Brain Barriers
March 28 - April 1, 2023
Abstract Deadline: January 20, 2023

Organizers:

Maria Lehtinen, Boston Children's Hospital
Julie Siegenthaler, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Benoit Vanhollebeke, 
Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Joy Zuchero, 
Denali Therapeutics

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COVID-19: All participants planning to attend in-person will be required to provide documentary proof of full vaccination* with an FDA or EMA approved vaccine (*as defined by applicable US CDC guidelines) . Additional safety measures will be in line with current NY and federal guidelines applicable in spring 2023.

We are pleased to announce the eighth Cold Spring Harbor conference on Blood Brain Barrier which will begin at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, March 28, and run through lunch on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

The purpose of this Cold Spring Harbor meeting is to explore and encourage new conceptual approaches and to apply novel methods to the neuroprotective physiologies of BBB structures. Our goal is to pair genetic model organism biological methods with recent insights in vertebrate BBB physiology and development. We hope to create cross-fertilization between fields that rarely see each other and get people thinking about how model systems can help parse the regulatory networks necessary for parsimonious BBB function.

The conference is intended to foster the cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas and expertise between developmental and evolutionary biologists, vascular and BBB physiologists, and disease-oriented industry scientists interested in modifying or circumventing specific pathways of neuroprotection. While a number of speakers have been invited, please note that the majority of oral presentations will be drawn from openly submitted abstracts.

Topics:
  • Emerging Concepts and Hot Topics in CNS Barriers 
  • Development, Plasticity, and Specialization of CNS Barriers 
  • Bioengineering a better in vitro Barrier
  • CNS Barriers in Neurological Diseases, in vitro Models of the BBB
  • Barrier-omics in Health and Disease
  • Barriers at Choroid Plexus, Meninges & Circumventricular Organs
  • CNS Barrier Development and Maturation, Transport Across the BBB
  • Imaging Approaches to Study CNS Barriers
  • CNS Barrier Damage and Repair in Injury, Infection & Disease
  • CNS Barrier Access for Therapeutics
Keynote Speaker:
Dritan Agalliu, Columbia University, Irving Medical Center

Invited Speakers:
Ayal Ben-Zvi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Maria Bernabeu, EMBL, Spain
Christer Betsholtz, Uppsala University, Sweden
Richard Daneman, University of California, San Diego
Britta Engelhardt, University of Bern, Switzerland
Ryann Fame, Stanford University Neuroscience Center
Viviana Gradinaru, Caltech
Jonathan Kipnis, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Stefan Liebner, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Dorian McGavern, NINDS
Caroline Menard, Universite Laval/CERVO Brain Research Center, Canada
Laura Pellegrini, MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK
Michelle Pizzo, Denali Therapeutics
Stefan Schulte-Merker, University of Munster, Germany
Clive Svendsen, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Andrew Yang, Stanford University

Abstracts should contain interesting and exciting material and must be submitted electronically by the abstract deadline. The selection of material for oral and poster presentations will be made by the organizers and individual session chairs. Status (talk/poster) of abstracts will be posted on our website as soon as decisions have been made by the organizers.

We are eager to have as many young people as possible attend since they are likely to benefit most from this meeting. We have applied for funds from government and industry to partially support graduate students and postdocs. Apply in writing to Amy Traina stating the need for financial support - preference is given to those submitting abstracts.

Social Media:

The designated hashtag for this meeting is #cshlbbb. Note that you must obtain permission from an individual presenter before live-tweeting or discussing his/her talk, poster, or research results on social media. Click the Policies tab above to see our full Confidentiality & Reporting Policy.

Meeting sponsored in part by:


In-Person Fees:

Academic/Media Private Room/Private Bath Package: $1705
Academic/Media Private Room/Shared Bath Package: $1600
Academic Shared Room Package: $1455
Academic/Media No-Housing Package: $1085
Student Package/Double Occupancy: $1355
Student Package/No Housing Package: $985
Corporate Private Room/Private Bath Package: $2180
Corporate No-Housing Package: $1560


*Student Housing is default double occupancy. Please inquire about availability and fees to upgrade to a private room.

NOTE: We cannot guarantee housing will be on campus. Room packages close 2 weeks before the meeting start date

Virtual Participation: Includes access to the oral sessions via Zoom, the digital poster gallery, the Slack discussion workspace, and the Leading Strand video archive.  If you are submitting an abstract for an oral or poster presentation, please plan to attend the meeting in-person.

Presenters: Individuals submitting abstracts and facing financial barriers should firstly request financial aid (see above). Permission to present your talk or poster virtually will be given only in exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis. If you think you are eligible for an exemption from the requirement to present in person, please provide a justification in writing via email to Amy Traina

Non-presenting participants: We plan to broaden access to the conference by allowing certain categories of non-presenting participants to attend virtually at reduced fees.
Categories include:
1. Individuals from low & middle-income countries; 
2. Individuals from non-LMIC countries in Asia, Australasia, Africa, or South America; 
3. Individuals from US & Canadian minority-serving institutions; 
4. Individuals with a demonstrable financial barrier; 
5. Individuals with family obligations or other special circumstances. 
For categories 5 & 6 above, please provide a justification via email to Amy Traina

Virtual Fees:

Academic Virtual Package: $325
Grad Student Virtual Package: $200
Corporate Virtual Package: $480

Late Fee (Registrations submitted after 5:00 p.m. ET on March 23):

Late Academic Virtual Package: $425
Late Student Virtual Package: $300
Late Corporate Virtual Package: $580