Sunday, March 9, 2008

Sunday lessons

The first international symposium on brain neuron things is being run by the PhD students of UCD beginning next Thursday.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is my press release in the end... very exciting stuff done at 3 in the morning because watched a movie after went back...:

First International Symposium on Neuroimmunology in UCD

The first European Symposium on Neuroimmunology, sponsored by the International Society of Neuroimmunology, is taking place in UCD on the 13th and 14th of this month under the auspices of the European Union 6th Framework Programme.
With more than 250 participants from around the world, this symposium is being organised by PhD students from the Marie Curie Programme of Molecular Neuroimmunology as apart of their career development.
Programme coordinator Dr Clare O’Connor of the School of Medicine & Medical Science at UCD explains its background: “A little over a year ago when the students undertook to organise a symposium, they set their sights on bringing together an outstanding and diverse group of international and national scientists at the forefront of research in neuroimmunology. One glance at the Symposium Programme says how well they have succeeded in this aim”.
Indeed, the two-day symposium will include leading researchers of outstanding calibre and international reputation with expertise spanning a wide range of topics from autoimmune diseases to HIV and mind-body interaction.
Dr. Sieghart Sopper of Göttingen University, Germany, renowned for his research on the neuroimmunological aspects of HIV infections, is to open the first day by exploring the role of the microglia in the parthogenesis of HIV-induced neurological disease. He will be followed by Prof Paul Moynagh, Director of the Institute of Immunology at NUI Maynooth, who will provide molecular insights into regulation of neuroinflammation. Prof Marina Lynch, Director of the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, will then round up the day by examining the relationship between neuroimmunology and aging.

On the second day Special Guest Prof Michael Schwartz holder of The Maurice and Ilse Kartz Professorial Chair in Neuroimmunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel will discuss the unique role of autoimmune cells in recovery from spinal cord injury while Prof Angela Vincent, honorary consultant in immunology at the Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, UK will explore the general mechanisms of autoimmune diseases in the brain.

Other renowned speakers include Prof Helmut Kettenmann, Professor of Cellular Neuroscience at the Max-Delbruck-Centrum, Berlin, Germany, who has been pioneering research in the area of glial cell function and Dr. Esther Sternberg of the NIH, Bethesda, U.S.A. whose expertise relates to the area of mind-body interactions.

The symposium will be concluded by a presentation from Special Guest Prof Hartmut Wekerle, Professor of Neurobiology and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Munich, Germany. Prof Wekerle is also President of the International Society of Neuroimmunology and one of the foremost researchers working in the area of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. His lecture is entitled: “A long way to Tipperary: Autoimmune T cell migration into the brain”.

“This combination of excellence and interest has all the ingredients for a productive and scientifically challenging Symposium. With the support of our sponsors and the EU we hope it will prove enjoyable too”, Dr Clare O’Connor concluded.

Each of the PhD students organising the event will also add their contribution with an oral presentation of their work.