Program

DAY THREE
FRIDAY, 4 September 2026

ROOM 1

08.30 – 10.30
Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system in cardiovascular disease
Chairs: Molly O’Reilly (Academic Medical Centre, Netherlands); Laura Fedele (King’s College London, UK)

Sympathetic neurons are involved in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy
Induja Perumal

Vanaja Aging impairs the neurovascular interface in the heart
Julian Wagner

Superior Cervical Ganglion: a driver of carotid bodies hyperexcitation in hypertension
Igor Felippe

Sympatho-vagal cross talk in health and disease
Marmar Vaseghi

ROOM 2

08.30 – 10.30
Interdisciplinary studies of nervous systems associated with the gastrointestinal tract and beyond
Chairs: Hiromi Tamada (University of Fukui, Japan); Shinji Tanaka (The University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan)

Definition of molecular enteric neuron classes and their intrinsic connectivity patterns within the gut wall
Ulrika Marklund

Advances in our understanding of sensory nerves in the gut-brain axis
Nick Spencer

Volume-EM analysis for exploring new comprehension in gut innervation regulatory system
Hiromi Tamada

GLP-1 released from the gut protects the kidney through the nervous system
Shinji Tanaka

ROOM 3

08.30 – 10.30
Neuropeptides as Core Integrators of Cardiac Autonomic Function
Chairs: Julia Shanks (University of Auckland, New Zealand); Neil Herring (University of Oxford, UK)

The Cardio-Protective Mechanism of CGRP
Susan Brain

Rapid Measure and Closed-Loop Control of Neurotransmitters in the Porcine Heart
Corey Smith

Glucagon-like peptide 1 as a peptide modulator of cardiac electrophysiology
Frederike Lubberding

NPY Signalling in Human Cardiomyocytes and the Parallels in Patients Experiencing Myocardial Infarction
Neil Herring

ROOM 4

08.30 – 10.30
Multiple system atrophy: from bench to bedside
Chair: Alessandra Fanciulli (University of Innsbruck, Austria)

MSA: mechanisms of disease
Antonio Heras-Garvin

Advances in AI-supported MSA diagnostics and biomarker research
Christopher Gibbons

Cure MSA
Margherita Fabbri

Care for people living with MSA
Alessandra Fanciulli

10.30 – 11.30 — Poster session 3 (and refreshment)

ROOM 1

11.30 – 12.30
Keynote lecture Cancer neuroscience: the autonomic nervous system regulates cancer progression and treatment response
Erica K. Sloan, Monash University, Australia

12.30 – 13.30 — Lunch

ROOM 1

13.30 – 15.30
Rethinking the definition of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Chair: Thiago Moreira (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil)

The emergence of the terms sympathetic and parasympathetic. Scientific and clinical consequences
Alexandru Barboi

The sympathetic and other related systems of nerves
Jean Francois Brunet

Novel insights into neuro-humoral aspects involved in urinary bladder control
Monica A Sato

The autonomic nervous system: just a bunch of central pattern generators?
Vaughan Macefield

ROOM 2

13.30 – 15.30
Transcriptomic Signatures of Autonomic Ganglia in Health and Disease
Chairs: Olujimi Ajijola (University of California, USA); Neil Herring (University of Oxford, UK)

Developmental transcriptomic programs shaping sympathetic neuron identity and plasticity
Rejji Kuruvilla

Molecular heterogeneity and sensory coding in visceral afferent and parasympathetic pathways
Yuki Oka

Intrinsic Cardiac Ganglia & transcriptomic signatures in human cardiovascular disease
Peter Hanna

Spatial transcriptomic mapping of autonomic circuits in cardiovascular pathology
Karin A. Ziegle

ROOM 3

13.30 – 15.30
Altered regulation of sympathetic nerve activity in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Chair: Rohit Ramchandra (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity during rest and dynamic exercise in HFpEF
Mark B. Badrov

Sex differences in sympathetic neural control in HFpEF
Qi Fu

Control of cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in ovine hypertensive HFpEF
Joshua Chang

ROOM 4

13.30 – 15.30
Interplay of interoception and the autonomic nervous system in health and disease
Chairs: Diogo Reis Carneiro (University of Coimbra, Portugal); Roland Thijs (Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), The Netherlands & Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands)

The new science of interoception and its relationship with the autonomic nervous system
Lucia Ricciardi

Measuring brain-heart and other organs interactions
Diego Candia-Riveira

Clinical implications of interoceptive autonomic changes
Diogo Carneiro

15.30 – 16.30 — Poster session 4 (and refreshment)

16.30 – 17.30 — ISAN AGM

19.30 – 23.00 — Conference dinner