Castro and Lowenstein Lab

Brain Tumors - from Biology to Therapy Annual Meeting 2025
2025-06-16 08:00 - 2025-06-18 17:00 UTC | Warsaw, Poland
The 6th Brain Tumors: From Biology to Therapy Meeting
Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology Polish Academy of Sciences
We are thrilled to announce the “Brain Tumors 2025” Conference: From Biology to Therapy, which will be held in Warsaw, Poland on 16-18 June 2025. This prestigious event is organized by the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology at the Polish Academy of Sciences in association with Foundation of Clinical and Experimental Oncology and Warsaw University. The conference aims to bring together leading researchers, medical professionals, and pioneering neurosurgeons to exchange ideas and advance therapies for brain tumors. It promises to be a hub of scientific innovation and collaboration, offering a unique platform to connect with experts and leaders in the field.

Dr. Maria Castro will be speaking at the Immunology Focus Group Seminar at Karmanos
2025-06-03 08:00 - 17:00 | Karmanos, Detroit, Michigan
Dr. Maria Castro will be speaking on “Epigenetic Reprogramming of the Immune Microenvironment in Gliomas, Impact on Immunotherapies”

Dr. Maria Castro Speaking at Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
2025-05-21 09:00 - 10:00 | Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104
Dr. Maria Castro will be speaking on Reprogramming of the immune microenvironment in gliomas impact on therapeutics.

Dr. Maria Castro Speaking at the Cell Signalling and its Therapeutic Implications 2025" (CSTI-2025) Annual Conference
2025-05-13 08:00 - 2025-05-15 17:00 | Cape Schanck Resort, Victoria, Australia

Cell Signalling and its Therapeutic Implications 2025" (CSTI-2025) Annual Conference
2025-05-12 08:00 - 2025-05-15 17:00 | Cape Schanck Resort on the Mornington Peninsula, Australia
This is the sixth conference in the biennial Cell Signalling and its Therapeutic Implications (CSTI) series in Mornington Peninsula which brings together researchers, students and clinicians to accelerate our understanding of cell signalling and how discoveries in this area can improve the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer. The meeting also involves presentation of the Lackmann Award for Translational Research in honour of the late Martin Lackmann, a leader in Eph receptor signalling and member of our Department.
Register Here
More Information Here

“Epigenetic reprogramming of the immune microenvironment in H3G34R pediatric high-grade gliomas.”
2025-05-02 08:00 - 17:00 | University of California San Francisco, California
Dr. Maria Castro will be presenting at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Friday Seminar.

Dr. Maria Castro invited to speak at International Day of Immunology Symposium, International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS)-Webinar
2025-04-29 15:00 - 16:00 | MD
Title: “Epigenetic Reprogramming of the Immune Microenvironment in Gliomas: Impact on the Efficacy of Immunotherapies”

More Information Here

AACR 2025 Annual Meeting
2025-04-25 - 2025-04-30 | MD
Unifying Cancer Science and Medicine: A Continuum of Innovation for Impact
The AACR Annual Meeting is the critical driver of progress against cancer, the place where scientists, clinicians, other health care professionals, survivors, patients, and advocates gather to share and discuss the latest breakthroughs. From population science and prevention; to cancer biology, translational, and clinical studies; to survivorship and advocacy; the AACR Annual Meeting showcases cutting-edge cancer science and medicine.
April 25-30, 2025
McCormick Place Convention Center
Chicago, Illinois
Registration Here
Submit an Abstract Here
Program Here
Accommodations and Travel

Dr. Maria Castro invited to speak at Women of Color in the Academy Project (WOCAP) Lunch Talk Series
2025-04-18 12:00 - 13:00 | MD
Title: “Glioma Immune Microenvironment: Mechanisms Impacting Clinical Outcomes of Immunotherapies”

WOCAP is a campus-wide faculty network at UM that supports scholarship focused on understanding the experiences of women of color in the academy.

“Epigenetic reprogramming of the immune microenvironment in mutant IDH1 gliomas: Impact on the response to immunotherapies”
2025-04-14 - 2025-04-15 | MD
Dr. Maria Castro will be presenting as a Keynote speaker at 2025 Center for Cancer Metabolism Symposium in Columbus, Ohio April 14-15.

Dr. Maria Castro invited to speak at 2025 Spring Interdisciplinary Seminar Series
2025-04-10 16:00 - 17:00 | Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, United States
Title: “Reprogramming of Myelopoiesis in Mutant IDH 1 Gliomas Enhances the Response to Immune-Mediated Therapies”

Dr. Pedro Lowenstein Speaking at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist CCC Grand Rounds
2025-04-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, Winston Salem, NC

Dr. Maria Castro is invited to speak at Elderwise
2025-03-27 10:00 - 12:00 | elerwise, 2275 Platt Road, Ann Arbor, 48104, United States
Title: “Advances on Medicine’s Ultimate Frontier: Cancer Immunotherapy”

Elderwise was established in 1992 through the efforts of Eastern Michigan University representatives and a group of nonacademic enthusiasts committed to developing a continuing education program. Today, Elderwise is a nonprofit, independent, lifelong learning organization dedicated to offering continuing education to learners of all ages. Elderwise is member driven in organization, leadership, participation, financial support, and program development. All our instructors volunteer their time and expertise. Our mission is to provide a broad spectrum of classes and a significant range of topics to meet the needs and interests of a wide variety of individuals. We offer in-person, online, and hybrid classes. We strive to provide an experience that values both intellectual and social interaction.

Dr. Pedro Lowenstein and Ph.D. Student Anna Argento Speaking at APS Global Physics Summit
2025-03-18 16:12 - 16:24 | Anaheim, CA
3D nematic organization and topological defects in brain tumors in vivo.
Presented by Pedro Lowenstein (University of Michigan)
Glioblastomas (GBM) are the most common adult brain tumors, characterized by rapid invasion into the normal brain and therapeutic resistance. We previously demonstrated that GBM tumors exhibit self-organized, nematically aligned, multicellular structures, termed “oncostreams,” that influence tumor invasion and malignancy. Here we show the presence of topological defects in glioma cells in-vitro (2D) and tumors in-vivo (3D). To understand nematic organization and topological defects within gliomas in 3D, we utilized whole brain clearing and light-sheet scanning microscopy to image tumors with an extremely high resolution (0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 um). Creating 3D reconstructions and 3D elastic distortion maps allowed us to identify oncostreams (high nematic order domains), and to identify topological defects as regions of low nematic order and finite winding number using OpenViewMin. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of 3D topological defects in-vivo within tumors and highlights the complex liquid crystalline order of glioblastomas. We believe this new understanding of the structure of glioblastoma organization will lead to the development of therapeutic strategies targeting malignant oncostreams and topological defects.
Authors:

Pedro Lowenstein (University of Michigan)
Anna Argento (University of Michigan)
Binyamin Jacoobovitz (University of Michigan)
Daniel Beller (Johns Hopkins University)
Maria Castro (University of Michigan)
Carles Blanch-Mercader (Institut Curie)

Joint March Meeting and April Meeting: Global Physics Summit 2025
2025-03-16 08:00 - 2025-03-21 17:00 | Anaheim, CA
We are excited to share that the 2025 Joint March Meeting and April Meeting will now be called the APS Global Physics Summit. This event is the largest physics research conference in the world, uniting 14,000 members of the scientific community across all disciplines of physics.
Both in-person and virtual presentation and registration options are available.
Register/Housing Here

“Epigenetic reprogramming mechanisms in mutant IDH1 gliomas: Impact on Therapeutics”
2025-03-04 08:00 - 17:00 | MD
Dr. Maria Castro will be presenting at Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) Neuroscience Seminar Series in Phoenix, Arizona.

Translation Research Cancer Centers Consortium Annual Meeting
2025-02-19 08:00 - 2025-02-21 17:00 | MD
We are excited to announce that the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Translational Research Cancer Centers Consortium (TRCCC) will be held on February 19-21, 2025 at Seven Springs, PA. Registration and abstract submission will be opening on November 6, 2024. Please plan to visit our website in November to receive the discounted registration rate. Abstract submission will close on December 18, 2024.
More information here.

AAAS 2025 Annual Meeting
2025-02-13 - 2025-02-15 | MD
We hope to see you at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center February 13-15.
Register Here
Hotel Information Here
Program Here

Rogel Cancer Center NCRC Seminar Series
2025-02-07 12:00 - 13:00 | B32-1501 Auditorium, NCRC, Ann Arbor, Michigan
“Epigenetic reprogramming in mutant IDH1 gliomas affect their response to radiation and immune mediated therapies”
SPEAKER:

Maria Castro, Ph.D., R C Schneider Collegiate Professor of Neurosurgery; professor of cell and developmental biology

Tisch Cancer Institute Seminar Series With P.R. Lowenstein, MD, PhD
2024-12-17 12:00 - 13:00 | Tich Cancer Institute, 1470 Madison Ave, New York, 10029, United States
Clinical Trials, Oncostreams, and Liquid Crystals: New Views on Glioblastoma Structure and Treatment
P.R. Lowenstein, MD, PhD
Richard Shneider Collegiate Professor Professor
Dept. of Neurosurgery Professor
Dept. of Cell and Developmental Biology Professor
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering (Affiliate)
MSRB II, Room 4570
Department of Neurosurgery University of Michigan School of Medicine
Hosted by: Oren Becher, MD

2024 Bioinnovations in Brain Cancer Symposium
2024-12-06 08:00 - 2024-12-07 17:00 | Kahn Auditorium – Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB) – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109
This year the BioInnovations in Brain Cancer (BIBC) program is hosting its 2nd Brain Cancer symposium. The goal is to bring together scientists to bridge the gap between brain cancer biology research and novel technological developments to advance the diagnosis and treatment of glioma and to improve the lives of patients.
The symposium will take place at the Kahn Auditorium – Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB) – University of Michigan
Register here

"Epigenetic reprogramming mechanisms in mutant IDH1 gliomas: Impact on Therapeutics"
2024-12-03 08:00 - 17:00 | Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States
Dr. Maria Castro will be presenting at the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) Neuroscience Seminar Series.

“Mechanisms reprogramming the immune microenvironment in mutant IDH1 gliomas and their impact on immune mediated therapies”
2024-11-05 08:00 - 2024-11-08 17:00 | Ciudad Universitaria of the National University of Cordoba, Argentina.
Dr. Maria Castro presenting at the 60th Annual Congress of the SAIB (Argentina Society of Research in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology November 5th-8th, 2024.
More information and registration are located here.
