Tyrol, Austria

Organiser: FENS

Additional Organiser: Hertie Foundation

Attendance type(s): In Person

FENS members will benefit from preferential rates

Event Dates: 29 Jan—4 Feb 2023

Mutual interaction between the nervous and immune systems is emerging as a key process in which immune cells and neurons profoundly influence each other’s behavior. In the last years a wealth of studies started to uncover roles for innate and adaptive immunity in both brain physiology and pathology and to unravel how the brain can modulate the immune system. Accumulating evidence even shows that disrupted neuro-immune communication might be at the origin of many brain diseases, from neurodevelopmental to neurodegenerative disorders. However, how such crosstalk is fine-tuned and regulated remains object of intense investigation. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying neuro-immune interactions in the healthy brain will be instrumental to dissect -and possibly target- dysfunctional communications in disease.

In this FENS-Hertie Winter School, we will cover different topics focusing on the reciprocal interaction between neurons and microglia, the resident innate immune cells of the central nervous system, but also with other players such as infiltrating T cells and monocytes. We will review the relevance of this crosstalk in a variety of contexts, ranging from brain development and homeostasis to neurodegenerative disorders. This course will provide students with the latest insights into the biology on neuro-immune interaction, emphasizing the molecular and cellular mechanisms implicated.

The course is meant for PhD students and early-career postdocs with a neurobiological background and preferably some knowledge of the subject.

Scientific Chairs

Rosa Paolicelli
University of Lausanne,
Switzerland

Marco Prinz
University of Freiburg,
Germany

Anne Roumier
Institut du Fer à Moulin
France