Overview

Organoid-directed research programs provide vast opportunities for non-invasive exploration of human disease and personalized drug discovery approaches, and can aid in examining complex biological processes. This workshop, organized by the Applied Organoid Core (ApOC) at the University of Toronto, aims to provide knowledge dissemination of principles and best practices that will guide workshop applicants in their research pursuits to unravel complex biological questions using organoid-based systems as tools.

Participants will engage in an intensive and comprehensive four-day session that combines lectures from experts on the broad applications of organoids in discovery research with hands-on experience in the maintenance and propagation of hPSCs in culture, and the generation of neural organoids from stem cells.

Register / Apply to Join Us For 1 or Up to All 4 Days:

• Talks from Subject Matter Experts integrated with trainee talks encompassing the latest insights from organoid-based research applications NOW OPEN! Apply

• 2 days of Instructor led sessions to guide participants in learning how to generate neural organoids from pluripotent stem cells (max capacity, 25 attendees) FULL!

• 1 day Instructor led session on scRNA seq analysis of organoid-derived data (max capacity, 30 attendees) FULL!

• Demonstrations of confocal imaging of organoids NOW OPEN! Sign up

Topics:

• Lectures spanning basic exploratory work to pre-clinical discussions of developments in the field of neural organoids, with ample opportunity for informal networking;

• Thawing/cryopreservation, maintenance and stem cell passaging methods;

• Stem cell culture quality; identification and removal of random differentiation;

• Single-cell preparation and embryoid body seeding for neural organoid initiation;

• Harvesting of embryoid bodies and hydrogel embedding (matrigel);

• Observation of key cell populations through confocal microscopy;

• Steps of basic preprocessing of raw scRNA-seq organoid data;

• Methods to navigate published reference datasets (e.g. tissue atlases);

• Annotation methods for cell types observed in organoid data

At the end of this workshop, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the theory, applications and techniques for generating neural organoid models from high-quality stem cell cultures to address fundamental questions underlying their research aims. 

Nikon Confocal Imaging Tutorial Sessions (NEW!)

OPEN TO ALL! Priority access has been reserved for those attending the hands-on culturing sessions

Nikon Canada will be on-site demonstrating the Yokogawa CSU-W1 spinning disk confocal and Nikon's point scanning AXR confocal on organoid samples. Max 10 participants per time slot. We encourage you to bring your own slides to the demo!

For a demo of Nikon's CSU-W1 and AXR confocal systems, sign up here

To sign up for Nikon's NIS Elements imaging software tutorial sessions, click here

Introductory talks scheduled daily at 10 am & 2 pm. Participants can also drop in anytime and practice using NIS Elements on 1 of several workstations.

Special Note to Workshop Attendees Accepted into the Culturing Sessions

"Your acceptance into the workshop also grants you priority access to Nikon's on-site demos of the CSU-W1 and AXR confocal microscopes, with time slots automatically reserved for you that will follow the culturing sessions daily."

Travel Awards (UPDATED):

Congratulations to our 2023 Travel Award WINNERS!

2023 Nikon Travel Award Recipient

PRANAV SALIGRAMA RAMESH University of Calgary

2023 Stem Cell Network Travel Award Recipients

ABDOULAYE DIARRA University of Manitoba

ALEXANDRA CHAPLEAU McGill University

MARYAM NAKHAEI-NEJAD University of Alberta

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR DAY 1 REGISTRATION ONLY!

Registration for day 1 Talks includes Lunch and Wine & Cheese reception in the evening (FREE)

Message From The Organizing Committee:

“Interest in attending the Hands-on portions of the workshop (Day 2 - 4) has exceeded capacity limits, and all spots for the culturing sessions have now been filled. To those waitlisted applicants who have not been offered a spot in the hands-on sessions, we will provide you with the option to register for the Day 1 session alone (space permitting).”