PNIRS | Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society | 2026
Auditório Nobre do Centro de Atividades Didáticas (CAD) 3
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)
Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627
Pampulha – Belo Horizonte, MG
Brazil
| Day 1 – April 13, 2026 (Monday) | ||
| 08:00 - 15:00 | Pre-Conference Course 1 |
Advances in behavioral and cognitive analysis in models of neuropsychiatric diseases Aline Silva de Miranda, PhD – UFMG, Brazil |
| 08:00 - 15:00 | Pre-Conference Course 2 |
Cell culture: focus on neurodegenerative diseases Vivian Vasconcelos Costa, PhD – UFMG, Brazil |
| 08:00 - 15:00 | Pre-Conference Course 3 |
Lipid analysis as a tool to understand neuropsychiatric alterations George Eduardo Gabriel Kluck, PhD – UFMG, Brazil |
| 15:00 - 16:00 | Registration | |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Opening remarks |
PNIRS presentation Ruth Barrientos, PhD (The Ohio State University, OH, USA) PNIRS Ibero-America presentation Elisa Caetano-Silva, PhD (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA) |
17:00 - 18:00 | Keynote Lecture |
Opioid-induced post-operative cognitive dysfunction in aging: Long-term effects on neuronal structure and function. Ruth Barrientos, PhD (The Ohio State University, OH, USA) |
| 18:00 - 20:00 | Welcome Reception | |
| Day 2 – April 14, 2026 (Tuesday) | ||
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Thematic Session: Psychology / Neuropsychiatry Chair: Eliana Cristina de Brito Toscano, PhD (Federal University of Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Brazil) |
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| 08:00 - 08:30 | Lecture |
FemtoQuest: Revolutionizing biomarker detection using ultrasensitivity Camila Pontes Ferreira, PhD (Merck Life Science, Brazil) |
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Lecture |
Be Translational! Biomarkers and Cellular Biology in Clinical Neuropsychiatry Erica Leandro Marciano Vieira, PhD (CAMH - University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada) |
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Lecture |
Role of microglial/macrophage CD300f immune receptor in psychiatric conditions Hugo Pellufo, PhD (Universitat de Barcelona, Espanha / Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguai) |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Lecture |
Neuro-Immune-endocrine Dysregulation and Chronic Infectious Diseases: Lessons from Chagas Disease Ana Rosa Perez, PhD (Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina) |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:30 - 11:10 | Selected oral presentations from abstracts |
1. Julia Kroehling Gil (UFMG) - Physical Activity and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Cross-Sectional Study 2. Maria Carolina Machado da Silva (UFMG) - TLR4 Activation Modulates Cocaine-Induced Neuroimmune and Synaptic Alterations 3. Patrícia Fernandes Fontes (UFMG) - Potential Biomarkers of Inhibitory Control in Patients Victims of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury |
| 11:10 - 12:10 | Keynote Lecture |
Peripheral biomarkers as a window to the bipolar brain Antônio Lúcio Teixeira, MD, PhD (University of Texas, TX, USA) |
| 12:10 - 13:30 | Lunch break | |
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Thematic Session: Immunology Chair: Vivian Vasconcelos Costa, PhD (UFMG, Brazil) |
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| 13:30 - 14:30 | Keynote Lecture |
Neuroimmunology of substance abuse Moisés Evandro Bauer, PhD (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS) |
| 14:30 - 15:00 | Lecture |
Advances in the understanding of the role of diet-induced hypothalamic inflammation in obesity Licio Velloso, PhD (Unicamp, Brazil) |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Lecture |
From cells to populations: Swarm Learning maps the immune system across the lifespan Lucas Secchim Ribeiro, PhD (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases/DZNE - Bonn, Germany) |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Lecture |
Dietary fiber and short-chain fatty acids: modulating age-related microglial cell dysfunction in the gut-brain axis Elisa Caetano-Silva, PhD (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA) |
| 16:30 - 17:10 | Selected oral presentations from abstracts |
1. Marcelo Miranda Lima de Paula (UFJF) - Platelet-Monocyte Interactions Amplify Thromboinflammation and Associate with Cognitive Impairment in Long Covid 2. Danielle Cunha Teixeira (UFMG) - Cognitive Deficits and Neuroinflammation Persist One Year After Coronavirus Infection 3. Mhai Ozawa (UFMG) - miRNA-125a-5p as an Inflammation-Related Biomarker in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia |
| 17:10 - 18:10 | Poster session | |
| Day 3 – April 15, 2026 (Wednesday) | ||
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Thematic Session: Basic and Translational Neuroscience Chair: Elisa Caetano-Silva, PhD (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA) |
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| 08:30 - 09:30 | Keynote Lecture |
Neuroendocrine Control of Cellular Interactions in the Thymus Wilson Savino, PhD (Instituto Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Lecture |
Neuroimaging biomarkers of risk for cognitive decline in adults with substance use disorders Yuliya Nikolova, PhD (CAMH - University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada) |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Lecture |
Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative disorders: applicability in Daygnosis, staging, and treatment guidance. Natalia Pessoa Rocha, PhD (University of Texas, TX, USA) |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Lecture |
The impact of chronic inflammation on the brain: asthma as a risk factor for dementia Melissa Rosenkranz, PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) |
| 11:30 - 12:10 | Selected oral presentations from abstracts |
1. Thiago Guilherme Rêgo Barros (UFJF) - Plasma Neuroimmune and Neurotrophic Markers Are Associated with Cognitive Performance in Long COVID 2. Maria Laura da Cruz Castro (UFOP) - Temporal Analysis of Sepsis-Induced Pathophysiological Alterations in Doxycycline-Treated Mice 3. Raquel Bragança Menegusse (UFJF) - TREM2/DAP12 Axis Modulates Microglial Response During Neuroinflammation in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy |
| 12:10 - 12:40 | Industry Presentation |
Extracellular vesicles – how can we accelerate new discoveries and applications using nanocytometry Bruno Paredes, PhD (Beckman Coulter, Brazil) |
| 12:40 - 14:00 | Lunch break | |
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Thematic Session: Advancing Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) in Minas Gerais Chair: Aline Silva de Miranda, PhD (UFMG, Brazil) |
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| 14:00 - 14:20 | Lecture |
Neuropsychiatric and Neuromuscular Sequelae in Experimental Models of Post-Viral Syndromes Vivian Vasconcelos Costa, PhD (UFMG, Brazil) |
| 14:20 - 14:40 | Lecture |
Proteinopathies in temporal lobe epilepsy: a neuroimmune view Eliana Cristina de Brito Toscano, PhD (UFJF, Brazil) |
| 14:40 - 15:00 | Lecture |
Neuro-Immune-Metabolic Mechanisms of Sepsis: Therapeutic Perspectives Daniela Caldeira Costa Calsavara, PhD (UFOP, Brazil) |
| 15:00 - 15:20 | Lecture |
Cardiotonic Steroids and Derivatives: Actions in the Nervous System and Therapeutic Perspectives Luciana Estefani Drumond de Carvalho, PhD (UFSJ, Brazil) |
| 15:20 - 15:40 | Lecture |
Targeting the epichaperome to improve behavioral deficits in mouse models of synucleinopathies Aline Silva de Miranda, PhD (Federal University of Minas Gerais - UFMG, Brazil) |
| 15:40 - 16:30 | Round Table |
Strengthening psychoneuroimmunology in Minas Gerais through internationalization and regional collaboration |
| 16:30 - 17:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 17:00 - 18:00 | Poster session | |
| Day 4 – April 16, 2026 (Thursday) | ||
| 08:30 - 09:30 | Keynote Lecture |
Stress pathways to disease - Role of Inflammation Prof. Dr. Nicolas Rohleder (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany) |
| 09:30 - 10:20 | Selected oral presentations from abstracts |
1. Ricardo Tadeu de Carvalho (UFMG) - Neurotrophic and Inflammatory Response to Lithium in the GBR12909-Induced Mania Model: Sex- and Brain Region-Dependent Effects 2. Júlia Gomes de Carvalho (UFMG) - Morphological Changes Caused by MHV-3 Coronavirus in the Retina and Optic Nerve of Mice 3. Gabriela Gonçalves da Conceição Antonucci (UFJF) - Region-Dependent Microglial Activity in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Associations with Tau Pathology and Cognitive Performance 4. César Daniel Alves Caldeira (UFOP) - Electrophysiological Characterization and Differentiation of Neuropsychiatric Disorders via Spectral Analysis |
| 10:20 - 11:20 | Round Table |
Academic career development: challenges and opportunities for student exchange between Brazilian (Minas Gerais) and international universities |
| 11:20 - 12:00 | Award Ceremony and Closing Session | |