted for oversubscribed meetings. However, they will only be considered by the Conference Chair if more seats become available due to cancellations.
The broad and long-term goal of the conference is to increase our understanding of the manner in which glial cells interact with one another and with neurons during normal brain function and in neurological diseases. The biology of astrocytes and microglial cells, more than that of oligodendrocytes, is emphasized in this meeting.
Leaders in the field will discuss critical areas of glial research.
The program will have nine sessions that broadly address glia cell involvement in synaptic structure and function, neurogenesis, brain energy metabolism, cerebral blood flow, and some neurological diseases. In addition, two poster sessions will permit all participants to contribute to discussion of these topics. The health relatedness of this meeting is that glial cells participate in many, possibly all, neurological diseases. Discussions about current research will advance our understanding of glial cells in both health and disease. In addition, specific presentations at this conference will focus on the involvement of glial cells in brain development, synaptic transmission, normal and deranged energy metabolism and in the control of cerebral blood flow.
A list of preliminary session topics and speakers is displayed below (discussion leaders are noted in italics). The detailed program is currently being developed by the Conference Chair and will be available by November 6, 2010. Please check back for updates.
- Astrocytic Modulation of Synaptic Plasticity
(Stephane Oliet / Andrea Volterra / Jaideep Bains / Ken McCarthy)
- Behavioral and Circuit Roles for Astrocytes
(Pierre Magistretti / Hajime Hirase / Tommaso Fellin / Frank Kirchoff)
- Roles for Glia in Disorders of the Nervous System
(Jeff Rothstein / Mike Salter)
- Roles of Microglia in Disorders of the Brain
(Joe El Khoury / Harald Neumann / Marco Prinz / Richard Ransohoff)
- Functions of Glial Connexins and Pannexins
(Steve Scherer / David Spray / Christian Giaume)
- Synapse-Glial Interactions
(Bal Khakh / Dwight Bergles / David Attwell / Alfonso Araque)
- Control of the Vasculature by Glial Cells
(Eric Newman / Brian MacVicar / Serge Charpak)
- Roles of Glia in Synapse Development
(Ben Barres / Beth Stevens / Angelique Bordey)
- Epilepsy and Glia
(Douglas Coulter / Giorgio Carmignoto / Detlev Boison)