1st FALAN Latin American Training Program in Neuroscience

Aim and scope of the school

The FALAN Latin American Training Program in Neuroscience is a regional initiative designed to enhance neuroscience education by providing high-quality, continuous training for graduate students across Latin America.

About the school

This intensive program will provide a thorough overview of how the nervous system is studied. The School is primarily designed to provide both theoretical and practical training to postgraduate students (Master’s and PhD) pursuing advanced studies in neuroscience, covering topics such as electrophysiology, computational neuroscience, intravital microscopy, and neurotranscriptomics.  In addition to the scientific curriculum, the program will feature sessions on writing successful research proposals, crafting compelling personal statements, and creating strong academic CVs. 

The final week will focus on student participation in the IV FALAN Congress and Neurofest, where we expect that the knowledge and skills they have gained throughout the first three weeks of this School, will enhance their experience at the FALAN Meeting (August 31-September 3). The last event the students will participate in is Neurofest, a public event organized by the Chilean neuroscience community to engage the public with neuroscience. This event is scheduled for September 4 and 5. 

Who can apply to this school?

Master’s and PhD students from any Latin American country are eligible to apply. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a graduate program at the master’s or doctoral level at the time of application.

Selected students will receive financial support to cover travel and accommodation expenses for the duration of the activity.

Selection criteria

1. Academic merit will be assessed based on years of professional experience, including considerations for maternity leave, sick leave, or leave taken to care for dependents.  

2. One of the activities of this school is attending the IV FALAN Congress. Applicants must be the first author on the posters they present at the congress.

3. Submissions from all areas of neuroscience will be eligible for consideration.  

4. Scholarships will be awarded based on criteria such as gender equity and equitable distribution among different regions.  

5. Only one student per laboratory will receive funding.  

Applications start date 15/01/2026
Applications end date 15/04/2026

	Monday  August 10	Tuesday August 11	Wednesday August 12	Thursday August 13	Friday August 14
9:00- 10:00	Opening Session IBRO/ISN Presentation Host Organizing Committee members	Ion channels and membrane excitability Dr. Patricio Rojas (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	Optogenetic investigation of neural circuits in vivo Dr. Elias Leiva (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	EEG for Neuroscience Research(I) Dr. Boris Lucero (Universidad Católica del Maule)	Students’ presentations
10:00-11:00	Opening Session IBRO/ISN Presentation Host Organizing Committee members	The patch- clamp technique  Dr. Fernando Ortiz (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	In vivo electrophysiological recordings Dr. José Luis Valdés (Universidad de Chile)	EEG for Neuroscience Research (II) Dr. Christ Devia (Universidad de Chile)	Students’ presentations
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break
11:30-12:30	Ion channels as the doors of perception Dr. Ramón Latorre Dr. Francisco Bezanilla (CINV)	Ion channels in thermotransduction Dr. Rodolfo Madrid (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	Integrative Neuroscience Approaches Dr. Alexia Nunez-Parra (Universidad de Chile)	Active perception in the visual system,  Dr. Pedro Maldonado (Universidad de Chile)	Students’ presentations
12:30-14:00	Lunch Break	Lunch Break	Lunch Break	Lunch Break	Lunch Break
14:00-18:00	Hands-onWorkshop	Hands-onWorkshop	Hands-onWorkshop	Hands-onWorkshop	Professional Development Workshop.

	Monday August 17	Tuesday August 18	Wednesday August 19	Thursday August 20	Friday August 21
9:00- 10:00	Principles of Neural Modeling: from Neurons to Networks I Dr. Patricio Orio (Universidad de Valparaíso)	Whole-brain modeling and applications I Dr. Wael El-Deredy (Universidad de Valparaíso)	Structural Brain Connectivity Analysis Dr. Pamela Guevara (Universidad de Valparaíso)	The Vulnerable Adolescent Brain: Parvalbumin Interneuron Dysfunction in Neuropsychiatric Disorders Dr. Marco Fuenzalida (CENFI, Universidad de Valparaíso) The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for studying Autism Spectrum Disorder” Dr. Angelina Palacios (CINV, CICOM, Universidad de Valparaíso)	Neuromodulation at central synapses in health and disease Dr. Andrés Chávez (CINV, Universidad de Valparaíso) Functional Crosstalk Between α7 nAChRs and P2X7 Receptors: Implications for microglia activation Dra. Constanza Maldifassi (CINV, Universidad de Valparaíso)
10:00- 11:00	Principles of Neural Modeling: from Neurons to Networks II Dr. Patricio Orio (Universidad de Valparaíso)	Whole-brain modeling and applications II  Dr. Mónica Otero (Universidad San Sebastián)	Methods of Information  Dr. Leonel Medina (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	Impact of dopamine levels and D2 receptors on the generation of compulsive behaviors, Dra. Angélica Escobar (CENFI, Universidad de Valparaíso) Glutamatergic alterations underlying compulsive behavior” Dr. Pablo Moya (CINV, C-ESTRES, Universidad de Valparaíso)	Pannexin 1 in Alzheimer disease, bridging A beta toxicity, neuro inflammation and synaptic dysfunction Dr. Álvaro Ardiles (CINV, CiTne, Universidad de Valparaíso) The Olfactory Sensory System as a Window into Inflammation Based Dementia Dra. Kathleen Whitlock, (CINV, Universidad de Valparaíso)
11:00- 11:30	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break
11:30- 12:30	Exploring Basal Ganglia Function Through Computational Modeling Dr. Javier Baladron (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	Whole Brain modelling and Brain oscillations Dr. Felipe Torres (Universidad Católica del Maule)	Entropy and complexity analyses of electrophysiological signals: Application to Alzheimer’s disease detection in the eye”. Dr. Leonel Medina. (Universidad de Santiago de Chile)	Neurobiology of stress resilience and depression: Rol of GR/MR balance, Dr. Alexies Dagnino (CIES, Universidad de Valparaíso) Effects of chronic exposure to a high-fat diet on the lateral septum- lateral hypothalamus pathway Dr. Ramón Sotomayor (CENFI, Universidad de Valparaíso)	A bone drug with a twist: Zoledronic acid eases pain through TRPV1 inhibition, Dra. Karen Castillo (CINV, Universidad de Valparaíso) Role of hemichannels in caries-mediated dentinal hypersensitivity Dr. Isaac García (CINV, CICOM, Universidad de Valparaíso)
14:00- 17:00	Hands-on Workshop	Hands-on Workshop	Hands-on Workshop	Hands-on Workshop	Students’ presentations
17:00 – 18:00	Hands-on Workshop	Hands-on Workshop	Hands-on Workshop	Hands-on Workshop	Keynote Lecture. Properties of large pore channels and their role in animal models of nervous system diseases. Dr. Juan Carlos Saez (CINV, Universidad de Valparaíso)

	Monday  August 24	Tuesday August 25	Wednesday August 26	Thursday August 27	Friday August 28
9:00-10:00	Molecular Mechanism of synaptic dysfunction in neurodegeneration Dr. Alejandra Álvarez. (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)	Molecular and cellular mechanisms mediating sensory transmission Dr. Evelyn Avilés Dr. Margarita Calvo  (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)	Bulk short-read and long-read sequencing for isoform discovery Dr. Christine H. Tabuloc (University of California, Davis)	To be confirmed. Multi-omics approaches in biomedicine Dr. Lucia Peixoto (Washington State University)	Adaptive optics for in vivobrain Dr. Cristina Rodríguez  (Yale University)
10:00-11:00	Intracellular trafficking of membrane proteins in neurons Dr. María Paz Marzolo (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)	Molecular bases of the nervous system development Dr. Ignacio Cancino Dr. Francisca Cornejo (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)	Single-cell sequencing  Dr. Vinicius Maracaja-Coutinho (Universidad de Chile)	Spatial transcriptomics in neuroscience Dr. Xiangmin Xu (University of California, Irvine)	Optogenetic manipulation of visual perception Dr. Luis Carrillo (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break
11:30-12:30	Intravital microscopy techniques for monitoring brain activity and metabolism Dr. Víctor Hugo Cornejo Dr. Andrés González (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)	Molecular and neurochemical bases of compulsive behaviours Dr. María Estela Andrés (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)	Transcriptional profiling of cell lineages of sex-differentiated neurons  Dr. E. Josie Clowney (University of Michigan)	Integration of spatial and single-cell transcriptomics datasets Dr. Sergio Hidalgo (Washington State University)	Title to be confirmed Dr. Xiangmin Xu (University of California, Irvine)
14:00-18:00	Hands-onWorkshop	Hands-onWorkshop	Hands-onWorkshop	Hands-onWorkshop	Professional Development Workshop.

Hands-on Workshops 1st week

• Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippocampus
• In vitro Ca²⁺ -Imaging
• Measurement of the C Reflex
• Physics of Electrical Neurostimulation
• How to Set Up a “Dirt-Cheap” Electrophysiology Rig
• EEG Analysis During Continuous Speech Perception Using Multivariate Temporal Response Functions (mTRF)
• Two-electrode voltage-clamp of the neuromuscular Drosophila synapse

Hands-on Workshops 2nd week:

• Computational Neuroscience Practical
• Genes and behavior
• Expression and function of ion channels
• Western Blot, Histology, and Structural Synaptic Plasticity by Fluorescence Microscopy
• Nervous tissue slicing techniques and patch-clamp recordings in slices
• Neuromodulation in central synapses using electrophysiological recordings
• Analysis of neural circuits using a multi-electrode array (MEA)
• Use of genetically encoded reporter lines to visualize cells in the developing nervous system
• Chemogenetics
• Methods for studying intercellular communication
• Techniques for measuring brain neurotransmitters
• Recording neural activity in vivo from freely behaving mice: technical and analytical approaches

Hands-on Workshops 3rd week:

• In vivo Microdialysis in Rat or Mouse Models, Including Stereotaxic Surgery and Live Rat Demonstration
• Preparation of Hippocampal Neuron Cultures and Analysis of Dendritogenesis
• Studying Central Nervous System Development Using Brain Organoids
• Learning About the Nervous System and Locomotor Behavior in Invertebrate Models (C. elegans and Drosophila)
• In vivo Imaging of Neuronal Activity in the Mouse Somatosensory Cortex Using Multiphoton Microscopy
• Low-Cost Laser Illumination for Microscopy (2 days), Dr. Vicente Parot, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.