14-16 October 2026
Lisbon, Portugal
Call for abstracts will open on 27 January 2026.
Apply for oral or poster presentations.
The Champalimaud Research Symposium 2026
(CRSy26) will gather an interdisciplinary community of researchers to discuss the interplay between the neural and immune systems in relation to cancer initiation, progression and therapy. This symposium will emphasise the dynamic interactions among tumour cells, neurons and immune components, and how these relationships impact tumour growth, metastasis and the tumour microenvironment.
Key topics will include mechanistic insights into neuro-immune signaling pathways, the influence of stress and innervation on tumor immunity, and how immune responses can affect neural activity within tumours and beyond.
(CRSy26) will gather an interdisciplinary community of researchers to discuss the interplay between the neural and immune systems in relation to cancer initiation, progression and therapy. This symposium will emphasise the dynamic interactions among tumour cells, neurons and immune components, and how these relationships impact tumour growth, metastasis and the tumour microenvironment.
Key topics will include mechanistic insights into neuro-immune signaling pathways, the influence of stress and innervation on tumor immunity, and how immune responses can affect neural activity within tumours and beyond.
Symposium Chairs
Carlos Minutti
Immunoregulation Lab, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, PT
Henrique Veiga-Fernandes Immunophysiology Lab, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, PT
Carlos Minutti
Immunoregulation Lab, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, PT
Henrique Veiga-Fernandes Immunophysiology Lab, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, PT
Confirmed Keynote Speakers
Douglas Hanahan
EPFL, Lausanne, CH
Florent Ginhoux
Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, FR
Douglas Hanahan
EPFL, Lausanne, CH
Florent Ginhoux
Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, FR
CRSy is the main scientific symposium of the Champalimaud Research. Since 2017, it has fostered global dialogue among researchers across various disciplines, focusing on groundbreaking advancements in neuroscience, physiology and cancer.
Joe Paton, PhD
Champalimaud Foundation
Lisbon, PTJoseph (Joe) Paton received his undergraduate degree in biology from Tufts University in 2000. In 2008, he received his Ph.D. with distinction from Columbia University in Neurobiology and Behavior, and shortly thereafter joined the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, where he was a fellow from 2008 to 2012. He is currently a Principal Investigator and Director of the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme (CNP) at the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) in Lisbon, Portugal. He is an alumnus of the Simons Foundation on the Global Brain, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholar, and a current holder of a consolidator grant from the European Research Council. His laboratory focuses on the neural mechanisms and computational principles of learning, decision-making, action selection and timing. In the course of trying to understand how the brain combines these functions to produce intelligent behavior, he has increasingly moved into areas that overlap with modern AI research. During his mandate as CNP Director, Paton has also spearheaded the development of a new Digital Therapeutics center at CF, as well as representing CF as a member of the recently announced Centre for Responsible AI.