Programme

• Sun
• Mon
• Tue
• Wed
• Thu
• Fri
• Sat

• Sunday, 14 April

  17:00-18:00	Arrival and registration
  18:00	Welcome ceremony Introduction to the school, general information, and assignment of students to Agora teams
  19:00	Welcome drinks followed by buffet dinner

• Monday, 15 April

  9:00-9:40	Richard Robitaille (Université de Montréal • Montreal, QC, Canada) Ca2+ imaging tools: modes of action and limitations [25 min + 10 min discussion]
  9:40-10:25	Amit Agarwal (Heidelberg University • Heidelberg, Germany) Optical recording of calcium signals - analysis and interpretation [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  10:25-10:45	Coffee break
  10:45-11:25	Richard Robitaille (Université de Montréal • Montreal, QC, Canada) & Alfonso Araque (University of Minnesota • Minneapolis, MN, USA) Stimulating neurons and astrocytes [25 min + 10 min discussion]
  11:25-12:20	Student presentations [7 min + 3 min discussion each] Denise Duineveld (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) Assessing KANSL1 haploinsufficiency in iPSC-derived astrocytes Onofrio Valente (Bari, Italy) Use of induced pluripotent stem cells derived astrocytes (iA) for the 3D modeling of Central Nervous System physiopathology Daniela Abreu (Braga, Portugal) Astrocytic Foxo1 regulates hippocampal spinogenesis and synaptic plasticity, and enhances fear memory Aline Mak (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) The role of astrocytic Gs-GPCR signaling and synapse-astrocyte contact in cortical engram formation and remote memory retrieval Sandra Beriain (Bordeaux, France) Endocannabinoid system in retinal Müller glial cells
  12:20-12:35	Agora • Info & Preparation (1)
  12:35-14:00	Lunch
  14:00-15:05	Student presentations [7 min + 3 min discussion each] Maria Carolina da Silva (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) TLR4 biased agonist protects against neural, inflammatory and behavioral alterations induced by cocaine Abdulkhalek Dakhel (Uppsala, Sweden) Is vimentin an overshadowed clue for understanding Parkinson’s disease pathology? Lina Delgado Garcia (São Paulo, Brazil) Gal3-/- mice proteomic profile and glial response to traumatic brain injury Isnarhazni Calero Vargas (Queretaro, Mexico) Astrocyte involvement in vibrotactile discrimination: insights from the secondary somatosensory cortex Gurkirat Kaur (Padua, Italy) Astrocyte-mediated clearance of protein aggregates: defining properties and regulators Sharlen Moore Corona (Baltimore, MD, USA) Noradrenergic modulation of astrocytes in the auditory cortex during sensorimotor learning
  15:05-15:50	Frank Kirchhoff (University of Saarland • Homburg, Germany) Genetic mouse models to study glia biology [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  15:50-16:10	Coffee break
  16:10-16:55	Keith Murai (McGill University Health Centre • Montréal, QC, Canada) The complexity of neuron-astrocyte communication [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  16:55-18:10	Student presentations [7 min + 3 min discussion each] Joanne Gladding (Sydney, Australia) Unravelling the role of brain inflammation and astrogliosis in disordered goal-directed decision-making Toby Segasby (Dublin, Ireland) Redefining epilepsy treatment -- the role of astrocyte mediated waste clearing in the brain Ting Zhang (Homburg, Germany) Characterization of the function of astrocyte-specific sigma-1 receptors in neuroinflammation Ryo Nakatani (Okinawa, Japan) Mechanisms of astrocytic depolarization Lily Winkler (London, United Kingdom) The effect of G-protein coupled oestrogen receptor activation on astrocyte calcium signalling Wei Chen (Baltimore, MD, USA) Norepinephrine-mediated calcium dynamics in astrocytes: implications for transcriptional modulation
  20:00	Dinner

• Tuesday, 16 April

  09:00-9:55	Student presentations [7 min + 3 min discussion each] Neha Kachappilly (Padua, Italy) Reactive state and Ca2+ dynamics of astrocytes in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease - role of extracellular ATP-mediated neuroinflammation Jacqueline Garcia (Boston, MA, USA) Kir4.1 channels shape astrocyte membrane potential and modulate glutamate uptake: implications for traumatic brain injury Ambika Mahajan (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Studying tau-induced neuron-astrocyte signalling Robin Pampiermole (Enschede, The Netherlands) Integration of an immune system in brain organoids Imke Schuurmans (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) Direct and rapid differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells towards functional mature astrocytes to understand neurometabolic disorders
  9:55-10:40	Matthew Holt (University of Oporto • Oporto, Portugal) The expanding RNA-seq toolkit and its application to astrocyte biology [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  10:40-11:00	Coffee break
  11:00-11:55	Student presentations [7 min + 3 min discussion each] Albert Fok (Montreal, Canada) Understanding in vivo calcium dynamics of astrocytes in self-grooming behavior and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCDs) Connie Guo (Montreal, Canada) Astrocyte manipulation alters visual cortex spike-timing-dependent plasticity Laura Keto (Tampere, Finland) Deciphering Bergmann glial calcium dynamics with a detailed whole-cell model optimized with Blender-based toolkit CellRemorph Tommaso Garavaldi (Bordeaux, France) Role of the astroglial endocannabinoid system in the external globus pallidus physiology Niina Chaar (Vienna, Austria) The role of neuron-astrocyte interactions in neurodevelopmental disorders
  11:55-12:40	Rosa C. Paolicelli (University of Lausanne • Lausanne, Switzerland) Assessing synaptic pruning by confocal imaging and 3D reconstruction [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  12:40-14:15	Lunch
  14:15-15:45	Student presentations [7 min + 3 min discussion each] Domenico Natale (Oporto, Portugal) Targeting the inhibitory tripartite synapse in the context of Autism Spectrum Disorder: astrocytes in the spotlight Janelle Siliezar-Doyle (Stanford, CA, USA) Deciphering the translatome of spinal cord astrocytes in acute and chronic pain Nana-Oye Awuku (Homburg, Germany) Unravelling the role of VAMP proteins in gliotransmitter release Thomas Blok (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Correlation profiling of sub-cellular brain fractions reveals novel perisynaptic astrocytic process proteins Alexandros Tsimpolis (Heraklion, Greece) Biphasic response of astrocytic brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression following corticosterone stimulation Rhea Seth (Homburg, Germany) Role of adenosine signalling in oligodendrocyte regeneration and remyelination Adela Ralbovska (Montreal, Canada) Examining how the transcription factor Zfh2 functions in astrocytes and other glial cell types to regulate CNS development and motor behavior Sebastiano Curreli (Genoa, Italy) Calcium dynamics of hippocampal astrocytes recorded with high-resolution two-photon functional imaging in freely moving animals during spatial navigation
  15:45-18:00	Agora • Preparation (2) [with coffee]
  20:00	Pizza party

• Wednesday, 17 April

  9:00-9:45	Giovanni Marsicano (INSERM • Bordeaux, France) Behavioural studies: data first, interpretations later [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  9:45-10:30	Elly Hol (UMC Utrecht • Utrecht, The Netherlands) Human astrocytes: from omics to organoids [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  10:30-11:00	Coffee break
  11:00-11:45	Kerstin Lenk (Graz University of Technology • Graz, Austria) Computational astrocyte models at the single-cell level [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  11:45-12:30	Frank Kirchhoff (University of Saarland • Homburg, Germany) The role of transmitter receptors for neuron-glia communications [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  12:30-13:00	Boxed Lunch
  13:00	Departure to Ravenna Sightseeing and guided tours, followed by dinner Return to Bertinoro after dinner

• Thursday, 18 April

  9:00-9:45	Amit Agarwal (Heidelberg University • Heidelberg, Germany) Analgesic action of astrocytic adrenergic receptors in chronic pain [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  9:45-10:30	Matthew Holt (University of Oporto • Oporto, Portugal) Astrocytes: master regulators of inhibition and plasticity? [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  10:30-11:00	Coffee break
  11:00-11:45	Kerstin Lenk (Graz University of Technology • Graz, Austria) Computational astrocyte models at the network level [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  11:45-12:30	Giorgio Carmignoto (CNR Istituto di Neuroscienze • Padua, Italy) Exploring a novel view of neuron-astrocyte interactions [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  12:30-14:00	Lunch
  14:00-14:45	Keith Murai (McGill University Health Centre • Montréal, QC, Canada) Astrocyte nanoarchitecture in CNS health and disease [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  14:45-18:00	Agora • Preparation (3) [with coffee]
  20:00	Dinner

• Friday, 19 April

  9:00-9:45	Rosa C. Paolicelli (University of Lausanne • Lausanne, Switzerland) Microglia in the pathogenesis of brain diseases [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  9:45-10:30	Elly Hol (UMC Utrecht • Utrecht, The Netherlands) GFAP in brain diseases [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  10:30-11:00	Coffee break
  11:00-11:45	Giovanni Marsicano (INSERM • Bordeaux, France) CB1 receptor in astrocytes: a link between metabolism and synapses [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  11:45-12:30	Richard Robitaille (Université de Montréal • Montreal, QC, Canada) Glial cells regulate neuromuscular junction in health and disease [30 min + 10 min discussion]
  12:30-14:00	Lunch
  14:30-17:00	Agora presentations [with coffee]
  17:00-17:30	General discussion, Concluding Remarks, Questionnaires
  20:00	Farewell Dinner

• Saturday, 20 April

  Departure