This webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 8:00 AM PST | 11:00 AM EST | 5:00 PM CET.
To see what time this is in your time zone, please click on the following link https://bit.ly/49Rdgkz.
Join us for an exciting webinar showcasing how human stem cell–based models are advancing frontotemporal dementia (FTD) research. This session will focus on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and brain organoid models to study FTD pathology, uncover disease mechanisms, and better capture human-specific aspects of neurodegeneration. Speakers will present complementary approaches using human iPS cells and organoid systems, highlighting how these models are opening new avenues for understanding FTD and accelerating therapeutic discovery.
Sally Temple, USA
Veronica Ryan, USA
Jeroen Pasterkamp, the Netherlands
Sally Temple
Dr. Sally Temple received her undergraduate degree in developmental neuroscience from Cambridge University and her PhD from University College London, and made a seminal contribution to identifying stem cells in the embryonic mammalian central nervous system. She is the Scientific Director of the Neural Stem Cell Institute, a MacArthur Fellow, a former President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. Her research focuses on stem cell roles in CNS development, repair, and disease, including patient-derived models and translational therapies for tauopathies.
Veronica Ryan
Veronica completed her PhD in Neuroscience at Brown University where she studied the effects of a neurodegeneration-associated mutation in an RNA binding protein. She completed her postdoc at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke where she used iPSC-derived neurons to study TDP-43 biology and local translation. She then transitioned to be an Independent Scholar at the Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias, National Institute on Aging where she is using iPSC-derived neurons studying the effect of FTD-associated mutations in RNA binding proteins on mRNA transport and local translation.
Jeroen Pasterkamp
My laboratory is focused on understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neurodegenerative disease, with a specific focus on ALS. To dissect disease mechanisms and discover novel therapeutic targets we develop and apply advanced human in vitro models. These range from iPSC-based mono- or co-cultures in microfluidic devices to complex organoid systems. Using these approaches we study the impact of specific disease-associated mutations, such as in C9ORF72, which is known to cause both ALS and FTD.