Mini-Symposium: The Evolution and Application of Brain Organoids to Study Human Disease

Organoids have rapidly transformed researchers' ability to model human tissues in vitro. In neural research, organoids have revolutionized the study of brain development, health, and disease by enabling direct observations in human tissue—previously a significant challenge for both practical and ethical reasons. Brain organoids present a unique opportunity for researchers to study viral pathogenesis in a human tissue model. During this virtual symposium—presented by STEMCELL and OrganoVIR, a Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Network funded by the European Commission—Drs. Vivi Heine (Amsterdam UMC), Veronica Krenn (IMBA), and Melvin Evers (uniQure) discuss how brain organoids are becoming powerful model systems for understanding health and disease in a human-specific context.