Midterm symposium JTC 2021 on Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Berlin on May 16th and 17th, 2024

The ERA-Net NEURON Midterm symposium took place on the 16th and 17th of May 2024 in Berlin and gathered PIs and ECRs from the JTC 2021 on Neurodevelopmental disorders. The meeting was chaired by Dr Kristiina Tamimmies from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and Dr Maria Cecilia Angulo from the Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris, France. The meeting was attended by 107 attendees, including 19 representatives of funding agencies, and 89 researchers from 14 countries. 18 projects were presented by their respective coordinators, see the agenda.

Statistics of the meeting

Of the 89 registered researchers, 59 were Principal Investigators (PIs) and 30 were Early Career Researchers (ECRs).

Countries of the participants: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Israel, Hungary, Romania

Agenda

Thursday, 16th May 2024

9:00 Welcome and introduction
Ulrike Busshoff, NEURON coordinator

Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg
Chairs: Kristiina Tammimies and Cecilia Angulo

Session 1: Sensory systems in neurodevelopmental disorders
Session 2: Cortical development in neurodevelopmental disorders
Session 3: Diagnosis and prognosis in neurodevelopmental disorders
Session 4: Autism spectrum disorder
Session 5: Genetic and molecular targets in neurodevelopmental disorders

Dr. Hella Lichtenberg introducing the symposium
ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. Dr. Hella Lichtenberg introducing the symposium © ERA-NET NEURON
Countries of the participants: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Israel, Hungary, Romania
Countries of the participants of ERA-Net NEURON Midterm symposium (May 2024, Berlin): Countries of the participants: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Israel, Hungary, Romania © ERA-NET NEURON

Session 1: Sensory systems in neurodevelopmental disorders

9:15 – ReDyslexia: Understanding and targeting developmental dyslexia: from animal models to humans
von Kriegstein, Katarina (DE), López-Bendito, Guillermina (ES), Schmid, Michael Christoph (CH), Menghini, Deny (IT)
ECRs: Kristina Rainich; Guilia Lazzaro

9:40 – UnscrAMBLY: Understanding brain circuit dysfunction in amblyopia using large-scale multimodal recordings in a new visuomotor task applied to animal models and patients
Hillier, Dániel (HU), Ercsey-Ravasz, Maria-Magdolna (RO), Vervaeke, Koen (NO) Urban, Alan (BE)
ECRs: Abel Petik; Harald Barzan

10:05 – Brain4Sight: Deconstructing gene regulatory networks for improving sight and brain disabilities
Bovolenta, Paola (ES), Studer, Michèle (FR), Russo, Silvia (IT), Berninger, Benedikt (DE)
ECR: Michele Bertacchi; Eva Padja

10:30 – 11:15 Extended coffee break with guided tour on even-numbered posters (9)
All first authors of even-numbered posters present at their own poster

Dr. Tammimies (left) and Dr. Angulo (right) chairing the sysmposium
Dr. Tammimies (left) and Dr. Angulo (right) chairing the sysmposium; © ERA-NET NEURON
poster mounting, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin
poster mounting, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin © ERA-NET NEURON
Coffee break at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
Coffee break at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
Coffee break at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin
Coffee break at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
poster mounting, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin
poster mounting, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin © ERA-NET NEURON
Coffee break at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
Coffee break at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
Intense discussions with the authors at ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON

Session 2: Cortical development in neurodevelopmental disorders

11:15 – MEPIcephaly: Metabolic and epigenetic interplay in neural progenitor cells: investigating neurodevelopmental disorders associated with impaired neural progenitor cell expansion
Namba, Takashi (FI), Carmeliet, Peter (BE), Albert, Mareike (DE), Nardelli, Jeannette (FR)
ECRs: Nora Ditzer; Elisa GRY

11:40 – MOSAIC: Molecular and circuits bases of epileptogenic mosaic cortical malformations
Baulac, Stéphanie (FR), Jabaudon, Denis (CH), Bonev, Boyan (DE)
ECRs: Ilaria Morassut

12:05 – DevInDS: Development of over-inhibition of cortical circuits in Down syndrome
Bacci, Alberto (FR), Maciel, Patricia (PT), Heyn, Holger (ES), Herault, Yann (FR)
ECRs: Sara Guerreiro

12:30 – ROSSINI: peRsistence Of tranSient neuronS In Neurodevelopmental dIsorders
Pierani, Alessandra (FR), Aronica, Eleonora (NL), Poncer, Jean-Christophe (FR), De la Prida, Liset (ES), Luhmann, Heiko (DE)
ECRs: Candela Sanchez-Bellot; Federico De Rosa

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:00 World café discussions
Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg

  • Participatory research/Patient involvement
    Anja Minheere, PhD candidate, Open Universiteit Nederland, The Netherland
    Laura Belscott, Public Involvement Manager, MS Society, United Kingdom
  • ECR Training opportunities
    Erkki Raulo, Head of Services for Doctoral Education, University of Helsinski, Finland
    Sandra Jurado, Principal Investigator, Instituto De Neurociencias CSIC-UMH, Spain
  • Responsible Research including ethical Approaches in Neuroscience
    Ulf Tölch, Head of research group, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité, Germany
  • AI in Neuroscience inclusing diversity dimensions
    Michelle Roche, Senior Lecturer, University of Galway, Ireland
    Etienne Hirsch, Director of Neurosciences, Cognitive Sciences, Neurology and Psychiatry at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), France
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEUR
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin.
World café discussions, Moderator: Hella Lichtenberg, ERA-NET NEURON Midterm Symposium, May 2024, Berlin. © ERA-NET NEURON

Session 3: Diagnosis and prognosis in neurodevelopmental disorders

15:00 – MULTI-FACT: Multi-centric study of Fetal Abnormal Cortical Trajectory with standardised and privacy-preserving method on fetal MRI
Elisenda, Eixarch (ES), Bach Cuadra, Meritxell (CH), Auzias, Guillaume (FR), Piella, Gemma (ES), Rueckert, Daniel (DE)
ECRs: Maik Dannecker

15:25 – AUTONOMIC: Neurodevelopmental impact of epilepsy on autonomic functions in Dravet Syndrome
Rheims, Sylvain (FR), Mantegazza, Massimo (FR), Surges, Rainer (DE), Ceulemans, Berten (BE)
ECRs: Jonathon SMITH; Diane Haddad

15:50 – DynAMoND: Dynamics of Affect Modulation in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Reif, Andreas (DE), de Girolamo, Giovanni (IT), Jan, Haavik (NO), Perroud, Nader (CH), Ramos-Quiroga, J. Antoni (ES)
ECRs: Maximilian Bayas

16:15 – 17:00 Extended coffee break with guided tour on odd posters.

17:00 – 17:30 Poster prize voting and Poster Prize Ceremony organised by AKA

17:30 – End of the meeting

18:00 – Guided tour at either the Natural History Museum or Tränenpalast

19:00 – Dinner

Friday, 17th May 2024

Session 4: Autism spectrum disorder

9:00 – InflASD: Physiological and molecular effects of inflammation episode on the severity of Shank3-based ASD phenotype on mouse and hPSC model.
Bellone, Camilla (CH), Brustle, Oliver (DE), Matteoli, Michela (IT), Hosy, Eric
ECRs: Christian Felski

9:25 – MINERVA: Microglia/neuron crosstalk in autism spectrum disorder: Role of early inflammatory activation
Malm, Tarja (FI), Wöhr, Markus (BE), Culmsee, Carsten (DE), Alferink, Judith (DE), Ricceri, Laura (IT)
ECR: Theresa Kisko

9:50 – CANSHANK: Involvement of the insula in the Autism neurodevelopmental disorder
Martín-García, Elena (ES), Schmeisser, Michael (DE), Marsicano, Giovanni (FR), Lutz, Beat (DE)
ECRs: Guilherme Horta; Paula Mut

10:15 – SHANKAstro: Astrocytes dysfunctions in Phelan McDermid syndrome: from mechanisms towards new therapeutic strategies
Peça, João (PT), Boeckers, Tobias (DE), Holt, Matthew (BE), Bezzi, Paola (CH), Ragozzino, Davide (IT)
ECR: Henrique Santos; Laurine Gonzalez

10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break

Session 5: Genetic and molecular targets in neurodevelopmental disorders

11:15 RestoreLeak: Accelerating Research on Neurodevelopmental Channelopathies: from Bench to Bedside
Monteil, Arnaud (FR), Gil-Nagel, Antonio (ES), Pless, Stephan (DK), Del Pino Pariente,
Isabel (ES), Lisowski, Leszek (PL)

11:40 GDNF UpReg: Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) promoting schizophrenia: a promising target for innovative treatment
Andressoo, Jaan-Olle (FI), Timmusk, Tõnis (ET), Falkai, Peter (DE)
ECR: Isabel Runneberger; Vladislav Yakimov

12:05 EPINEURODEVO: Patient-centered targeting of epigenetic vulnerabilities in neurodevelopmental disorders: a cross-disciplinary platform for druggable disease models
Fischer, Andre (DE), Testa, Guiseppe (IT), Barco, Angel (ES), Wagner, Shlomo (IL), Vanderhaeghen, Pierre (BE), Mészár, Zoltán (HU)
ECR: Ulrike Fuchs

12:30 NDCil: Neurodevelopmental ciliopathies: a multimodel approach from molecular mechanisms to patients variant interpretation and treatment strategies
Valente, Enza Maria (IT), Schneider-Maunoury, Sylvie (FR), Blacque, Oliver (IE), Ueffing, Marius (DE)
ECR: Ludovica Brunetti

12:55 Video winner viewing

13:30 Lunch and Farewell