The function of the human brain is still a mystery. Until recently, only post-mortem tissue was available for a structural examination of the brain. Consequently, the examination results could only reflect the state at the end of life. However, in order to better understand the development and function of the brain, dynamic and functional investigations of different human brain cells are necessary.
This is where brain organoids, artificially grown in vitro miniature brains, provide now the opportunity for more flexible research scenarios. At the same time, the use of brain organoids in research and therapy raises new ethical and legal questions. Against that backdrop, the international symposium aims at clarifying the moral implications that the application of brain organoids in research and therapy entails. The ethical reflections will be mirrored by corresponding legal analyses in order to
identify the need for adjustments of the applicable regulatory framework.
The symposium will be held in a virtual format only. Participants and speakers will join via Zoom.
Please register to receive the login information for the Zoom meeting.
The symposium takes place as a two-day event from 2.00 pm to 7.30 pm (UTC+1/Central European Time) on 25 February and 26 February 2021.
The final programme can be downloaded here.
The registration for and participation in the symposium is completely free of charge.
Please register to receive the login information required for joining the online event.
The symposium is hosted under the auspices of the Bavarian research network 'Interaction of Human Brain Cells' (ForInter). The network aims to investigate the interaction of various cell types of the human brain in multi-dimensional cell culture systems. ForInter brings scientists together interdisciplinarily, for example from the fields of stem cell biology, biochemistry and molecular neurology (Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg), neuropathology (University of Regensburg), biomedicine (Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich), bioinformatics (Munich University of Technology) and ethics and law (University of Passau).
A special thanks goes to the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung, which would have hosted our event in its premises if it could have taken place in a face-to-face format as originally planned.
The symposium is sponsored by the
Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.
25-26 February 2021
The symposium will be held as a Zoom meeting.
