Glial Cells in Health and Disease, Prague 2011

Staff from the OU attended the 2011 European Glial Cells in Health and Disease meeting in Prague in September. Dr Jane Loughlin organised and co-chaired a symposium entitled “3D neural cell culture – using tissue-like microenvironments to model normal and pathological neural/glial cell behaviours” which attracted widespread interest from delegates and involved presentations from researchers in Europe and the USA. James Phillips was invited to present a talk “Monitoring glial cell behaviour and neuron-glial interactions in 3D hydrogel and aggregate culture systems” which showcased some of the innovative culture models that have been developed at the OU for neuroscience research. PhD student Melanie Georgiou presented a poster in the Regeneration and Repair session entitled “Aligned Schwann cells within 3D tissue-like gels provide guidance to regenerating neurites” as part of her project using tissue engineering technology to repair the nervous system.