The topic of the day for the 12th Life Science Symposium taking place on 21 May 2026 at Naturalis, Leiden:
Life in 3D: Detection and Diagnosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases 🧠🧬
Morning sessions:
- Dr. Joost Smolders: Neuroimmunological research into the connection between the adaptive immune system and multiple sclerose
- Prof. Dr. Danielle Posthuma: Genome Wide Association Studies to identify ‘high risk’ genes for Alzheimer’s disease
- Prof. Dr. Marcel Verbeek: Detection of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid in Parkinson’s and the influence of the microbiome on the effectiveness of Levodopa
- Dr. Emma Coomans: Clinical application of Tau-PET scans for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Afternoon sessions:
- Prof. Dr. Sjors Scheres: Determination of 3D protein structures involved in neurodegeneration using Cryo-EM
- Nienke Mekkes, MSc: Machine learning to establish correlations between clinical and genetic data for improved diagnostics and predict clinical disease progression
- Dr. Marina Trombetta Lima: Development and application of brain organoids for studying aging and disease mechanisms
We’ll wrap up the day with a closing ceremony and a reception with drinks, the perfect chance to network with peers and experts!
More information about the Life Science Symposium 2026:
- Check out our speakers page for their profiles!
- Read more about the talks in the abstract written by the speaker.
- Get a ticket to visit this event!
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