Subcortical sensory circuits: visual, auditory, somatosensory, and beyond

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session/Speaker
12:00 – 13:00	Registration and light refreshments
13:00 – 13:15	Opening remarks
13:15 – 14:15	Keynote lecture: Computation in multi-regional neural circuits with thalamus in the middle Karel Svoboda – Allen Institute, USA Not available on demand
14:15 – 15:00	Better research panel discussion: Improving job prospects for postdocs and tackling status inequality in hiring Chair: Santiago Rompani – EMBL Rome, Italy Panellists: Victoria Abraira – Rutgers University, USA Laura Busse – LMU Munich, Germany Tomomi Shimogori – RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan Karel Svoboda – Allen Institute, USA Not available on demand
15:00 – 15:30	Coffee Break and Meet the speaker
	Session 1: Subcortical influence on decision making Session Chair: Hiroki Asari
15:30 – 16:00	Thalamocortical control of cell-type specificity drives a circuit for processing whisker-related information in mouse barrel cortex Tomomi Shimogori – RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan
16:00 – 16:15	What is a “place” cell? Mayank Mehta – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
16:15- 16:45	Neural mechanisms of inference Christine Constantinople – NYU, USA Not available on demand
16:45 – 17:00	Subcortical threats processing and non-Hebbian consolidation of transient experiences Islam Faress  – DANDRITE, Aarhus University, Denmark
17:00 – 17:15	The neural basis of defensive behaviour evolution in Peromyscus mice Katja Reinhard – SISSA, Italy Not available on demand
17:15 – 17:30	Complex synaptic mechanisms between superior colliculus and thalamus during multisensory processes Anna Virág Bakacsi – Semmelweis University, Hungary Not available on demand
17:30 – 18:00	Speed Networking
18:00 – 19:30	Dinner
19:30 – 21:00	Welcome reception /After dinner drinks

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session/Speaker
	Session 2: Subcortical circuits for auditory perception Session Chair: Santiago Rompani
09:00 – 09:30	Attentional modulation of subcortical auditory centres and sensory receptors in complex listening tasks David McAlpine – Macquarie University, Australia
09:30- 09:45	Effective population coding of sound location by noisy neurons from the dorsal cortex of inferior colliculus in awake, passively listening mice Juan Carlos Boffi – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Not available on demand
09:45- 10:15	Subcortical circuits for auditory prediction and learning Maria Geffen – University of Pennsylvania, USA
10:15 – 10:45	Coffee Break and Meet the speakers
10:45 – 11:00	Network state changes in auditory thalamus represent learned outcomes Jan Gründemann – Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE ), Germany
11:00 – 11:30	Subcortical contributions to auditory processing and behaviour Andrew King – University of Oxford, UK
11:30 – 12:00	Flash talks (odd numbers) #39 Borbély, Sándor #41 Guarascio, Domenico #43 Kamm, Gretel #47 Magyar, Aletta #49 Micheli, Pietro #51 Myers, Thomas #53 Nuttin, Bram #55 Qu, Mengdi #57 Schmidt, Florian #61 Tortella, Lorenza #63 Trpevski, Daniel #65 Sumser, Anton #67 Whitley, James Not available on demand
12:00- 13:00	Lunch and Meet the speakers
	Session 3: Visual processing by the thalamus Session Chair: Martha Bickford
13:00 – 13:30	Functional organization of feeding-related signals in the lateral parabrachial nucleus Mark Andermann – Harvard Medical School, USA
13:30 – 13:45	Binocular integration of RGC boutons in the LGN can encode binocular summation Tjasa Lapanja – EMBL Rome, Italy
13:45 – 14:15	Retinal ganglion cell axon binocularity in the mouse Santiago Rompani – EMBL Rome, Italy Not available on demand
14:15 – 14:45	Coffee Break and Meet the speakers
14:45 – 15:15	Selective convergence of distinct excitatory inputs in the visual thalamus reinforces motion processing Liang Liang – Yale University, USA Not available on demand
15:15 – 15:30	Flexible regulation of behavioural strategy during approach/avoidance conflicts by the lateral geniculate nucleus Alice Monica Koltchev – Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, UK
15:30 – 16:00	Spiking activity in the visual thalamus is coupled to pupil dynamics across temporal scales Laura Busse – Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany
16:00 – 16:15	Individual thalamic inhibitory interneurons are functionally specialized towards distinct visual features Fiona Muellner – Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Switzerland Not available on demand
16:15 – 16:30	An interpretable spline-GLM to assess feedforward and feedback processing in mouse dLGN Ann Hossam Mohamed Kotkat – Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany
16:30 – 18:30	Poster Session (odd numbers) with beer and snacks View poster listing here
18:30	Free evening



Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session/Speaker
	Session 4: Colliculus circuits: vision and multisensory integration Session Chair: Carl Petersen
09:00 – 09:30	Corollary discharge signals shape visuomotor transformation in the superficial superior colliculus Maximilian Jösch – Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Austria Not available on demand
09:30 – 09:45	Retinal origin of orientation but not direction selective maps in the superior colliculus Daniel de Malmazet – MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK
09:45 – 10:15	What does the eye tell the brain in vivo?  Hiroki Asari – EMBL Rome, Italy Not available on demand
10:15 – 10:45	Coffee Break and Meet the speakers
10:45 – 11:15	Brain-wide inputs to the superior colliculus and the modulating of innate behaviors Karl Farrow – VIB, Belgium
11:15 – 11:30	Dendritic properties shape the responses of collicular wide-field neurons to behaviorally relevant stimuli Norma Kühn – NERF, Belgium
11:30 – 11:45	Characterization of visual response properties and connectivity of wide-field vertical neurons in the mouse superior colliculus Elise Savier – University of Michigan, USA
11:45 – 12:15	Flexible approach strategies support interceptive pursuit behaviour in mice Maria Florencia Iacaruso – Francis Crick Institute, UK
12:15 – 13:30	Lunch and Meet the speakers
	Session 5: Thalamocortical circuits of somatosensation Session Chair: Hiroki Asari
13:30 – 14:00	Neuronal circuits for goal-directed sensorimotor learning Carl Petersen – EPFL, Switzerland
14:00 – 14:15	Neural encoding of sensory “surprise” in the mouse brain Diego Benusiglio – EMBL Rome, Italy
14:15 – 14:45	Glial control of thalamic sensory processing Eunji Cheong – Yonsei University, Republic of Korea
14:45 – 15:15	Coffee Break and Meet the speakers
15:15 – 15:45	Wired for Touch: the story of how touch shapes our lives Victoria Abraira – Rutgers University, USA
15:45 – 16:15	The interaction of subcortical and cortical sensory circuits in pain processing Christian Büchel – University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
16:15- 16:45	Flash talks (even numbers) #38 Boone, Howard #40 Ferrarese, Leiron #42 Han, Xu #44 Li, Chen #46 Liu, Chen #48 Mason, Kierra #50 Molotkov, Dmitry #52 Naeem, Nazratan #54 Puvvada, Madhuri #56 Sans Dublanc, Arnau #58 Sokoloski, Sacha #60 Susi, Frank #62 Tripodi, Matteo #64 Uran, Cem #66 Gaspar, Patricia #68 Zemmouri, Firdaouss Not available on demand
16:45- 18:45	Poster Session (even numbers) with beer and snacks View poster listing here
18:45 – 20:30	Conference dinner
20:30 – 23:00	Conference party in ATC Rooftop Lounge

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session/Speaker
	Session 6: Multisensory Integration and higher-order thalamic nuclei Session Chair: Santiago Rompani
09:00 – 10:00	Keynote lecture: The cognitive visual thalamus Sabine Kastner – Princeton University, USA
10:00 – 10:15	Parallel corticothalamic pathways from postrhinal cortex to pulvinar: synaptic and physiological properties Julia Zaltsman – Brown University, USA Not available on demand
10:15 – 10:45	Thalamic regulation of prefrontal dynamics in decision making Michael Halassa – Tufts University, USA
10:45 – 11:15	Coffee Break and Meet the speakers
11:15 – 11:45	Integration of “driver-like” inputs across the visual thalamus Martha Bickford – University of Louisville, USA
11:45 – 12:15	Being disconnected, but remaining vigilant: the neuroscience of opposing sleep functions Anita Luthi – University of Lausanne, Switzerland
12:15 – 12:30	Closing Remarks and Poster Prize
12:30 – 12:45	Packed lunch and departure

On-site registration fees include admission, conference materials, COVID-19 safety measures, meals and coffee breaks. Participants are expected to book and pay their own accommodation and travel expenses.

Virtual registration fees include access to all of the talks (livestreamed and on demand) and facility to submit questions.

On-site Academia	€450
On-site PhD Student	€350
On-site Industry	€750
Virtual Academia	€200
Virtual PhD Student	€150
Virtual Industry	€250

A letter to support your visa application will be issued, on request, once payment of the registration fee is confirmed.
We recommend that you book your visa appointment as soon as possible, to avoid any delay with your visa application.

Accredited journalists may be eligible to register for complimentary press registration. Registrants may be required to provide accreditation or equivalent proof of press membership after registration. Please contact Aline Schnieder for more information. Please note that we do not offer complimentary registrations for editors of scientific journals.

Confirmation and payment

Registration will be on a first come, first served basis. Your place can only be confirmed after payment of the registration fee. If you are added to our waiting list, please consider taking advantage of our offerings to participate virtually.

On-site participants: Types of payments accepted are international bank transfers and credit card payments. 

Virtual participants: We are only able to accept card payments. In exceptional cases we can accept bank transfers. Please contact events@embl.de for details.

Abstract submission

Only participants registering to attend the on-site event are eligible to submit an abstract. Abstracts will not be accepted from virtual participants.

After registration you can submit your abstract via a separate link that will be provided in the email confirmation. Alternatively, you can access the link on the confirmation page directly after registering. The same login credentials are used for both processes.

Please note:

Abstract body: The limit of 2000 characters refers to manually typed text and excludes spaces. If an error occurs try using a different web browser (preferably Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).

If you copy-paste the text into the form, hidden formatting might still be included which may cause the text to exceed the 2,000 character limit resulting in an error message. We recommend you clear all formatting before pasting in the text.

If you have special symbols in your text, make sure you are using Unicode characters, otherwise these will not be recognised.

Title: The title should not exceed 20 words. Only the first word of the title should start with a capital letter and the rest should be lowercase.

Authors and affiliations: Please fill in the author’s details as requested in the online form. The compulsory fields are: First Name, Last Name, Organisation Name (Affiliation or Company), Country and Email.

Kindly mark only one author in the role of First Author and please don’t forget to indicate who will be the Presenter.

Please enter your co-authors correctly via the system by adding accounts together with their organisation/institute. Do not copy-paste them into the body of the abstract text, as they will not be indexed in the abstract book.

Presentation types: When submitting your abstract, you can apply for an oral or poster presentation. A selection process will take place with the results announced 2-3 weeks after the abstract submission deadline.

For detailed instructions on how to submit a conference abstract, follow the instructions provided in this video.

Please check our FAQs pages for further information on how to submit an abstract.

EMBO Workshops. We are currently working on securing funding for all virtual participants, and ask that you please apply for financial assistance for both on-site and virtual participation. 

Your place in the meeting is only confirmed by paying the registration fee, which is mandatory even when receiving a fee waiver.

Registration fee waiver

The fee waiver will cover the registration sum that you have paid to attend the course or conference.

Travel grant

The travel grant will cover the cost of travel to an on-site event (airfare, train, bus, taxi, accommodation, visa, and/or registration fees*) and is provided up to specified caps which are normally as follows:

–up to €400 for participants travelling to an EMBL Conference or EMBO|EMBL Symposium from within Europe.

–up to €1000 for participants travelling to an EMBL Conference or EMBO|EMBL Symposium from outside Europe.

–up to €500 for any participant travelling to an EMBO Workshop.

–up to €1000 for any participant working in Chile, India, Singapore or Taiwan travelling to an EMBO Workshop.

–up to €700 for any participant working in Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, and Turkey travelling to an EMBO Workshop.

*Registration fees are only covered for EMBO Workshops

The organisers may reduce the grant cap to accommodate more participants. Recipients will be notified of their travel cap amount when they are informed of the outcome of their application. Original receipts must be provided with your signature for all costs incurred within two months of completion of travel. Scanned copies cannot be accepted.

Childcare grant (EMBO Workshops only)

For EMBO Workshop participants with children, there is the possibility to apply for a childcare grant to offset child care costs incurred by participants or speakers when participating at a conference. Eligible costs include fees for a baby-sitter or child-care facility, travel costs for a caregiver, or travel costs for taking the child to the meeting etc. Please note that priority will be given to early stage researchers. A maximum amount of €500 can be awarded per participant applying for an EMBO childcare grant. In order to apply for this grant for EMBO Workshops, you must be registered by the abstract submission deadline.

Application

On-site participants

You may apply for financial assistance when submitting your abstract. In your application you will be asked to answer questions regarding why your lab cannot fund your attendance and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

Virtual participants

If you are attending virtually, you can apply for financial assistance in the submission portal by the abstract deadline. Read the instructions on how to apply for financial assistance. Only submissions for financial assistance will be accepted. Presentation abstracts cannot be submitted here and will be declined. 

In your application you will be asked to summarise your current work,  answer questions regarding why your lab cannot fund your attendance, and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

Selection

The scientific organisers will select the recipients of all financial assistance during the abstract selection process. Results will be announced approximately 6 – 8 weeks before the event start date, however for some events this may be delayed. Selection results do not impact your admission to the meeting. Selection is based on scientific merit, your current work or study location, the reasons for needing financial support, and the impact this event will have on your career.

Reimbursement

Costs will be reimbursed after the meeting only once a reimbursement form and original receipts (from travel costs) have been received.

Further details

View our list of external funding opportunities and information on attending a conference as an event reporter.

For further information about financial assistance please refer to the FAQ page.

Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee.

As further changes in our events are possible due to COVID-19, you should book flights, trains and hotels with flexible options and favourable cancellation conditions.

The hotels below have rooms on hold for participants until 23 August 2023, in some cases at special rates. Please email the hotel directly, quoting the booking code   SSC23-01  to confirm the exact price of the room.

Hotel Anlage	Hotel ibis Heidelberg	Premier Inn Heidelberg City
Hotel Bayrischer Hof	ISG Hotel	Staycity Aparthotel Heidelberg
B&B Hotel	Leonardo Hotel Heidelberg City Centre	Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Heidelberg
Exzellenz Hotel	Meininger Heidelberg
Hotel Holländer Hof	Hotel Monpti

Conference shuttle buses

Conference shuttle buses are free of charge for participants, and depart from designated bus stops near the hotels to EMBL and back, mornings and evenings.

You can now find the conference bus schedule here.

The bus stops for this conference are:

• Staycity Aparthotel (Speyerer Str. 7)
• Kurfürsten-Anlage (Opposite Main Train Station)
• Premier Inn (Kurfürsten-Anlage 23)
• Leonardo Hotel Heidelberg City Center (Bergheimer Str. 63)
• Neckarmünzplatz (Heidelberg Tourist Information)
• ISG Hotel (Im Eichwald 19)

View Conference shuttle bus stops and hotels in a larger map. Please note that not every bus stop will be used for every event.

Further details

Address: EMBL, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. For further information on getting to EMBL Heidelberg visit Public Transportation to the Venue. For information about accommodation and local transportation please refer to the FAQ page

Catering

All meals and coffee breaks are included in the registration fee. Our catering staff will prepare a wide variety of vegetarian meals, meat and fish dishes, soups, pasta, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as a variety of desserts.

Please wear your badge at all times when serving yourself.

No food or drinks are allowed in the auditorium.

Charging lockers

There are lockers available next to the stairs leading down into the Auditorium. You will find some of those equipped with sockets to charge your smartphone/tablet etc.

Electricity and charging station

In most places the electricity is 220 volts AC (50 cycles). An adaptor and a plug that fits the German socket may be needed for your appliances/laptop (i.e. American, Japanese, etc.). A USB charging station for electronic devices is available at the registration desk.

EMBL merchandise

If you are interested in purchasing an EMBL souvenir (products presented in the glass display in the registration area), please ask at the registration desk for more information.

Health and safety notes

Please read EMBL’s COVID-19 safety policy for on-site events.
Do not smoke in any EMBL building.
Eating and drinking is prohibited in the Auditorium and all laboratories.
Do not enter any restricted areas or the laboratories unless instructed to do so.

If first aid is required …

• The first aid room is located next to the ATC Registration Desk (room 10- 205).
• Dial the Emergency number 222 from any EMBL internal phone only.
• Where is the accident? What happened? How many injured?
• Emergency number 06221-387 7821 from mobile phones.
• Please report all accidents to the conference officer at the registration desk.

In case of fire …

• Press the nearest fire alarm button or the Emergency number 222 from any internal phone.
• A loud fire alarm will go off if an evacuation is required. On hearing the alarm leave the building immediately following the escape route and fire wardens and head to one of the meeting points
• Do not use the lifts.

Beyond first aid…

Please remember to bring your own medication, if needed, to the conference. Note that the next pharmacy is a 4-minute drive from the EMBL, but for many medications you will be required to see a doctor to get a prescription.

Ensure in advance that your medical insurance will cover you during your visit in the event that you do need to see a doctor while in Heidelberg. In any case, the EMBL Course and Conference Office will assist you to get to the pharmacy and a doctor of your choice if necessary.

Internet

Wi-Fi is available everywhere on the premises using the EMBL-Events network and the event specific password, which will be provided on site. The eduroam network (secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community) is also available.

Lost and found

‘’Lost and Found’’ are kept at the registration desk until the end of the conference.

Luggage

There are lockers available on-site to store your luggage, which require a 2 EURO coin to operate. There is another luggage room on level E0, which is free to use but remains unlocked during the conference.

Nursing room

There is a nursing room available in the ATC Rooftop Lounge on level A29.

Photography

During the conference an EMBL Photographer may be taking photographs. If you would not like to appear in these, please inform the photographer or a member of the Course and Conference Office.

Printing

We can help printing your boarding passes/train ticket. Please send it to events@embl.de and collect your print-outs at the registration desk.

Room for prayer, yoga and meditation

There is a room for prayer, mediation and yoga located on level E0 behind the Auditorium. Please be respectful of other participants using the room.

Sightseeing

A variety of activities in Heidelberg can be found on the website of Heidelberg Marketing.

Travel to and from the venue

During the event we provide conference shuttle buses to and from EMBL. In addition, there is the public bus 39A that serves the EMBL campus and taxis can be easily booked at any time. Information on the conference shuttle buses can be found on the individual event website and more detailed information on travelling to EMBL can be found on our Travel Information page.

Useful German expressions

Where is the nearest Covid test centre? 	Wo ist das nächste Covid-Testzentrum?
Hello	Hallo
Goodbye	Auf Wiedersehen
Good morning	Guten Morgen
Good afternoon	Guten Tag
Good evening	Guten Abend
Good night	Gute Nacht
I’m sorry	Tut mir leid
Excuse me…	Entschuldigen Sie
How are you?	Wie gehts?
I’m fine thanks. And you?	Mir geht es gut , danke, und dir/Ihnen?
What is your name	Wie heisst du? Wie heissen Sie?
My name is	Ich heisse
Do you speak English	Sprechen Sie Englisch?
I don’t understand	Ich verstehe nicht
Please speak more slowly	Können Sie bitte langsamer sprechen
Thank you	Dankeschön
Where is the toilet?	Wo ist die Toilette?
Please call me a taxi	Bitte rufen Sie mir ein Taxi
How do I get to….?	Wie komme ich zum/zur…..?
A beer/two beers please	Ein Bier/zwei Bier bitte
A glass of red/white wine please	Ein Glas Rot/Weisswein bitte
The menu, please	Die Speisekarte, bitte
Is there a local speciality?	Gibt es eine Spezialität aus dieser Gegend?
I’m Vegetarian	Ich bin Vegetarier
It was delicious	Es war hervorragend
The bill, please	Die Rechnung, bitte
I have a headache	Ich habe Kopfschmerzen
I have a sore throat	Ich habe Halsschmerzen
My stomach hurts	Ich habe Magenschmerzen
I’m allergic to	Ich bin allergisch gegen
I need a doctor who speaks English	Gibt es einen Arzt, der Englisch spricht?
Where is the nearest COVID-19 test centre?	Wo ist das nächste COVID-19 Testzentrum?

What’s included?

• Access to all the livestreamed talks
• Video library of the recorded talks during and after the event
• Facility to submit questions

Please note that only on-site participants are able to submit abstracts and participate in the poster sessions.

Event platform

We are using an event platform for this conference. More information about the platform will be shared ahead of the conference.

Guidelines

• Do not broadcast the conference to unregistered participants.
• You are encouraged to tweet and post about the event. Tweet unless the speaker specifically says otherwise, but be mindful of unpublished data. 
• Please do not capture, transmit or redistribute data presented at the meeting.

Additional information can be found in our Code of Conduct.

Health and well-being

It is important to stay healthy and move around, especially when you are attending an event virtually. We have put together a few coffee break stretches and yoga videos in the conference platform for you to enjoy during the event.

How to ask questions

Please use the Q&A function in the event platform.

If you have any other questions, you can go to the Help Desk in the event platform. Click on ‘more’ on the top menu and click Help Desk. 

Time zone

The programme is planned based on the Europe/Berlin time zone, unless otherwise stated. Please take your time zone into consideration when planning your attendance.

Please find additional information including FAQs, terms and conditions, COVID-19 safety policy and travelling to EMBL on our Information for participants page.

COVID-19 information for on-site events at EMBL Heidelberg can be found in our COVID-19 FAQs.