Thematic Network. NET-CNS Workshop 4: Innovations in CNS Modeling:Cutting-edge In Vitro Systems
Join us for the fourth NET-CNS Workshop on April 10th!
This fourth NET-CNS workshop will focus on innovative experimental platforms and technologies to model central nervous system (CNS) processes and diseases. Particular emphasis will be placed on advanced in vitro systems, translational research tools, and emerging technologies that enable more physiologically relevant models for studying CNS biology and developing therapeutic strategies.
The event will bring together experts from academia, clinical research institutions, and industry to discuss new approaches for understanding CNS function and pathology and for advancing biomedical innovation in neuroscience.
Speakers
- Teresa Botta Orfila – Head of the HCB-IDIBAPS Biobank (Barcelona). She leads initiatives in human biobanking, biological sample management, and translational infrastructures supporting biomedical research, precision medicine, and clinical studies.
- Víctor Borrell – Research Professor at the Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Alicante. His research focuses on brain development and evolution, particularly the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control neuronal migration, cortical expansion, and the formation of neural circuits.
- Rosa Monge – Scientist at Beonchip (Zaragoza), a biotechnology company developing organ-on-chip technologies. Her work focuses on microphysiological systems and organ-on-chip platforms that enable the creation of advanced in vitro models for drug discovery and biomedical research.
- Maria Bernabeu – Group Leader at EMBL Barcelona. Her research integrates computational and experimental approaches to study tissue architecture and cellular organization, using quantitative biology and advanced imaging to understand multicellular systems in health and disease.
- Sandra Acosta – Professor at the University of Barcelona (UB) and researcher at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and the Pasqual Maragall Foundation. Her research focuses on neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease, particularly on early pathological mechanisms, neuroinflammation, and translational strategies to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Programme
09:30 – Registration
09:50 – Welcome from Network Coordinator
10:00 – IBEC Speaker: Jorge Oliver de la Cruz – Cellular and Molecular Mechanobiologygroup, IBEC. “Mechanical cues regulate Tau axonal localization through microtubule stabilization”
10:40 – Invited Speaker: Teresa Botta Orfila – Head of HCB-IDIBAPS Biobank, Barcelona. “Biobanks as essential hubs for research”.
11:20 – Coffee Break and Networking
11:50 – Invited Speaker: Víctor Borrell – Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Alicante. “Evolution of neural stem cells and lineages in the cerebral cortex of amniotes”
12:30 – Industry Speaker: Rosa Monge – Beonchip, Zaragoza.
13:15 – Lunch Break
14:15 – Invited Speaker: Maria Bernabeu – EMBL Barcelona. “Building and breaking barriers: bioengineered 3D brain microvascular models for malaria research”
15:00 – Invited Speaker: Sandra Acosta – University of Barcelona, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu & Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona. “Modeling Neurological Disease Progression in vitro: The Promise and Pitfalls of Brain Organoids in Alzheimer’s and COVID-19”
15:45 – End of the Workshop
To register click here.
