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12:00 – 12:30 – Victoria Moreno
Remote neuromodulation for spinal cord injury motor recovery

Abstract: After spinal cord injury (SCI) the communication between the brain and the tissue at the periphery is abruptly interrupted causing permanent loss of motor and sensory activity, with so far, no efficient treatment; nevertheless, neuromodulation, in different ways, of key motor commands has been lastly shown to be very efficient strategy for locomotion recovery. In the Neuronal and Tissue Regeneration Lab, we are also working to enhance the neuroplasticity after the SCIs by remote activation of the supraspinal projecting neurons to promote adaptive reconnections and circuit rewiring to recover voluntary motion. Besides previous strategies, we bet on the molecularly dictated neuromodulation for efficient neuronal activation that can be applied on-demand and reduce off-target effects. We recently found that cortex activation by optogenetics dependent-stimulation, significant recovery locomotion in rats with a dorsal spinal cord section in a thoracic segment ten days after cortical stimulation, involving an intricate mechanism through a cortical rerouting pathway, paving the way for improved approaches on the neuronal regeneration field.

12:30 – 13:00 – Luke Noon
Advancing PNS-Connectomics: The CIPF-ISABIAL 3D-EM Unit and Future Directions in Liver Neurobiology

Abstract: In this talk, I will introduce the new CIPF-ISABIAL 3D-electron microscopy (EM) unit and our collaborative efforts to pioneer peripheral nervous system (PNS)-connectomics. Applied to the liver, our methods have mapped how neuroimmune and neuroepithelial interactions are rewired by injury, offering new anatomical insights into the complexity and plasticity of sympathetic nerve endings. Looking ahead, I will discuss the potential for comparative connectomics to reveal how chronic (metabolic) disease and acute (spinal cord) injury reshape peripheral nerves, and the consequences for liver function and regeneration.

Speaker: Dr. Mark Alkema
University of Massachusetts

The extended phenotype: Diet, Microbiome and Behavior

Abstract: