Meeting Agenda

Neuroimmunology, Brain Development, and Mental Disorders

October 02, 2008 – October 03, 2008
Washington, DC

Thursday, October 2, 2008
TimeEvent
8:30 amRegistration; coffee and light refreshments
9:00 amWelcome and Opening Remarks
9:15 amIntroductions
9:30 amSession 1: Clinical/Epidemiological Evidence of a Role of Immune Activation/Dysfunction in Mental Disorders
Chair: John Gilmore, M.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
9:40 amEpidemiologic studies of in utero infection, inflammation, and schizophrenia
Alan Brown, M.D., M.P.H., Columbia University
10:05 amEvidence for immune involvement in autism
Andrew Zimmerman, M.D., Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University
10:30 amBreak
10:45 amThe fetal inflammatory response and brain damage in the preterm newborn
Olaf Dammann, M.D., Tufts University
11:10 amThe role of perinatal HIV infection in influencing mental health and behavioral outcomes in adolescents
Claude Mellins, Ph.D., HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University
11:35 amDiscussion
12:00 pmLunch break
1:30 pmSession 2: Disease Models for Understanding the Role of Immune and/or Autoimmune Responses in Altering Neurodevelopmental Trajectories
Chair: Steven Douglas, M.D., Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
1:30 pmImmunity: Regulation-dysregulation-deficiency (activation, suppression and autoimmunity)
Steven Douglas, M.D., Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
1:40 pmStudying prenatal immune activation effects on abnormal brain and behavioral development in experimental mouse models
Urs Meyer, Ph.D., Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Zurich
2:05 pmImmune response in autism
Judy van de Water, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
2:30 pmIs there a role for neuroglia and cytokines in pathogenesis of ASD?
Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, M.D., Johns Hopkins University
2:55 pmBreak
3:15 pmInfection during pregnancy and mediating pathways impacting infant brain development in primate models
Christopher Coe, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
3:40 pmNeuroimmune dysregulation with HIV infection
Avindra Nath, M.D., Johns Hopkins University
4:05 pmPositron emission tomographic imaging of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor as a marker of cellular inflammation
Robert Innis, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute of Mental Health
4:30 pmDiscussion
5:00 pmAdjourn

Friday, October 3, 2008
TimeEvent
8:30 amWelcome and Opening Remarks
8:40 amSession 3: Mechanisms of Neuroimmune Influences on Development
Chair: Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
8:50 amBrain-gene response to prenatal viral infection in mouse offspring
S. Hossein Fatemi, M.D., Ph.D., University of Minnesota
9:15 amAltered neurogenesis in response to injury/disease
Theo Palmer, Ph.D., Stanford University
9:40 amPrenatal stress sex-specific programming of offspring emotionality and stress responsivity
Tracy Bale, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
10:05 amBreak
10:15 amMHC class I in normal brain development and plasticity: potential for molecular crosstalk between immune signaling and neuronal structure and function
Lisa Boulanger, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
10:40 amCytokines, MHCI, and cortical synaptogenesis: Implications for schizophrenia and autism
Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
11:05 amA role for glia and the complement cascade in developmental synapse elimination and plasticity
Beth Stevens, Ph.D., Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard University
11:30 amDiscussion
12:00 pmLunch
1:15 pmSession 4: Roundtable discussion on clinical implications: assessment and immune-based intervention
Facilitator: Susan Swedo, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health
2:00 amSession 5: Discussion: Gaps and Next Steps
Facilitator: John Gilmore, M.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
3:00 pmAdjourn

Meeting Info