Conference Day One
*Please note this event has been cancelled*
7:30 am Registration & Morning Coffee
7:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
8:00 am Panel Discussion: Piecing Together the Puzzle of the CNS – In Vitro, In Vivo, & In Silico Perspectives on Translational Modelling
Synopsis
- Explore alternate perspectives of preclinical and translational modelling – what can neuroscientists, tissue engineers, and computational biologists learn from each other?
- Take away interdisciplinary learning to bolster your drug development pipeline
- Finding mechanistic and theoretically motivated models that are intrinsically interpretable with direct analogies to biological reality
BIOENGINEERING FOR NEUROSCIENTISTS: TISSUE ENGINEERING & DEVELOPING BRAIN ORGANOIDS
8:30 am Developing Practical Models to Assess Target Interactions for Drug Development
Synopsis
- Advance beyond the traditional 2D tissue culture techniques used to develop human neurons
- Utilising human-derived fibroblasts in conjunction with iPSC-derived neurons to demonstrate Huntington’s disease traits
- Imaging degradation pathways and using -omics to optimize drug candidates
9:00 am Describing Patient-Derived Organoid Led Strategies Combined with Computational Biology to Tackle Alzheimer’s Disease Biology
Synopsis
- Compare the modelling strategies that must be employed to study drug efficacy on sporadic occurrence of disease compared to those with defined genetic drivers to optimize preclinical work
- Optimize the decision making behind the variety of models needed to test drug efficacy for sporadic occurrence of neurological disease
- Using genetic data and transcriptomics to identify clinical endpoints in organoids through phenotypic screening and bypass unknown target biology
9:30 am Speed Networking
Synopsis
Our structured networking is the ideal opportunity to get face-to-face time with many of the brightest minds working in the field and introduce yourself to the attendees that you would like to have more in-depth conversations with. Benchmark against industry leaders and establish meaningful business relationships to pursue for the rest of the conference and beyond
10:15 am Morning Break
CALIBRATE COST & COMPLEXITY OF PRECLINICAL MODELS
11:15 am Employing Cell Lines to Accelerate Target-Focused Drug Discovery
Synopsis
- Decision-making and strategic considerations when using procured cell lines and models in drug development for neuroscience
- Quality control and validation of externally produced preclinical models
11:45 am Practical Considerations When Implementing Novel CNS Models into a Drug Development Pipeline
Synopsis
- Explore the validation protocols and additional characterization employed to ensure cellular models are consistently reproduced from literature or between batches and are of acceptable quality before proceeding with large-scale phenotyping or screening
- Leveraging high throughput electrophysiological readouts in human iPS cell-derived models to establish robust disease phenotypes and predict potential CNS liabilities/off-target effects
- Scaling and adapting multiple cell culture protocols for industrial scale
12:15 pm Lunch & Networking
BUILDING A BRIDGE OVER THE TRANSLATIONAL GAP OF NEUROSCIENCE MODELS TO ADVANCE TOWARDS PREDICTIVE CNS MODELS
1:45 pm Considerations when Modelling the Peripheral Nervous System for Neuromuscular Disease Treatment
Synopsis
- Develop in vitro models of motor neurons to examine drug efficacy
- Learn how to develop a simple, robust, and reductionist model platform to screen novel drugs and assess mechanism of action
2:15 pm Integrating Machine Learning with Animal Models to Find Translatable Features
Synopsis
- Overcome limitations of animal behaviour readouts for drug development by using translatable circuitry and biological readouts
- Examine how machine learning can be implemented with in vivo readouts to improve the translational efficacy for drug development
2:45 pm Genetically-Informed Disease Progression Modelling
Synopsis
- Applying machine learning to the PD dataset and using combination of polygenic risk scores, baseline clinical exams, & neuroimaging to predict which people will experience disease progression
- Identify signatures for potential patient selection and predict Parkinson’s disease patient outcomes
- Using this model to design clinical trials and accelerate clinical trials
3:15 pm Afternoon Break
ORGAN-ON-A-CHIP TECHNOLOGY: ADAPTABLE BUILDING BLOCKS & MIMICKING NEUROLOGICAL SYSTEMS
4:15 pm Comprehensive & Optimized Preclinical Models with Organ-On-A-Chip Technologies
Synopsis
- Leveraging Human Brain-Chips to revolutionize disease modeling, drug development, and personalized medicine
- Examining the intricate interplay between neurons and blood vessels and replicating the complex microenvironment
- Harnessing the potential of Brain-Chips as a reliable platform to evaluate novel therapeutics
4:45 pm Assessing the Predictive Capabilities of Organ-on-a-Chip Models
Synopsis
- Ensure the fidelity and reproducibility of phenotypes at medium throughput
- Applying brain-on-a-chip to understand underlying disease pathology
- Incorporating lessons learned at scale for neuroscience drug development pipelines
5:15 pm Chairs Closing Remarks
5:30 pm Scientific Poster Session
Synopsis
This is an informal session to help you connect with your peers in a relaxed atmosphere and continue forging new and beneficial relationships. With an audience of neuroscience enthusiasts eager to hear, the latest cutting-edge advancements, you will have the opportunity to display a poster presenting your own work. Additionally, you will have the chance to review other’s posters displaying novel approaches to creating iPSC-derived in vitro models, humanized in vivo models, validating translational efficacy with biomarkers, and the algorithms employed to accelerate neuroscience drug development