Plenary Speakers
Dr. Carmen Sandi
Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne (EPFL)
Dr. Tracy Bale
University of Colorado
Extracellular vesicles are key stress communicators
Public lecture
Dr. Cecile Rousseau
Canada Research Chair in Preventing Violent Radicalization, McGill University
TUESDAY
16th June 2026
LOCATION: Union Française de Montréal
5.00-6.00pm Public Lecture - Dr. Cecile Rousseau
session chaired by Dr. Robert Paul Juster, U Montréal
Rethinking youth distress and violence in tense times
6.30pm - late Opening Reception
LOCATION: CRCHUM
7.30-8.30am Welcome Coffee & Registration
8.30-10.00am Opening Remarks & Plenary 1
10.30-12.30pm Symposium 1 - Stress & brain-body interactions
Eric Wohleb University of Cincinnati, USA
Microglial regulation of synaptic plasticity and behavior in stress
Maria Rodriguez Aburto University College Cork, Ireland
Scott Russo Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
Brain-Body Neuroimmune Mechanisms of Stress and Depression
Trainee talk selected from abstracts
12.30-2.00pm Lunch
2.00-4.00pm Symposium 2 - Understanding the Impacts of Continued Discrimination
Brian Dias Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USA
Wendie Marks University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Engaging Indigenous Peoples in preclinical research
Ali Jawaid Łukasiewicz Research Network, Poland
Towards the biological plausibility and biomarkers of intergenerational trauma in genocide-surviving human populations
Trainee talk selected from abstracts
4.20-4.50pm Data Blitz
4.50-5.30pm Panel Discussion
5.30-7.00pm Poster Session 1
7.30pm - late Trainee Social Event
WEDNESDAY
17th June 2026
THURSDAY
18th June 2026
LOCATION: CRCHUM
8.00-8.30am Welcome Coffee
8.30-10.30am Symposium 3 - Early-Life Adversity
Mathias Schmidt Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Germany
Multilevel sex-specific neurobiological signatures of early life adversity
Patricia Pelufo-Silveira McGill University, Canada
Insulin-Sensitive Brain–Body Pathways in Early-Life Stress
Jessica Bolton Georgia State University, USA
Early-life adversity alters microglial function in a neuron- and sex-specific manner in the developing brain
Trainee talk selected from abstracts
10.50-12.50pm Symposium 4 - Translating Insight from Basic Research towards Improved Human Health
Kim Hellemans Carleton University, Canada
A profile-based approach to linking Early-Life Trauma, Current Stress, and Cannabis Use in Emerging Adults
Christian-Gaden Jensen Copenhagen University, Denmark
Didier Jutras-Aswad CRCHUM & Université de Montréal, Canada
Stress and Addiction: Integrating Mechanisms to Inform Innovation in Substance Use Disorder Interventions
Trainee talk selected from abstracts
12.50-2.30pm Lunch & Poster Session 2
2.30-4.30pm Symposium 5 - Stress & Cognition
Sylvie Lesuis University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Stress and threat memory generalization: molecules and microcircuits
Kate Wassum University of California Los Angeles, USA
Frank Meye Utrecht University, Netherlands
Stress-driven plasticity in limbic circuits drives increased intake of food reward
Trainee talk selected from abstracts
4.45-5.00pm Data Blitz
5.00-5.30pm Panel Discussion
5.30-7.00pm Poster Session 3
FRIDAY
19th June 2026
LOCATION: CRCHUM
8.00-9.30am Round table breakfast networking event
9.30-10.45am Plenary 2
11.00-1.00pm Symposium 6 - Stress & Psychedelics
Micheal Wheeler Harvard University, USA
Jaideep Bains University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
Leah Mayo University of Calgary, Canada
The stress of the trip: Exploring interactions between the stress response and psychedelic experience in humans
Trainee talk selected from abstracts
1.00-1.30pm Closing remarks
1.30pm Lunch
2.30pm Event in Old Montreal