GeneExpression Systems & Appasani Research Conferences (ARCEI.ORG)
Jointly Presents

Inaugural
European Neurodegenerative Diseases-2010 Meeting
On
‘Biology to Drugs & Therapeutics’

September 20-21, 2010
Oriel College
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

“A Unique Theme to Combine Neurobiology, Memory & Diseases”

Meeting Venue: Oriel College-Oxford University:   
When the quarrel between Henry II and Philip Augustus in 1167 made it impossible for English students to attend the University of Paris, the opportunity for developing a similar institution arose at Oxford. Dominican friars established their main house of study there on arrival in England in 1221 and were followed in 1224 by the Franciscans. Divinity was constituted as a superior faculty and students were admitted who already possessed an arts degree.

Oriel College founded in 1326 by King Edward II, this is the fifth oldest college at Oxford University and intended to help students who were already graduates to obtain a further degree. Past 684 years Oriel continued to maintain its intellectual standards, and admitted women for the first time in 1985. Oriel’s notable alumni include Sir Walter Raleigh, Thomas Harriot, Cecil Rhodes, Cardinal Newman, and two Nobel Laureates: Sir Alexander Todd (Chemistry), and James Meade (Economics).

Oriel always a place for higher learning, and authorities in various fields meet hear and share knowledge. Attend this meeting and be part of the rich heritage of education…….

Topics or Highlights of the Meeting:
Neurodevelopment & Mechanisms
Sensory & Motor Systems
Cognition & Behavior
Disorders of Nervous System
Drug Development


Focus of the Theme Meeting:

Brain diseases, in particular neurodegenerative diseases, represent a growing public health concern. Understanding the biology of neuronal cells (neurons) and their communication with neighboring cells at synapses is crucial in order to know the defects and pathophysiology of brain disorders. To discover and develop innovative drug compounds for these central nervous system diseases it is essential to gather intellectual minds from academia, biotech and pharmaceutical industries to have a forum. Such forum will enhance knowledge and dissipate of data and ideas which will ultimately bring more scientific and business collaborations.

The conference will bring together experts and young researchers with diverse backgrounds in molecular and cellular neurobiology, biochemistry, electrophysiology, behavior, cognition, perception, and disease biology, and the first conference discussing new developments in this highly interdisciplinary area of brain research. The conference should be interesting for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, professors from academia and scientists, directors and executives from industry, as well as for anyone interested in brain functions and their associated diseases. Authorities in the filed will be invited as key speakers. Few speakers will be also selected from the applicants, based on the submitted abstracts. Dedicated time will be allowed for presentation of posters and viewing the exhibits and to know the available cutting-edge reagents, services in the field.

AGENDA/SPEAKERS

Monday, September 20, 2010
7:00 – 8:30 A.M: Registration Open
7:30 – 8:45 A.M: Continental breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 A.M: Technology Session I
10.00 AM – 6.00 PM Scientific Sessions

Tuesday, September 21, 2010
7:00 – 8:30 A.M: Registration Open
7:30 – 8:45 A.M: Continental breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 A.M: Technology Session I
10.00 AM – 6.00 PM Scientific Sessions

Scientific Committee:

	Krishnarao Appasani, Ph.D., MBA Founder & CEO GeneExpression Systems, Inc, Waltham, MA, USA
	Ioannis Ragoussis,PhD. Head of Genomics Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Keynote Speakers:

	Anthony Monaco, MD, PhD.  Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Professor of Human Genetics University of Oxford-Wellcome Trust Ctr. for Human Genetics Oxford, United Kingdom Title: Genetic basis of neurological and psychiatric disorders
	John Collinge, MD., FRS.  Professor and Head Dept. of Neurodegenerative Disease UCL Institute of Neurology & National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery London, United Kingdom Title: Prion propagation and its wider implications in neurodegeneration
	Joan Fallon, Ph.D.    Industry Keynote Speaker Chief Executive Officer Curemark LLC Rye, NY USA Title: Autism: Biology and drugs

Other Speakers:

	Mart Saarma, PhD.                            Academy Professor & Director of the Institute of Biotechnology University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Title: Biology and therapeutic potential of he new CDNF/MANF family of neurotrophic factors
	Dr. Fred W. Van Leeuwen    Professor of Neuroscience Maastricht University Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Maastricht, The Netherlands Title: Misframed proteins and protein quality control in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
	Giovanna Mallucci, MD., PhD.        Professor at the MRC Toxicology Unit University of Leicester Leicester, UK Title: TBA
	Zoltán Molnár, MD., DPhil.                           Professor of Developmental Neuroscience Dept. of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Title: TBA
	Per Svenningsson, MD., PhD.                    Group leader Dept.of Physiology and Pharmacology Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Title: TBA
	Simon E. Fisher, D.Phil.                               Royal Society Research Fellow & Reader in Molecular Neuroscience Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics University of Oxford, Headington, UK Title: Functional genomic dissection of speech and language disorders
	Inna Slutsky, PhD.                            Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology Sackler School of Medicine Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Title: Role of amyloid-beta in synaptic function of hippocampal neurons
	Dr. Frederic Checler                        Investigator Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire UMR6097, Valbonne, France Title: Parkin is a transcriptional repressor of p53
	Clare E. Mackay, PhD.                      Senior Research Fellow of Psychiatry John Radcliffe Hospital & University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford, UK Title: Imaging risk for Alzheimer’s disease; the effect of age and APOE genotype on brain function
	Gero Miesenböck, MD. Waynflete Professor of Physiology University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Title: TBA
	Liliana Minichiello, PhD.                              Reader in Neuroscience and Molecular Biology Deputy Director for the Centre for Neuroregeneration University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland Title: Signaling pathways in LTP and learning
	Stéphane Palfi, MD., PhD.   Sponsored by Oxford Biomedica, PLC Principal Investigator & Professor Henri Mondor Hospital & University of Paris 12 Créteil, France Title: ProSavin® a Gene Therapy for Parkinson's Disease
	Anne Bertolotti, Ph.D. Group Leader of Neurobiology MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Hills Road, Cambridge, UK Title: TBA
	Jan Grimm, PhD.                   Chief Scientific Officer Neurimmune Therapeutics AG Schlieren, Switzerland Title: Antibody therapy of neurodegenerative diseases
	Kenneth J. Rhodes, Ph.D.               Vice President, Discovery Neurobiology Biogen Idec., Cambridge, MA, USA Title: Repairing the Nervous System: Opportunities in Pain and MS
	Dr. Susanne Aileen Funke                          Institute of Structural Biology and Biophysics Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH Julich, Germany Title:Oral treatment with the Amyloid-β oligomer precipitating substance D3 improves pathology of Alzheimer’s transgenic mice
	Dr. Marcello D'Amelio                                              European Centre for Brain Research Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, 00143, Italy Title: Non-apoptotic caspase-3 activity triggers synaptic degeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer ’s disease
	Martin R. Turner, MBBS, PhD.                   Lady Edith Wolfson Clinician Scientist Oxford University-John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK Title: Biomarkers In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
	Dr. Giuseppe Sciamanna                 European Center for Brain Research Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, taly Title: Corticostriatal plasticity in transgenic animal models of DYT1 dystonia
	Richard Wade-Martins, M.A., DPhil.                                   Principal Investigator & University Lecturer University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Title: Molecular mechanisms of Parkinson's disease and gene therapy studies
	Rebecca Pruss, PhD.                       Chief Scientific Officer Trophos, S.A, Marseille, France Title: Where’s the target? Drug discovery strategies for neurodegenerative diseases
	Jackie de Belleroche, PhD.,  DSc., FRCPath.      Professor of Neuroscience at the Centre for Neuroscience Imperial College London & Hammersmith Hospital London, UK Title: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: elucidating disease mechanisms

Exhibitors are welcome to reserve their booth space early!

Please contact if you are interested in speaking in the scientific or Technology workshops of this meeting.

GeneExpression Systems, Inc.
P.O. Box 540170
Waltham, MA 02454 USA
Tel: (781) 891-8181
Fax: (781) 891-8234
E-mail: Genexpsys@expressgenes.com
www.expressgenes.com

Poster Abstract Submission by July 20, 2010

All Abstracts

Title: Imaging risk for Alzheimer’s disease; the effect of age and
APOE genotype on brain function
Clare E. Mackay, PhD., Senior Research Fellow, University Dept of Psychiatry
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center (FMRIB), University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK

Older age and carrying the APOE e4 gene are the best established risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we recently demonstrated that young healthy carriers of APOE e4 have increased brain activation compared to non-carriers in the same structures that show AD pathology decades later in life. We went on to investigate the differential effects of APOE genotype on brain aging and found clear differences, supporting the hypothesis that APOE e4 carriers have ‘accelerated aging’ compared to non-carriers. I will describe these studies and discuss the relevance of imaging at risk groups for understanding neurodegenerative disease.

Parkin is a transcriptional repressor of p53
Dr. Frederic Checler, Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire
UMR6097, CNRS/UNSA, Valbonne, France
Frédéric Checler et Cristine Alves da Costa
IPMC et IN2M, UMR6097 CNRS/UNSA, Valbonne, France

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by exacerbated apoptosis. Several proteins responsible for genetic cases of PD control p53-dependent cell death. We recently showed that parkin, a protein responsible for most of autosomal recessive PD cases acts as a transcriptional regulator of the oncogene p531. We established that parkin physically interacts with p53 promoter and that such interaction is abolished by pathogenic mutations. Therefore, a novel parkin-mediated transcriptional function links p53 to familial PD.
1- Alves da Costa, C. et al. (2009). Nat. Cell. Biol. 11, 1370-1375

Functional genomic dissection of speech and language disorders
Simon E. Fisher, D.Phil., Royal Society Research Fellow, Reader in Molecular Neuroscience, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Headington, UK

People who carry rare mutations in the FOXP2 gene have problems mastering the complex sequences of mouth movements needed for speech, along with deficits in many aspects of expressive and receptive language. The gene encodes a highly conserved transcription factor that appears to help regulate development and/or function of neuronal subpopulations in a wide range of non-speaking vertebrates. I will describe how FOXP2 can be used as a unique window into key neurogenetic pathways, through complementary approaches involving diverse model systems. For example, we have shown that FOXP2 point mutations implicated in human speech deficits cause impaired motor-skill learning and abnormal synaptic plasticity in mutant mice. Moreover, our functional genomic analyses of human neuronal cell models identified the CNTNAP2 gene as a direct downstream target regulated by FOXP2. Intriguingly, CNTNAP2 is itself implicated in common cases of language impairment. Overall, this work demonstrates how we can begin to bridge gaps between molecules, neurons and the brain to provide new understandings of aetiological pathways underlying human neurodevelopmental disorders.

Misframed proteins and protein quality control in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
Dr. Fred W. Van Leeuwen, Maastricht University-Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences
Department of Neuroscience, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Sporadic forms of Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are the most frequent

Oral treatment with the Amyloid-β oligomer precipitating substance D3 improves pathology of Alzheimer’s transgenic mice
Susanne Aileen Funke1, Thomas van Groen2, Inga Kadish2, Dirk Bartnik3; Luitgard Nagel-Steger3, Olexandr Brener3, Lei Wang1, Pia Zißmann3, Eva Birkmann1,3, Dieter Willbold1,3

1) ISB-3, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
2) Dep. Cell Biology and Dept. Neurobiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, A.L. 35294-0006, USA
3) Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf,  40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

Today, only palliative therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are available. The present study reports on in vitro and in vivo properties of the Aβ targeting d-enantiomeric amino acid peptide "D3". We show that next to plaque load and inflammation reduction, oral application of the peptide improved the cognitive performance of AD transgenic mice. In addition, we provide in vitro data elucidating a novel potential mechanism underlying the observed in vivo activity of D3.
Additionally, in a second part of the talk we will shortly report on an ultra-sensitive assay for the detection of Aβ aggregates in body fluids. 

Non-apoptotic caspase-3 activity triggers synaptic degeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer ’s disease
Dr. Marcello D'Amelio, Assist. Prof. in Human Physiology,Medical School University Campus-Biomedico, Santa Lucia Foundation at European Centre for Brain Research , Rome, Italy

Synaptic loss in brain regions mediating memory is the major pathological correlate of cognitive decline in early stages of AD; yet, the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic failure are largely unknown. I report a non-apoptotic baseline caspase-3 activity in hippocampal dendritic spines, and an enhancement of this activity at the onset of memory decline in the APPswe mouse model of AD. Caspase-3 increase leads to alterations of glutamatergic synaptic transmission and plasticity, and correlate with spine degeneration and a deficit in hippocampal-dependent memory. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of caspase-3 activity in Tg2576 mice restores synaptic GluR1 levels, glutamatergic synaptic transmission, spine size, and improves memory function. These findings point to enhanced synaptic caspase-3 activation as a novel AD biomarker indicating possible avenues for selective pharmacological therapy during early stages of AD.

Biomarkers In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Martin R. Turner, MBBS, MA, PhD, MRCP., MRC/MNDA Lady Edith Wolfson Clinician Scientist, Honorary Consultant Neurologist, Richard & Joan Doll Fellow, Green Templeton College, Oxford University-John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive degenerative disorder of cerebral motor cortex, corticospinal tract, brainstem and spinal anterior horn cell motor neurons. There is an established clinicopathological overlap with frontotemporal dementia and an emerging theme of aberrant RNA processing. The need for biomarkers in ALS is most urgently within therapeutic monitoring where survival is the primary endpoint in most clinical trials, but also as part of the diagnostic pathway to reduce the current average delay of one year from symptom onset. This presentation will discuss promising biomarker candidates emerging from MRI and biofluids (CSF and blood).

ProSavin® a Gene Therapy for Parkinson's Disease
Stéphane Palfi, MD., PhD., Principal Investigator & Professor, Henri Mondor Hospital and University of Paris 12, Faculty of Medicine, Paris, France