Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) are one of the most severe problems that can afflict the Central Nervous System, with devastating consequences in the life of the patients. So far there are no effective therapies targeting this problem. Having this in mind Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML), Associação Salvador and
ICVS/3B’s Associate Laboratory from the University of Minho have decided to organize a new forum of debate on this topic, the Spinal Cord Injury Iberian Symposium - 2015 (SCiS-2015). The 1st edition of this symposium will be dedicated to "New Paradigms in Spinal Cord Injury Regenerative Medicine” and will take place at Centro de Medicina de Reabilitação de Alcoitão, between the 30th November and 1st of december 2015. The main objectives of SCiS-2015 are:
-To discuss the most recent advances within the field and their possible translation to clinical practice. In order to do so, a list of leading experts in the field will present and discuss their most recent data on topics such as clinical applications, stem cells, biomaterials and regenerative medicine, pharmacotherapies and new models to study SCI repair
-To bring the community closer to the scientists and clinicians. Several sessions will be open to the general public, namely to SCI patients and their relatives. Additionally, participants will have the chance to directly interact with scientists in a “Meet the Scientist” lunch session. Finally, sessions on daily life routines, such as physiotherapy, sports and a small job fair will also be organized.
- To foster collaboration between groups from Portugal and Spain with the rest of Europe and North America, by bringing closer these scientific communities and stimulate the discussion, so important advances can be made towards the progression of the field. Plenary and keynote talks, short oral presentations and poster sessions will be the basis for this.