SE02 - Structural Neurobiology

The gulf between structural biology and more ‘macroscopic’ cell and tissue biology has narrowed in recent years due to the development of new technology and improved methods. Important questions can now be addressed using an integrative approach, where molecular level techniques, such as structural biology and many other biophysical techniques, are combined with studies at the “super-resolution”, cellular and tissue levels. New structural knowledge of e.g. axon guidance cue systems, adhesion molecules, neurotransmitter receptors and transporters, voltage-gated ion channels, and primary ion and lipid transporters in the nervous system have led to a revolution in understanding these processes. Despite the enormous potential for synergy and collaboration between structural biologists and ‘functional’ neurobiologists, there are still relatively few meetings that bring these communities together effectively.

Structural biologists are typically underrepresented at the FENS Forums, hampering progress in promoting collaboration between these groups in Europe. We propose to address this issue by inviting the structural neurobiology community to attend the FENS Forum in Glasgow, and offering the opportunity to present talks at this satellite meeting.

We place particular focus on processes that happen at or close to the cell membrane, where information is transduced by highly conserved mechanisms such as receptor-ligand interactions and channel properties, and on processes that lead to signal transduction and cellular information processing. The molecular players involved in these processes control neurobiological processes across many themes discussed at the FENS Forum and will complement the planned sessions perfectly. By inviting stellar European speakers and discussion leaders in the field we provide a broad platform for European structural neuroscience. Bringing this normally poorly represented field to the FENS Forum, we are also creating a “hot spot” for discussion, forging new collaborations, comparing state-of-the art methods and combining views from different scientific perspectives. It will thus promote a collaborative future in molecular neurobiology.