CSHL 2026 Conference on Glia in Health & Disease

About This Grant

The proposed meeting on Glia in Health & Disease will be held August 25 – 29, 2026 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. This conference will provide an active forum for exchange of results in the rapidly advancing field of glial biology, with a particular focus on neuronglia interactions and glial function in disease. Glial cells comprise a broad group of nonneuronal cells that are essential for nervous system development, circuit maintenance and normal neuronal function. Glia perform many important roles, such as regulating the development of neural circuits (astrocytes, OPCs and microglia), modulating neurotransmitter signaling between neurons (astrocytes), providing metabolic support to many nervous system cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), supporting the fast and efficient propagation of action potentials (oligodendrocytes), modulating vascular development and blood flow (pericytes, astrocytes), and regulating the propagation of pathology and inflammatory cascades in disease (microglia, astrocytes, OPCs, pericytes, etc.). With the advancement of genetic tools to target specific glia and glia subtypes, we are now gaining a deeper mechanistic understanding of how glial cells function in health and disease. In addition to understanding the integral role of multiple glia in the normal development, plasticity, and function of the nervous system(s), it is now appreciated 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 dying 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. Genetic manipulation studies now reveal how these mutations alter glial cell function and contribute actively to the earliest initiation and propagation of these diseases. Adding to this complexity in chronic neurodegenerative disease, glia can also be beneficial following acute infection and trauma where they promote regeneration and tissue repair by providing heightened metabolic support, engulfing debris, modulating immune responses, and forming protective glial borders/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 ten extremely successful meetings as a guide, we will: 1) assemble a meeting of scientists engaged in studies of glial biology; 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.