CSHL 2022 Glia in Health & Disease Conference

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2022 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference GLIA IN HEALTH & DISEASE Abstract The proposed meeting on Glia in Health & Disease will be held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory from July 21 – 25, 2022. The goal of this conference is to provide an active forum for exchange of results in the rapidly advancing fields of glial biology and neuron-glia interactions. Glial cells comprise a diverse group of non-neuronal cells that are essential for nervous system development, circuit function, and neurological disease. These cells perform many important roles, such as sculpting developing circuits, regulating neurotransmitter signaling between neurons, providing metabolic support to neurons and other glial cells, supporting the fast and efficient propagation of action potentials, modulating vascular development and blood flow, and regulating inflammatory cascades in disease. With the advancement of genetic tools to specifically target glia, we are now gaining a deeper mechanistic understanding of these and other glial cell functions in health and disease. This includes a new realization that glia actively modulate neural circuit function, plasticity, and behavior under healthy, steady-state conditions. We are also now appreciating how these functions go awry in disease, leading to circuit dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and destruction of neurons and their synaptic connections. There are also clear indications that glia may not only react to diseased neurons to propagate disease, but they are a part of the underlying etiology. For example, many gene mutations linked to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), are in genes enriched in glia. Further genetic manipulation studies are beginning to reveal how these mutations alter glial cell function and contribute to disease. Adding to the complexity in disease, glia can also be beneficial and promote regeneration and tissue repair by performing functions such as providing metabolic support, engulfing debris, and forming protective glial scars. This meeting will highlight the latest developments in glial cell biology obtained through studies of invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, as well as human tissue and cells, using the most up-to-date genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, and imaging technologies. Using the goals and format of the eight prior extremely successful meetings as a guide, we plan to: 1) assemble an international meeting of scientists engaged in studies of glial biology and neuron-glia interactions; 2) discuss new and exciting developments in the field by selecting talks from openly submitted abstracts on the basis of scientific merit; 3) provide an opportunity for junior scientists of diverse backgrounds to present their data and engage in scientific discourse with more established investigators; and 4) promote collaborative interactions to accelerate the pace of discovery and identify novel approaches to better understand nervous system function and, ultimately, target glial cells to treat neurological diseases.