creating a
healthier future

11th i3S Annual Meeting

14-15 November 2024 | Axis Vermar Conference & Beach Hotel

The 11th i3S Annual Meeting will take place on November 14th and 15th at the Axis Vermar Conference & Beach Hotel in Póvoa de Varzim.

Get ready for an exciting program featuring 3 keynote lectures by invited speakers (names to be announced soon), 2 sessions spotlighting selected oral presentations, and dynamic speed talks presented by early career researchers. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to participate in engaging social activities. This event offers a prime opportunity to share your recent findings and developments in the field, receiving constructive feedback from senior researchers, and engaging in exciting networking opportunities.

The Scientific Committee
Helena Azevedo, Pedro Alves, Rosalina Fonseca, Reto Gassmann, Salomé Pinho and Vítor Costa

Venue

Axis Vermar Conference & Beach Hotel
Rua da Imprensa Regional, 4490-518 Póvoa de Varzim
Tel: + 351 252 298 900 | Site: http://www.axishoteis.com/ | E-mail: reservas@axisvermar.com

How to get there
The easiest ways to reach the meeting venue are:

  • By car: GPS coordinates are: N 41° 23′ 27.4482″ | W -8° 46′ 23.5194″
  • By metro:
    • You should take line B (average time: 30 minutes)
    • From Póvoa de Varzim station to Axis Vermar Conference & Beach Hotel, you may go by taxi.

Program

Day 1 | November 14th

10h00 - 10h45 Registration and coffee

10h45 - 11h00 Opening

11h00 - 13h00 | Career Development
Session Chairs: Helena Azevedo and Pedro Alves

11h00 - 11h40 Keynote Talk | My Career Tale: one step at a time
Elsa Abranches, Senior Director – Head of Cell Therapy Bioprocess Development and Manufacturing, Astra Zeneca, Sweden

11h40 - 12h10 Invited Talk | Navigating Uncertainty as Researchers: Embracing Imperfection and Cultivating Grace
Magdalena Bak-Maier, 
Make Time Count, UK

12h10 - 12h20 Invited Talk
Pedro Resende
, i3S and Chaperone, Portugal

12h20 - 13h00 Round table discussion:
Moderation: Paula Lopez Perez, Head of the Career Development Unit, i3S
Participants:
Elsa Abranches
, Senior Director – Head of Cell Therapy Bioprocess Development and Manufacturing, Astra Zeneca, Sweden
Magdalena Bak-Maier, Make Time Count, UK
Pedro Resende, i3S and Chaperone, Portugal
Miguel Aroso, Postdoc representative, i3S
Sofia Quintas, PhD student representative, i3S

13h00 - 14h30 Lunch

14h30 - 16h30 Social activities

16h30 - 17h00 Coffee break

17h00 - 17h45 | Tumor Immunology Session
Chairs: Salomé Pinho and Pedro Alves

17h00 - 17h45 Keynote Talk | Understanding and Taming Pancreas Cancer
Ronald A. DePinho, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA

17h45 - 18h15 USA-PT Cancer Initiative
Ronald A. DePinho
Chair: José Carlos Machado, i3S

18h15 - 19h30 Choir and i3S awards

20h00 - 22h00 Dinner

22h00 Party

 

Day 2 | November 15th

09h30 - 10h15 | Neurosciences Session
Chairs: Rosalina Fonseca and Reto Gassmann

09h30 - 10h15 Keynote Talk | Thalamacortical interactions in cognitive control and flexibility
Michael Halassa
, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

10h15 - 10h45 Coffee break

10h45 - 12h15 | AI Session
Chairs: Rosalina Fonseca and Vitor Costa

10h45 - 11h30 Keynote Talk | Hierarchy and heterarchy of circuit mechanisms for behavioral control
Joe Paton
, Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal

11h30 - 12h15 Round table discussion
Moderation: Susana Magalhães, Head of the Responsible Conduct in Research Unit, i3S
Participants:
Joe Paton, 
Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal
Rui Araújo, Neurologist, FMUP, Portugal
Júlio Oliveira, IPO-Porto President, Portugal

12h30 - 13h30 Speed talks
(5 parallel sessions: Invited postdoc talk (10 min) + 8 speed talks selected from abstracts (5 min)

13h30 - 15h00 Lunch

15h00 - 16h00 Speed talks
(5 parallel sessions: Invited postdoc talk (10 min) + 8 speed talks selected from abstracts (5 min)

16h00 - 16h30 Year in review
Claudio Sunkel, i3S Director

16h30 - 17h00 Closing session
Organizing Committee, i3S

Social Program

Social Activities

14th November | 14h30-16h30

Activity 1 - Wall-Escape: Save the Earth! | Gomes de Amorim Room
Join Wall-E on an adventure to save a post-apocalyptic Earth! Navigate through a series of fun challenges inspired by the beloved robot’s mission to clean up the planet. From solving futuristic puzzles to uncovering hidden clues, your team will need to work together to bring hope to Earth’s future. Think you have what it takes to help Wall-E restore life on the planet? Test your problem-solving skills, collaborate with your teammates, and escape in time! Ready to roll with Wall-E? Let’s find out!

Organization: GreenLab

Activity 2 - Populations: Population Dynamics at Play | Eça de Queirós Room
Do you like board games? What if a room with 50 players simultaneously determines who reaches the end with the most diverse population? Join us on this adventure and have fun! This activity is based on a board game created by i3S that simulates the different mechanisms involved in the evolution of populations, with constant change, increases, and decreases in their genetic diversity, where extinction is possible. A playful and fun way to experience the dynamics of human populations throughout history, through a game developed in the project “Human Diversity in the Space of Magellan's Circumnavigation: Genetics, History, and Culture”.

Organization: Communication Unit & Career Development Unit

Activity 3 - Science & Slip-ups: A Round Table of Real Talk | Estela Room
Ever feel like you're the only one who's ever had a misstep in the lab? Guess what — you're not alone! Join us for an informal round table where researchers share their biggest scientific missteps (yes, those real "oops" moments) and how they bounced back stronger. Discover how mistakes don’t define success, they shape it!

No judgment, just honest stories and laughs. Because every scientist has a "f#ck-up" story — what’s yours?

Organization: Postdoc representatives

Activity 4 - Go with the Flow – Yoga | Póvoa de Varzim Room
Let yourself be carried away by the wave of this activity, be it the wave of relaxation where you seek unity between body and mind, or the wave of movement where you seek to combine training with fun. Put down your coat and paper and choose your wave!

Organization: PhD students

Activity 5 - Go with the Flow – Zumba | Panoramic Room
Let yourself be carried away by the wave of this activity, be it the wave of relaxation where you seek unity between body and mind, or the wave of movement where you seek to combine training with fun. Put down your coat and paper and choose your wave!

Organization: PhD students

Activity 6 - i3S without borders | Garden / Pool
Here you will leave the lab coat behind and change into a tracksuit or wetsuit! You will have to work as a team and compete with others in a fun game with various obstacles. The goal is to be fast and efficient, which only happens if there is cooperation! And, at the end there will be a prize for the best team of “Release the Researcher”.

Organization: PhD students

Abstract Submission

The call for abstracts will be open between 2nd September and 22nd September 2024.

Selection of 80 abstracts for speed talk presentations. Participants will be notified of abstract selection on 15th October.

Participants that will perform the speed talk should send their presentation in PDF or PPT by the 7th of November. Further details will be provided later.

Abstract guidelines >>

Template download >>

Abstract submission >>

Registration

The registration for the i3S Annual Meeting is free for all i3S members.

Registration deadline: 18th of October 2024

Accommodation

The accommodation is responsibility of each participant. Preferential rates are available to the Meeting participants.

Single room: 64€ (60,38€ + IVA)
Double room: 74€ (69,81€ + IVA)
Triple room: 93€ (87,74€ + IVA)

In addition, each participant will have to pay a tourist tax of 1,5€ per night and person.

Reservation should be done using the e-mail: miguel.maia@axisvermar.com.

Sponsors

Institucional Sponsors


Gold Sponsors


Silver Sponsors

Information

More information:
Events Management Unit | Rua Alfredo Allen 208 | 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
E-mail: events@i3s.up.pt | Tel: +351 226 074 900