Programme
Day 1 | 23 October 2025
15:00 – 17:00 Registration with welcome coffee
17:00 – 17:10 Opening words from the chairman of FiBTRA
Session 1 Brain tumor microenvironment and immunity
Chairman: Prof. Cecilia Söderberg-Nauclér
17:10 – 18:00 Keynote lecture by Prof. Mattias Belting, Lund University, Sweden
Metabolic adaptation in glioblastoma
18:00 – 18:30 Invited talk by Prof. Julie Gavard, National Centre for Scientific Research, France
Interactions between endothelial сells and tumor cells in glioblastoma
18:30 – 18.45 Short talk: Oxana Denisova, Turku Bioscience
18:45 – 19:00 Short talk: Reshmi Suresh, University of Turku
19:00 – 21:00 Toast by the Turku City Council Chairperson, Dr. Kaija Hartiala, and Symposium dinner
Day 2 | 24 October 2025
Session 2. Brain tumor treatment
Chairman: Dr. Oxana Denisova
8:00 – 8:30 Coffee
8:30 – 9:00 Invited talk by Prof. Cecilia Söderberg-Nauclér, University of Turku
Targeting Cytomegalovirus to Improve Outcomes in Glioblastoma: A New Therapeutic Avenue.
9:00 – 9:30 Invited talk by Prof. Alberto Ballestín, University of Extremadura, Spain
Glioblastoma surgical resection induces ischemic hypoxia, mesenchymal reprogramming and immunosuppression
9:30 – 9:45 Short talk: Sana Kari, Tampere University
9:45 – 10:00 Short talk: Anja Hartewig, Tampere University and Tampere University Hospital
10.00 – 11:00 Poster session
11:00 – 12:30 Lunch
Session 3. Pediatric brain tumors
Chairman: Adj. Prof. Joonas Haapasalo
12:30 – 13:10 Invited talk by Prof. Pascal Johann, Augsburg University, Germany
From subgroups to intratumoral heterogeneity – the molecular composition of rhabdoid tumors
13:10 – 14:00 Keynote lecture by Prof. Michael Taylor, Texas Children’s Hospital, USA
Prevention is better than cure. How an understanding of Human hindbrain development will allow us to prevent rather than treat medulloblastoma.
14:00 – 14:30 Invited talk by Virve Pentikäinen, MD, Helsinki University Hospital
Diagnostics and treatment of pediatric brain tumors in the molecular era.
14:30 – 14:45 Short talk: Vilja Pietiäinen, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland
14:45 – 15:10 Coffee break
Session 4. Molecular biology of brain tumors
Chairman: Dr. Eleanor Coffey
15:10 – 15:40 Invited talk by Adj. Prof. Kirsi Rautajoki, Tampere University
Mapping the regulatory landscape of diffuse astrocytomas
15:40 – 16:10 Invited talk by Prof. Takashi Namba, University of Helsinki
Stem cell metabolism for cell proliferation: from neural stem cells to glioblastoma stem cells
16:10 – 16:25 Short talk: Ismaïl Hermelo, Tampere University Hospital and Tampere University
16:25 – 16:40 Short talk: Maxwell Miner, Turku PET Centre, University of Turku
16:40 – 16:50 Closing words and best poster prize