Program

DAY TWO
THURSDAY, 3 September 2026

ROOM B

08:30 – 10:30 — Symposium 5: Cardiovascular Autonomic Disorders in Clinical Practice

Chairs: Celine Gallagher (University of Adelaide, Australia) – Helen Eftekhari (University of Warwick, UK)

08:30 – 08:50 Mechanistic Insights into POTS and IST: Autonomic Dysfunction, Inflammation and Hemodynamic Regulation
Artur Fedorowski (Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden)

08:50 – 09:10 Long-COVID POTS have different autonomic function and quality-of-life than non-COVID-related POTS
Rashnim Hira (University of Calgary, Canada)

09:10 – 09:30 Cardiovascular Autonomic Abnormalities in Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19: Mechanistic Overlap with POTS and Implications for Management
Marie-Claire Seeley (University of Adelaide & Australian POTS Foundation, Australia)

09:30 – 09:50 Does neurogenic orthostatic hypotension matter?
Fabian Leys (Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria)

09:50 – 10:10 Fixing Perturbed Physiology: Dietary Salt and Compression to Treat Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)?
Satish Raj (University of Calgary, Canada)

10:10 – 10:30 Patient’s perspective: the POTS face we don’t see, patient insights on living with POTS
Jennifer Camaradou (Patient, UK)

ROOM G

08:30 – 10:30 — Symposium 6: The Failing Dialogue: Molecular and Cellular Drivers of Cardiac Autonomic Dysfunction

Chairs: Beth Habecker (OHSU School of Medicine, Portland, USA) – Hanjun Wang (University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska, USA)

08:30 – 08:50 Precise nanomedicine targeting cardiac sympathetic afferents to treat chronic heart failure
Hanjun Wang (University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA)

08:50 – 09:10 Non-invasively targeting cardiac sympathetic neurons with millimeter precision in patients with recurrent ventricular arrhythmias. A first in human study
Ben Bussmann (University of Oxford, UK)

09:10 – 09:30 The role of glial cells in the cardiac autonomic nervous system: The missing link for nervous hearts?
Katarina Scherschel (Heinrich-Heine University, Germany)

09:30 – 09:50 Head to heart: non-invasive assessment of sympathetic tone using sympathetic vasomotion
Peter Pellegrino (University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA)

Selected Abstracts

09:50 – 10:05 Decoding baroreflex dysfunction after spinal cord injury: implications for autonomic dysreflexia
Shaoping Hou (University of Missouri, USA)

10:05 – 10:20 Strain dependent and chamber specific variations in cardiac cholinesterase activity in female rats: implications for normotensive controls and hypertensive models
Kissylla Brisson da Silva (Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil)

10:20 – 10:30 Discussion

ROOM A

08:30 – 10:30 — Symposium 7: Neuroimmune Interaction: How Much More Do We Have to Discover?

Chair: Alessandra Occhinegro (The Florey Institute, Australia)

08:30 – 08:50 Peripheral mechanism of sympathetic anti-inflammatory action
Alessandra Occhinegro (The Florey Institute, Australia)

08:50 – 09:10 Vagal regulation of adrenergic tone impacts effective antiviral immunity in the central nervous system
Kaitlin Murray (University of California, USA)

09:10 – 09:30 TNF-α drives carotid body and autonomic dysfunction in dysmetabolic states: reversal through anti-inflammatory modulation
Silvia Conde (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal; Universidad de Valladolid, Spain)

09:30 – 09:50 Human Cadaveric Tissues: A Critical Bridge for Translational Neuro-Immune Research
Cindy Cleypool (University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Selected Abstracts

09:50 – 10:05 Brain regions regulating systemic inflammation
Michael McKinley (University of Melbourne, Australia)

10:05 – 10:20 Contribution of β2-adrenergic and neuropeptide y-type 1 receptors to the anti-inflammatory effects mediated by the inflammatory reflex
Zuzana Tonelli Gombalova (University of Bologna, Italy)

10:20 – 10:30 Discussion

ROOM C

08:30 – 10:30 — Symposium 8: Autonomic Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Disorders: From Mechanisms to Therapies
in collaboration with ABBVIE
Chairs: Giovanna Calandra Buonaura (University of Bologna, Italy) – Walter Struhal (University Hospital Tulln, Austria)

08:30 – 08:50 Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration
Paolo Calabresi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy)

08:50 – 09:10 Autonomic Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Valeria Iodice (University College London Hospital, UK)

09:10 – 09:30 Symptomatic and Disease-Modifying Treatments in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Alessandra Fanciulli (Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria)

Selected Abstracts

09:30 – 09:45 Pure Autonomic Failure: A Peripheral Neurodegenerative Disease With High Risk of Phenoconversion to Central Synucleinopathy
Christopher Gibbons (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, USA)

09:45 – 10:00 Combined Cardiovascular Autonomic Failure and Cognitive Impairment as Independent and Additive Predictors of Progression and Phenoconversion in Isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
Luca Baldelli (University of Bologna, Italy)

10:00 – 10:15 Autonomic failure in patients with IgLON5 disease: broadening the spectrum
Judith Navarro-Otano (Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain)

10:15 – 10:30 Discussion

ROOM C

10:30 – 11:00 — Sponsor Speech
The Value of Measuring Continuous Non-Invasive Blood Pressure and Hemodynamics in Autonomic Testing
By the Company Finapres — Frauke Luft (Finapres)

POSTER AREA

10:30 – 11:30 — Poster Session 1 (and refreshment)

ROOM B

11:30 – 12:15 — Keynote Lecture
Pietro Cortelli (University of Bologna, Italy)
Sleep and the Autonomic Nervous System: Clinical Insights and Pathophysiology

12:15 – 12:45 Presentation of the bids to host ISAN 2028

12:45 – 13:45 Lunch

13:45 – 15:15 — Hot Topic Session

Chair: Davide Martelli (University of Bologna, Italy) – Wouter de Jonge (University of Amsterdam, Nederlands; University Clinic Bonn, Germany)

13:45 – 14:00 Premotor neurons of the splanchnic anti-inflammatory pathway
Robin McAllen (ISAN, Florey Institute, Australia)

14:00 – 14:15 The association between obesity and the functions of the autonomic nervous system in young adults
Bagchi Sovan (Gulf Medical University, United Arab Emirates)

14:15 – 14:30 Maternal Accuracy in Perceiving Fetal Movements: Influence of Mental Health and Interoceptive Abilities — A Pilot Study
Caroline Sévoz-Couche (Bicetre Hospital, France)

14:15 – 14:30 Intestinal vagal serotonin signaling links gut dysbiosis to hypertension
Jasenka Zubcevic (University of South Florida, USA)

14:30 – 14:45 Beyond the Baroreflex: A Prefrontal-Thalamic-Brainstem Network Preceding Spontaneous Sympathetic Burst Generation
Braun Joe (Swinburne University, Australia)

14:45 – 15:00 Splanchnic denervation enhances bacterial clearance during Streptococcus pneumoniae infection
Elisa De Angelis (University of Bologna, Italy)

15:00 – 15:15 Discussion

POSTER AREA

15:15 – 16:00 — Poster Session 2 (and refreshment)

ROOM A

16:00 – 18:00 — Symposium 9: Electroceuticals for Controlling Cardiorespiratory Diseases

Chair: Julian Paton (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

16:00 – 16:20 Cardioprotection through a brain-gut-heart axis: GLP-1R/KATP signalling in cardiac pericytes prevents coronary no-reflow
Swetlana Mastitskaya (University of Bristol, UK)

16:20 – 16:40 Stellate ganglion modulation to control autonomic transmitter release
Tina Vrabec (MetroHealth Medical Center, USA)

16:40 – 17:00 Modulation of renal interoception to treat cardiometabolic diseases: What is the kidney whispering to, or shouting at, the brain?
John Osborn (University of Minnesota, USA)

17:00 – 17:20 Bionic pacemaking
Julian F.R. Paton (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

17:20 – 17:40 Spatially Selective Vagus Nerve Stimulation Reveals Functional Organisation of Human Cardiac Vagal Fibres
Nicole Thompson (University College London, UK)

Selected Abstracts

17:40 – 17:55 Effects of 4-Week Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Orthostatic Tachycardia, Autonomic Symptom Burden, and Inflammation in Long-COVID POTS
Tatiana Solis-Montenegro (University Medical Center, USA)

17:55 – 18:00 Discussion

ROOM G

16:00 – 18:00 — Symposium 10: Precisely What Is Torpor? Can We Synthesise It?

Chairs: Ludovico Taddei (University of Bristol, UK) – Carla Frare (University of Bristol, UK)

16:00 – 16:20 Autonomic changes during natural torpor in the mouse
Steven Swoap (Williams College, USA)

16:20 – 16:40 Engineering hibernation: Exploring synthetic torpor induction methods and future perspectives
Timna Hitrec (University of Bologna, Italy)

16:40 – 17:00 Brain Circuits and Central Mechanisms Enabling Survival under Extreme Conditions
Natalia Machado (Harvard Medical School, USA)

17:00 – 17:20 Synthetic torpor: clone or counterfeit
William Wheatley (University of Bristol, UK)

Selected Abstracts

17:20 – 17:35 Synthetic torpor in the rat protects the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury
Mike Ambler (University of Bristol, UK)

17:35 – 17:50 Whole-brain mapping of neuronal populations engaged during LPS-induced hypothermia
Ludovico Taddei (University of Bristol, UK)

17:50 – 18:00 Discussion

ROOM B

16:00 – 18:00 — Symposium 11: Cardiac Innervation Patterns Governing Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease

Chairs: Olujimi Ajijola (University of California, USA) – Zixi Jack Cheng (University of Central Florida, USA)

16:00 – 16:20 Innervation of the human heart and changes associated with cardiomyopathy
Peter Hanna (University of California, USA)

16:20 – 16:40 Cardiac sympathetic neurons: victims and culprits in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (ACM)
Tania Zaglia (University of Padova, Italy)

16:40 – 17:00 Cardiac vagal innervation of myocardial vasculature in the ovine heart
Julia Shanks (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

17:00 – 17:20 Heterogeneous cardiac sympathetic innervation gradients promote arrhythmogenesis in murine dilated cardiomyopathy
Olujimi Ajijola (University of California, USA)

Selected Abstracts

17:20 – 17:35 Spinal Afferent Innervation from the Left Dorsal Root Ganglia in Flat-Mounts of Whole Ventricles of Rats: Anterograde Tracing
Cheng Zixi (University of Central Florida, USA)

17:35 – 17:50 Organ-selective sympathetic preganglionic neurons across metabolic organs reveal segregated circuits and distinct molecular signatures
Sang-Hyeon Ju (KAIST, AI-CRED, Republic of Korea)

17:50 – 18:00 Discussion

ROOM C

16:00 – 18:00 — Symposium 12: Autonomic Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis: From Mechanisms to Clinical Implications

Chairs: Claire Hentzen (Sorbonne Université, France) – Mario Habek (University Hospital Center Zagreb, Croatia)

16:00 – 16:20 COMPASS-31 and Tilt-Test HRV Parameters as Biomarkers of Disease Activity in Pediatric IBD
Mario Habek (University Hospital Center Zagreb, Croatia)

16:20 – 16:40 Central autonomic network disturbance in multiple sclerosis: implications for the clinic and research
Giorgio Guido (IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy)

16:40 – 17:00 Urogenital and gastroenterological dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: implications for the clinic and research
Claire Hentzen (Sorbonne University, France)

Selected Abstracts

17:00 – 17:15 Characterizing sweating problems in multiple sclerosis: insights from QSART, SUDOSCAN, and COMPASS-31
Magdalena Krbot Skorić (University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia)

17:15 – 17:30 Autonomic–Immune Interactions and MRI Activity in Multiple Sclerosis
Katarina Tešija (University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia)

17:30 – 17:45 Fingolimod-induced cardiac autonomic changes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis seem reversible after Fingolimod-discontinuation
Ruihao Wang (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany)

17:45 – 18:00 Discussion