CSHL 2024 Conference on Glia in Health & Disease - 2024 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference GLIA IN HEALTH & DISEASE August 20 – 24, 2024 Abstract The proposed meeting on Glia in Health & Disease will be held August 20 – 24, 2024 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. 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 disease. Glia perform many important roles, such as regulating the development of neural circuits, modulating neurotransmitter signaling between neurons, providing metabolic support to many nervous system cells, supporting the fast and efficient propagation of action potentials, modulating vascular development and blood flow, and regulating the propagation of pathology and inflammatory cascades in disease. With the advancement of genetic tools to specifically target glia, we are now gaining a deeper mechanistic understanding of how glial cells function in health and disease. This includes mechanisms highlighting 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 pathological states, 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, are in genes enriched in glia. Further genetic manipulation studies are beginning to reveal how these mutations alter glial cell function and contribute actively to the earliest initiation and propagation of these diseases. 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 previous nine extremely successful meetings as a guide, we will: 1) assemble a diverse meeting of scientists engaged in studies of glial biology and neuron-glia interactions; 2) showcase the newest and most exciting developments through talks selected based on scientific merit from openly submitted abstracts; 3) empower junior scientists to present their work and engage with established investigators; and 4) foster collaborations for accelerated discovery.
