SPRING SCHOOL PROGRAMME
Check the programme regularly for updates
PLEASE NOTE
Portugal is on Western European Time (WET - Same as London) which is one hour behind CET
Tuesday 14 April
15:00-16:00
Registration
16:00-18:30
Workshops (30 students per workshop)
16:00-18:30
Workshop 1: Public Engagement
Ana Carvalho; GeneT
16:00-18:30
Workshop 4: Intellectual Property: maximizing the protection of your R&D results
Jorge Pimenta & José Ricardo Aguilar, iPN
16:00-18:30 FULLY BOOKED
Workshop 2: How to write a scientific manuscript
Thomas Gallagher, Human Gene Therapy
16:00-18:30 FULLY BOOKED
Workshop 5: How to deliver a convincing speech
Mafalda Guimarães, Distinguished Toastmaster
16:00-18:30 FULLY BOOKED
Workshop 3: Biotech Entrepreneur Saga
Sheila Mikhail, m34thx
19:00-22:00
Break the Ice Dinner @ Vila Galé Hotel
Wednesday 15 April
08:30-08:45
Welcome Address
Alberto Auricchio (President, ESGCT)
Luis Pereira de Almeida (President, Spring School)
Hildegard Büning (ESGCT Education & Training)
08:45-09:45
Keynote
INV01: Jude Samulski m34thx
Climate Change, Pandemic Uncertainty, and the Emergence of Gene Therapy: Prioritizing Molecular Medicine in 2026
09:45-10:15
Coffee Break
10:15-12:00
Session 1: Gene therapy tools - what you should know about viral and non-viral vectors, part I
INV02: Axel Schambach, Hannover Medical School
Insights and challenges on how to design retroviral and lentiviral vectors
INV03: Els Verhoeyen, EVIR, INSERM U758, Lyon; C3M, INSERM U1065, Nice
How to improve nature – the next generation of lentiviral vectors
INV04: Hildegard Büning, Hannover Medical School
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector system – the unusual career of non-autonomous parvovirus
12:00-13:45
Lunch Break (with Meet the Expert tables)
13:45-19:00
Guided Tour & treasure hunt
(with coffee break included)
Including Joanina Library, Royal Palace, Science Museum (Physics office), Machado de Castro Museum, Old Church, Almedina Arch, Coimbra Downtown, Chiado Building, Mondego River and Ancient Boat, Finish at Dinner Venue (Saint Marcus Palace)
19:00
Dinner and social activity@Quinta das Lágrimas
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MRioufobm1qBetNWA
Thursday 16 April
07:30-08:30
ESGCT Spring School Morning Run - Between Mondego Bridges
09:00-09:45
Keynote
INV05: Alberto Auricchio, TIGEM, Naples
AAV gene therapy from Bench to Bedside
09:45-11:45
Session 2: Gene therapy on the move
INV06: João Nuno Moreira, CNC-UC, CiBB, University of Coimbra
Non viral vectors
INV07: Virginia Haurigot
INV08: Ana Sofia Coroadinha, Ibet Lisbon
AAV Vector Design Approaches: Enhancing Efficiency and Overcoming Genome Size Limitations
INV09: Luis Pereira de Almeida, GeneT
GeneT: the Gene Therapy Center of Excellence (from the idea to the tools applied)
11:45-12:15
Coffee Break
12:15-13:45
Session 4: Beyond conventional CRISPR-Cas strategies (15min + 10 QA/each)
INV10: Toni Cathomen, University of Freiburg
Safety first – how to detect and minimize off-target effects
INV11: Angelo Lombardo, SR-Tiget, Milan
Programming gene silencing by epigenome editing.
INV12: Paula Rio, CIEMAT / CIBERER, Madrid
Gene Therapy for Fanconi
13:45-15:15
Lunch Break
15:15-16:45
Session 5: Stem cells and disease models (15min + 10 QA/each)
INV13: Rui Nobre, GeneT Coimbra
Pre-clinical in Machado-Joseph Disease
INV14: Liliana Bernardino, University of Beira Interior, Portuguese Society for Stem Cells and Cellular Therapy
Modulation of Endogenous Neural Stem Cell Activity in Models of Neurodegenerative Diseases
INV15: Pedro Perdigão, GeneT Coimbra
Engineering Isogenic iPSC Disease Models with Precision Genome Editing
16:45-17:15
Coffee Break
17:15-19.15
Session 6: Challenges in gene and cell therapy
INV16: Anne Galy, ART-TG - Inserm US35
Immune system: friend or foe in gene therapy
INV17: Gloria Gonzalez-Aseguinolaza, CIMA, University of Navarra, Pamplona
Potential mechanism involved in AAV toxicity
INV18: Shelia Michail, m34thx
INV19: Nathalie Cartier-Lacave,
19:30
Social event and dinner Restaurante Tertúlia D'Eventos
Friday 17April
08.30-10.00
Session 7: Novel approaches in fighting cancer
INV19: Bernhard Gentner, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne
Genetic approaches to reprogram the immunosuppressive myeloid tumour microenvironment
INV20: Vincenzo Cerullo, University of Helsinki
INV21: Joao Gonçalves, iMed ULisbon
New strategies for in vivo and ex-vivo development of CAR-T cells
10.00-10.30
Coffee Break
10:30-12:30
Session 8: Pre-clinical & clinical gene therapy
INV23: Francisco Martin, Genyo, Granada
From Bench to Bedside: How Expression Control Can Transform the Future of CAR‑T Therapy
INV24: Juan Bueren, CIEMAT, Madrid
TBC
INV25: Fatima Bosch, UABarcelona
INV26: Špela Miroševič, CTNNB1 Foundation
12:30-12:35
Closing
Alberto Auricchio, Hildegard Büning & Luis Pereira de Almeida