Featured Panel Sessions
Featured Panel Sessions taking place during 黑料社 2025 are listed below. All sessions will take place in the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC).
View other scientific sessions being held this year.
Basic-Translational-Clinical Roundtables
From Traumatic Brain Injury to Post-Traumatic Epilepsy: Mechanistic Linkage Through Biomarkers, Inflammation, In Vivo Imaging, and Multiomics
Chair: Fletcher A. White, PhD
Indiana University, Indianapolis
Speakers: Makram Obeid, MD; Kevin Wang, PhD; Elisa R. Zanier, MD
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 10:30 a.m.–noon PST
Location: SDCC Room 6DE
Theme: Theme D – Neuroimmunity, Neurovasculature, and Neural Injury
The debilitating neurological consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI), including post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) remains without preventive therapies. Developing novel therapeutic strategies awaits better animal models and greater insight into mechanisms and biomarkers. This roundtable will host experts presenting novel mechanistic findings, biomarkers, and recently developed PTE animal models, providing a unique opportunity to engage the audience in potentially controversial topics.
Integrating Academic and Industry Contributions to Accelerate the Path From Target Biology to Patient Intervention
Chair: Fiona E. Ducotterd, PhD
University College London
Speakers: Cliona P. MacSweeney, PhD; Fraser Murray, PhD; Jim Ray, PhD
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 10:30 a.m.–noon PST
Location: SDCC Room 6DE
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
Patients are waiting for treatments. Translational research and drug discovery from target identification to human efficacy studies take years. By building academic innovator connections with industrial processes, we can shorten these timelines and bring benefits to patients from discoveries more rapidly. This session will discuss the areas of opportunity in working at the interface of academia and industry and opportunities to build stronger bridges across neuroscience in this area.
Roadmap for Direct Translation of Optogenetics Into Human Therapies
Chair: Christian Luscher, MD
University of Geneva
Speakers: Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD; Nita A. Farahany, PhD, JD; Ofer Yizhar, PhD
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 10:30 a.m.–noon PST
Location: SDCC Room 6A
Theme: Theme J – Techniques
Brain diseases impose a growing burden worldwide, largely due to limited understanding of their pathophysiology. Optogenetics has transformed neural circuit research, but it has not yet led to novel brain disease treatments. The speakers will list the challenges for the direct translation of optogenetics in humans and consider how it can refine currently existing circuit therapies. They will discuss the clinical opportunities, technical challenges, and ethical issues linked with such circuit interventions.
Dual Perspectives
What Is in a Name?: Define the Boundaries of Neuronal Cell Types
Moderator: Victoria Abraira, PhD
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Panelists: Alexander T. Chesler, PhD; Theodore J. Price, PhD
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 10:30 a.m.–noon PST
Location: SDCC Room 6DE
Theme: Theme J – Techniques
A question that has plagued neuroscientists since Cajal is: What defines a cell type? Large-scale efforts have yielded consensus brain-cell taxonomies, but multiple schemes are used to classify somatosensory neurons. In this session, experts will weigh pros and cons of taxonomies rooted in functional and molecular properties. The panel aims to spur discussion and community-driven efforts to develop a unified taxonomic framework that spans biological scales, states, and species.
Storytelling Session
Visible and Invisible Disabilities: Unique Experiences Require Tailored Approaches
Chair: Jennifer C. Tudor, PhD
Saint Joseph's University
Panelists: Lawrence K. Fung MD, PhD; Zachary Simon; Isabella K. Succi
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 1:30–3 p.m. PST
Location: SDCC Room 6DE
Theme: Theme K – History, Education, and Society
Individuals with disabilities are not a monolithic group; there are varying modalities and degrees of disability that lead to unique formative experiences. This brings a host of challenges with regard to training and mentorship, but also opportunities for growth for all in the academic environment. In this session, presenters will share their stories and experiences with disabilities to highlight lessons learned from these lived experiences.
