Vasoregulation: Signaling and Multicellular Inputs

The FASEB SRC on Vasoregulation: Signaling and Multicellular Inputs serves as a unique forum where established investigators, early-career scientists, and trainees can exchange cutting-edge results, forge collaborations, and accelerate translational progress to expand the vibrant scientific community focused on vasoregulation. The rapid growth of this research area is reflected in the explosion of laboratories worldwide that now study vascular biology in the context of neurovascular coupling, glymphatic flow, metabolic regulation, inflammation, and tissue repair. By highlighting multidisciplinary approaches and emphasizing training and career development, the meeting will help shape the future of vascular biology and ensure continued progress toward new therapies for major human diseases.

Vasoregulation is central to nearly every aspect of human health, from maintaining normal blood pressure and ensuring adequate tissue perfusion to enabling proper brain, heart, kidney, and lung function. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that vasoregulation is not determined solely by smooth muscle cells but instead arises from dynamic, multicellular interactions within the vascular wall and its surrounding tissue microenvironment. Endothelial cells, pericytes, neurons, astrocytes, immune cells, and circulating factors all provide critical inputs that shape vascular signaling and determine the ability of blood vessels to adapt to physiological and pathological challenges.

Attendees will learn about:

· Technological advances driving the field's transformation, including high-resolution and in vivo imaging methods

· Genome editing and transgenic approaches, enabling cell-type–specific manipulation of signaling pathways

· New computational and systems biology approaches that are being used to integrate molecular, cellular, and whole-organism data. 

Program Topics

· Links between vasoregulation and neuroscience, immunology, and metabolism

· Developing effective therapeutic strategies by understanding multicellular regulation of the vasculature

· How impaired communication between vascular cells contributes directly to diseases including hypertension, stroke, cerebral small vessel disease, dementia, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.

Workshops

A Meet the Experts session will provide trainees and early-career investigators a perspective combining direct, informal access to leaders in the fields of vascular biology, neurovascular coupling, ion channel physiology, and related areas. 

The Career Development Workshop will offer insight into varied career trajectories and opportunities in biomedical research by highlighting essential professional skills beyond the bench, such as building a research team, managing budgets, and navigating grant and publication processes.