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The 17th International Symposium on Neural Transplantation & Repair (INTR), in conjunction with 34th Annual Symposium of the Network for European CNS Transplantation and Restoration (NECTAR) will take place on Oct 28-30, 2024 at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore. This year's symposium is hosted by the Duke-NUS Medical School together with Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore.

The INTR symposium represents the international meeting of the American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair (ASNTR), Asia-Pacific Association for Neural Transplantation and Repair (APANTR) and the Network for European CNS Transplantation and Restoration (NECTAR). This year's symposium marks the 40th anniversary since the first INTR symposium was organized by Professor Anders Bjorklund, pioneer of cell therapy for Parkinsons disease, in 1984. Professor Bjorklund will be one of the keynote speakers to the symposium.

This conference will bring together leading scientists, clinicians, and industry representatives from around the world to share their latest findings in gene and cell therapy for neural disorders that will help foster new collaborations. The three-day program will feature keynote lectures, symposia on hot topics, workshops/young investigator colloquia, Industry/patient advocates discussion, and opportunities for oral communications and poster presentations. The scientific program will cover a broad spectrum of stem cell biology, genome editing, preclinical and clinical research and development in cell and gene therapy.

Registration

Ticket Standard
1st Sept onwards
Faculty/Staff S$700
Students/Post Docs S$400
Banquet Dinner @ MBS on 29 October 2024
S$80

*The banquet dinner cost is not included in the registration fees.

Programme

Day 1: 28 October 2024, Monday

9:00am – 10:00am Registration & Coffee Break
10:00am – 10:10am Welcome Address
By: Prof Suchun Zhang, Chair, INTR
10:10am – 11:40am

Session 1: Clinical Update
Moderator - Prof Tilo Kunath

10:10am – 10:30am
  • Prof Malin Parmar, Lund University, Sweden
    (Introducing single cell sequencing in translational stem cell biology)
10:30am – 10:50am
  • Prof Clive Svendsen, Cedar Sinai, USA
    (iPSC derived neural progenitors for treating ALS and Parkinson's Disease)
10:50am – 11:10am
  • Prof Anne Rosser, Cardiff University, UK
    (A cell therapy for Huntington’s disease: addressing translational challenges)
11:10am – 11:40am
  • Panel Discussion
11:40am – 12:30pm Plenary Lecture: Prof Hongkui Deng, Peking University, China
(Chemical reprogramming: the path to the next generation of regenerative medicine)
Moderator – Prof Su-Chun Zhang
12:30pm – 1:30pm Lunch
1:30pm – 3:00pm

Session 2: Stem Cell Technology / Organoids
Moderator – Prof Hongyan Wang

1:30pm – 1:50pm
  • Asst Prof Alfred Sun, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
    (Benchmarking human midbrain dopamine neuron protocols through the lense of scRNA Seqencing)
1:50pm – 2:10pm
  • Prof Simon Hippenmeyer, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Austria
    (Principles of Neural Stem Cell Lineage Progression)
2:10pm – 2:30pm
  • Asst Prof Shiyan Ng, Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*Star), Singapore
    (Modeling neurodegeneration using spinal organoids)
2:30pm – 3:00pm
  • Panel Discussion
3:00pm – 3:30pm Data Blitz #1
3:30pm – 4:00pm Coffee Break + Poster Session
4:00pm – 5:30pm

Session 3: Pre-Clinical Advances #1
Moderator – Prof Clive Svendsen

4:00pm – 4:20pm
  • Prof Jeffrey H. Kordower, ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Center, USA
    (Traversing the bridge between fetal grafts and induced pluripotent Stem Cells)
4:20pm – 4:40pm
  • Prof Sing Yian Chew, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
    (Guiding Neural Cell Fate and Tissue Repair with Biomimetic Scaffolds)
4:40pm – 4:50pm
  • Dr Jeffrey Yuan, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
4:50pm – 5:00pm
  • Dr Jana Bonsberger, Lund University, Sweden
5:00pm – 5:10pm
  • Dr Yongjin Yoo, Korea University College of Medicine
5:10pm – 5:30pm
  • Panel Discussion
5:30pm – 5:45pm Group Photo Taking
5:45pm – 7:15pm Cocktail Reception + Poster Session
End of Day 1

Day 2: 29 October 2024, Tuesday

8:30am – 9:00am Registration
9:00am – 9:50am Plenary Lecture: Prof Anders Björklund, Lund University, Sweden
(Stem cell therapy for Parkinson's disease: Where are we now - and what next?)
Moderator – Prof Lachlan Thompson
9:50am – 10:20am Coffee Break + Poster Session
10:20am – 11:50am

Session 4: Escaping Immune System
Moderator – Prof Kah Leong Lim

10:20am – 10:40am
  • Prof Kah Leong Lim, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
    (Human Umbilical Cord Lining-derived Stem Cells as a Novel and Potentially Immune-privilege Cell Source for Neural Transplantation)
10:40am – 11:00am
  • Prof Xiaoqing Zhang, Tongji University, China
    (Engineering Strategies for Immunocompatible Cell or Organ Allotransplantation)
11:00am – 11:20am
  • Dr Chiara Pavan, University of Melbourne, Australia
    (A cloaked human stem cell-derived neural graft evades immune detection in humanised mice)

11:20am – 11:50am
  • Panel Discussion
11:50am – 1:20pm

Session 5: Industry Talks
Moderator – Assoc Prof Michael Lane

11:50am – 12:10pm
  • Nauman Abid, BlueRock Therapeutics, USA
12:10pm – 12:30pm
  • Sonja Pikkupeura, Novo Nordisk, USA
    (Industry refinement of flow cytometry for the determination of neural cell product composition)
12:30pm – 12:50pm
  • Edward D. Wirth III, Aspen Neuroscience, USA
    (First in Human Administration of Autologous Dopamine Neuron Precursor Cells for Parkinson Disease Using an Intraoperative MRI-guided Posterior Approach)
12:50pm – 1:20pm
  • Panel discussion
1:20pm – 2:20pm Lunch
2:20pm – 3:50pm

Session 6: Disease Mechanism
Moderator – Asst Prof Shi Yan Ng

2:20pm – 2:40pm
  • Dr Romina Aron Badin, MIRCen, France
    (Modeling proteinopathies in non-human primates)
2:40pm – 3:00pm
  • Dr Julia TCW, Boston University, USA
    (Deciphering functional mechanism of Alzheimer's disease APOE4 risk using human iPSC and chimeric models)
3:00pm – 3:20pm
  • Dr Anselme L. Perrier, French Alternative Energies & Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), France
    (Selective lowering of mutant-Huntingtin by antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in human cortical neurons derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (HD-iPSC))
3:20pm – 3:50pm
  • Panel Discussion
3:50pm – 4:20pm Coffee Break & Poster Session
4:20pm – 4:50pm Data Blitz #2
4:50pm – 6:30pm Free Time
6:30pm – 9:00pm Banquet Dinner
End of Day 2

Day 3: 30 October 2024, Wednesday

8:30am – 9:00am Registration
9:00am – 9:50am Plenary Speaker:   Prof Jacob Hanna, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
(Synthetic Ex Utero Embryogenesis: from Naive Stem Cells to Complete Embryo Models)
Moderator – Asst Prof Alfred Sun
9:50am – 10:20am Coffee Break + Poster Session
10:20am – 11:50am

Session 7: Pre–Clinical Advances #2 (SCI)
Moderator – Prof Sing Yian Chew

10:20am – 10:40am
  • Assoc Prof Michael Aron Lane, Drexel University, USA
    (Cell Transplantation for Repair and Plasticity in the Injured Cervical Spinal Cord)
10:40am – 11:00am
  • Dr Lyandysha (Lana) Zholudeva, Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, USA
    (Engineering human interneurons for spinal cord repair)
11:00am – 11:20am
  • Dr Xiaolong Zheng, Tongji Hospital, China
    (Human Dorsal Spinal dI4 GABA Neurons Alleviate Neuropathic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury)
11:20am – 11:50am
  • Panel Discussion
11:50am – 12:50pm Lunch
12:50am – 2:20pm

Session 8: Neural Degeneration
Moderator – Visiting Prof Vincenzo De Paola

12:50pm – 1:10pm
  • Prof Richard Lu, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre, USA
    (Paving the Axonal Highway for CNS Myelin Repair)
1:10pm – 1:30pm
  • Prof Binhai Zheng, University of California, San Diego, USA
    (Predicting regenerative success after spinal cord injury with scRNA-Seq)
1:30pm – 1:50pm
  • Prof Hideyuki Okano, Keio University, Japan
    (iPSCs-based Regenerative Therapy for Subacute Complete Spinal Cord Injury, the Interim Report of the First-in-Human (FIH) Trial.)
1:50pm – 2:20pm
  • Panel Discussion
2:20pm – 2:50pm Data Blitz #3
2:50pm – 3:00pm Closing Address
End of Symposium

* Accurate as of 24 October 2024. Programme may be subjected to change without prior notice.

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Poster Presentation and Oral Presentation

No. Name Title Poster Presentation Oral Presentation
1 Ms. Giulia Comini A systematic review of human stem cell-derived dopaminergic progenitor survival and dopaminergic maturation in Parkinsonian models. Poster -
2 Dr. Xiaolong Zheng Human ESC-Derived Dorsal Spinal dI4 GABA Neurons Alleviate Neuropathic Pain and Spasticity After Spinal Cord Injury Poster Talk
3 Dr. Xiaolong Zheng Human ESC-Derived Ventral Spinal V3 Glutamate Neurons Contribute to Locomotion Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury Poster -
4 Dr. Yang Gao The role of SUMO pathway in neural stem cell reactivation and brain development Poster -
5 Dr. Quentin Fuchs Immune-Evasive Strategies for Allogeneic Neural Grafts in Non-Human Primate Models of Huntington’s Disease Poster Datablitz
6 Mrs. Apirahmee Jeyakumaran Macaca fascicularis iPSC derived striatal progenitors and organoids for allogeneic grafting in a non human primate model of Huntington disease Poster -
7 Dr. Nicolas Prudon Bioreactor-produced iPSCs-derived Dopaminergic Neuron-containing Neural Microtissues Innervate and Normalize Rotational Bias in a Dose-dependent Manner in a Parkinson Rat Model Poster Datablitz
8 Mr. Anselme Perrier Selective lowering of mutant-Huntingtin by antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in human cortical neurons derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (HD-iPSC) Poster Talk
9 Mr. Francois-Xavier Beau Investigating Myelin in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis via Transplantation of Patient-iPSC Derived Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells into Shiverer Mice Poster Datablitz
10 Dr. Niamh Moriarty Are we pouring money down the drain with cell culture media supplements? Poster -
11 Mr. Andrew Quattrocchi Isolation of cortical progenitors improves the composition and predictability of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural transplants in Stroke. Poster Datablitz
12 Ms. Jennifer Jin Generating hypothalamic arcuate neurons from human pluripotent stem cells Poster Datablitz
13 Dr. Qiang Yuan Regulating the SNpr activity improves motor functions in Parkinson’s Disease mouse models Poster Short Talk
14 Dr. Cameron Hunt Advanced modelling of upper motor neuron mnd pathology using human pluripotent stem cells Poster Datablitz
15 Dr. Jun Nishiyama Post-Synaptic Tau: Unveiling the Roles in Dendritic Spine Plasticity Poster -
16 Dr. Tyra Fraser An improved grafting paradigm for cell therapy-based treatment for Parkinson’s disease Poster Datablitz
17 Dr. Chiara Pavan A cloaked human stem cell-derived neural graft evades immune detection in humanised mice Poster Talk
18 Prof. Jorge Quintero Five-year outcomes for participants who received autologous reparative peripheral nerve tissue implantation to the basal ganglia at the time they underwent DBS surgery for Parkinson’s disease Poster -
19 Dr. Arthur Sefiani Enhancing Neurotrophin-3 activity leads to improvements in respiratory, cognitive, and locomotor function after spinal cord injury Poster Datablitz
20 Dr. Sherylin Hor Empowering the Powerhouse: Unveiling Next-Gen Therapeutics for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis through Targeting of Mitochondrial Function Poster -
21 Ms. Noor Ul Ain Akram Monoamine modulation mitigates TDP-43 mislocalisation in a targeted drug screen for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Poster Datablitz
22 Dr. Dongliang Ma Arl2 GTPase Associates with the Centrosomal Protein Cdk5rap2 to Regulate Cortical Development via Microtubule Organization Poster Datablitz
23 Dr. Wai Hon Chooi Ferroptosis and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Enterovirus 71- Infected Human Motor Neurons Poster Datablitz
24 Dr. Jana Bonsberger Single Cell RNA-Seq for Quality Control of Dopamine Neurons for Autologous Cell Replacement Therapy Poster Short Talk
25 Dr. Noelia Pelegrina-Hidalgo Visualising Parkinson's disease at the nanoscale level Poster Datablitz
26 Dr. Haresh Bhaskar Tagging proteins involved in neurodegeneration for live-cell super-resolution imaging Poster Datablitz
27 Ms. Jolie Ho Dissecting cholesterol metabolism in distinct CNS cell types and the communication between CNS and peripheral systems Poster Datablitz
28 Mr. Andrew Chai Depletion of COL1A1-positive non-neuronal cells for improved cortical differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells Poster Datablitz
29 Dr. Jonathan Teo Exploring PROX1 dynamics across cell types with GICTrack Dashboard Poster -
30 Ms. Isabella Jameison Morris Neuro-restoration Through Targeted Degradation of Alpha-Synuclein Poster Datablitz
31 Ms. Georgia Eleftheriou Transplantation of Patient-Derived Neural Progenitors: Unravelling ALS Disease Dynamics and Progression Poster Datablitz
32 Dr. Kevin Law Multiscale analysis of regionally-specified astrocytes generated from patient stem cells with genetic forms of Parkinson’s disease Poster Datablitz

Speakers

Anders Bjorklund
Anders Björklund Lund University, Sweden
Jacob H Hanna
Jacob H Hanna Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Deng Hongkui
Hongkui Deng Peking University, China
Anne Rosser
Anne Rosser Cardiff University, UK
Hideyuki Okano
Hideyuki Okano Keio University, Japan
Malin Parmar
Malin Parmar Lund University, Sweden
Michael Lane
Michael Lane Drexel University, USA
Romina Aron Badin
Romina Aron Badin The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Xiaoqing Zhang
Xiaoqing Zhang Tongji University, China
Kah Leong Lim
Kah Leong Lim Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Lyandysha (Lana) Zholudeva
Lyandysha (Lana) Zholudeva University of California San Francisco, USA
Clive Svendsen
Clive Svendsen Cedar Sinai, USA
Chiara Pavan
Chiara Pavan University of Melbourne, Australia
Jeffrey Kordower
Jeffrey Kordower University of Arizona, USA
Qing Richard Lu
Qing Richard Lu Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre, USA
Simon Hippenmeyer
Simon Hippenmeyer Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Austria
Julia TCW
Julia TCW Boston University, USA
Binhai Zheng
Binhai Zheng University of California San Diego, USA
Alfred Sun
Alfred Sun Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Xiaolong Zheng
Xiaolong Zheng Tongji Hospital, China
Sing Yian Chew
Sing Yian Chew Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Shi Yan Ng
Shi Yan Ng Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
Anselme L. Perrier
Anselme L. Perrier French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), France

Organising Committee

International

Su-Chun Zhang
Su-Chun Zhang Chair Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Romina Aron Badin
Romina Aron Badin The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Sing Yian Chew
Sing Yian Chew Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Tilo Kunath
Tilo Kunath University of Edinburgh, UK
Michael Lane
Michael Lane Drexel University, USA
Hideyuki Okano
Hideyuki Okano Keio University, Japan
Clive Svendsen
Clive Svendsen Cedar Sinai, USA
Lachlan Thompson
Lachlan Thompson University of Melbourne, Australia
Lyandysha (Lana) Zhoudeva
Lyandysha (Lana) Zhoudeva University of California San Francisco, USA

Local

Su-Chun Zhang
Su-Chun Zhang Co-Chair Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Kah Leong Lim
Kah Leong Lim Co-Chair Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Sing Yian Chew
Sing Yian Chew Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Hongyan Wang
Hongyan Wang Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Vincenzo De Paola
Vincenzo De Paola Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Alfred Sun
Alfred Sun Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Shiyan Ng
Shiyan Ng Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
For inquiries, please contact: INTRsecretariat@duke-nus.edu.sg

About Singapore

Singapore

Singapore, a captivating city-state situated in Southeast Asia, is a remarkable fusion of diverse cultures, economic prosperity, and a myriad of attractions. With a population of approximately 5.7 million as of 2022, the country reflects its multicultural essence with significant Chinese, Malay, Indian, and other ethnic communities. Its tropical rainforest climate ensures high temperatures and humidity year-round, marked by distinct monsoon seasons.

Singapore's official languages include English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamvil, showcasing its rich heritage. The nation's culture comes alive through vibrant festivals and a culinary scene influenced by various traditions.

Singapore boasts a highly developed economy renowned as a global financial hub and a technology and trade leader. The emphasis on education is evident in its well-regarded institutions, and the efficient public transportation system and iconic landmarks like Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa Island, and the historical charm of Chinatown make it a top destination for travelers worldwide.

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