2018 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders GRC and GRS
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Project Summary/Abstract This proposal requests partial support for the 2018 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), entitled “Role of innate immunity, glia, neurons, and the blood-brain-barrier in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration”, at the Rey Don Jaime Grand Hotel, Barcelona, Spain on August 4-10, 2018. The Specific Aims of this GRC are to promote dialogue among established and emerging leaders in neurodegenerative disease focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s-disease related dementia (AD/ADRD). The Co-Chairs, Drs. David Holtzman and Cheryl Wellington, in consultation with past chairs, and the 2018 Vice Chairs (Drs. Alison Goate and Leonard Petrucelli) have planned nine oral sessions: Session 1- Keynote Address on Chance, Risk and Breakthroughs in Neurobiology of Disease, Session 2- The Brain’s Innate Immune System in Health and Disease, Session 3- Apolipoprotein E and Other Metabolic Factors: Role in Brain Function and Disease, Session 4- Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Pathogenesis and Implications for Treatment, Session 5- Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurodegeneration, Session 6- Blood Brain Barrier, Brain Fluid Flow, Neurodegeneration, Session 7- Novel Experimental Models to Study Normal Brain Function and Disease, Session 8- Biomarkers: Use in Diagnostics and Therapeutics for Neurodegeneration, and Session 9- The Role of Different Brain Cell Types in Protein Aggregation, Homeostasis and Metabolism. The GRC will be preceded by a GRS to facilitate presentation and discussion of frontier research by trainees. Thirteen of the 34 accepted speakers/discussants are women (38%), 2 are from minority ethnic groups (6%) and 6 (18%) are junior investigators. As the Chairs and Co-Chairs place the highest priority on participation by trainees and early career individuals, short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts to complement invited speakers. Conference participants will interact informally in a collegial atmosphere and have ample free time that provide ideal settings for participants to brainstorm and establish interdisciplinary collaborations. The significance of this GRC is to provide a unique forum for the international community working on the neurobiology of brain disorders to discuss the latest advances and the future challenges in the field of neurodegeneration and aging- related brain disorders. The relevance of this application to public health is that the discussions will define the most important questions in the field of neurodegenerative diseases spanning basic biology and disease mechanisms and aid the development of novel therapeutic strategies. The long-term goal of this GRC is to provide a consistent platform for this community to meet every two years to disseminate the most recent discoveries and formulate the most important questions concerning the current state of the art research on brain disorders.
