Neuro‐immune interactions in health and disease: Insights from FENS‐Hertie 2022 Winter School

In a great partnership, the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and the Hertie Foundation organized the FENS‐Hertie 2022 Winter School on ‘Neuro‐immune interactions in health and disease’. The school selected 27 PhD students and 13 postdoctoral fellows from 20 countries and involved 14 faculty members experts in the field. The Winter School focused on a rising field of research, the interactions between the nervous and both innate and adaptive immune systems under pathological and physiological conditions. A fine‐tuned neuro‐immune crosstalk is fundamental for healthy development, while disrupted neuro‐immune communication might play a role in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and aging. However, much is yet to be understood about the underlying mechanisms of these neuro‐immune interactions in the healthy brain and under pathological scenarios. In addition to new findings in this emerging field, novel methodologies and animal models were presented to foment research on neuro‐immunology. The FENS‐Hertie 2022 Winter School provided an insightful knowledge exchange between students and faculty focusing on the latest discoveries in the biology of neuro‐immune interactions while fostering great academic and professional opportunities for early‐career neuroscientists from around the world. FENS‐Hertie 2022 Winter School: ‘Neuroimmune Interactions in Health and Disease’ focused on the key processes behind the mutual interactions between the CNS and the immune system, including both innate and adaptive immune cells. The school focused on a rising field of research, the interactions between nervous and immune systems under pathological and physiological conditions. The gathering of faculty members experts in the field and 40 PhD students and postdoctoral fellows fostered great discussions about recent findings and novel methods of neuro‐immunology.