OVERVIEW

Neural Assembloids From Stem Cells to Circuits is organized by Neuroscience School of Advanced Studies (NSAS) and will be held from Sep 19 - 26, 2026 in Venice, Veneto, Italy.

Description:
Human neural development and circuit assembly rely on precisely timed interactions between diverse cell types and brain regions –processes that have long been inaccessible to longitudinal and functional study. The advent of human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells and 3D culture systems has transformed this landscape, enabling the generation of regionalized neural organoids and their integration into assembloids that recapitulate key steps of human neurodevelopment. These fused systems allow the controlled study of migration, axon guidance, and long-range circuit formation, while also providing unprecedented opportunities to model neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders in a human context.

This Advanced Course will bring together leaders pioneering the generation of neural assembloids and their applications. Participants will explore cutting-edge methods for generating regionalized organoids, assembling multi-tissue or multi-lineage systems, and interrogating them using imaging, electrophysiology, single-cell and spatial omics, viral tracing, and molecular tools. Through examples spanning cortico-striatal, cortico-motor, thalamo-cortical, sensory-motor, and neuroglial assembloids, the Course will highlight how these models reconstruct complex interactions between neurons, glia, and non-neural tissues, revealing principles of human development.

By providing a comprehensive and forward-looking overview of neural assembloid science from conceptual foundations to practical execution, this Advanced Course aims to equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to build, analyze, and creatively apply assembloid systems to the next generation of questions in human neurodevelopment.