Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience

The forthcoming weeks and months will be exciting 🍂🧠

From advanced training in glial biology to opportunities for young researchers to connect, and hands-on science activities for schoolchildren, the coming months will offer plenty of opportunities to engage with neuroscience.

Here's what's coming up:

🧠 16–18 September | Achucarro International Glia School 2026
An advanced training course that brings together researchers from around the world to exchange ideas, explore cutting-edge techniques and foster new collaborations in glial biology.

🔬 7 October | Neuroscience Day 2026
A day dedicated to showcasing neuroscience research at the Leioa Campus, promoting scientific exchange and encouraging connections across the local research community.

👩‍🔬 26–27 October | BeZientzia 2026
Together with our fellow BERC centres, we will once again welcome primary school students to discover science through interactive activities and explore the fascinating world of neuroscience.

And of course, many more seminars throughout the autumn 📚

We're excited for another autumn of neuroscience!

The first half of 2026 at Achucarro 🧠

The first months of the year have been filled with opportunities to share neuroscience, strengthen collaborations and engage with different communities.

From scientific meetings and international collaborations to outreach initiatives and public engagement, here's a look back at some of the highlights of 2026 so far:

🧠 Emakumeak Zientzian 2026
🎭 Actúa contra el Parkinson
🌍 ENLIGHT Minisymposium 2026
🤝 W*P Konekta 2026
🧬 Neurogune 2026
📚 11 scientific seminars

Thank you to everyone who joined us along the way. We look forward to everything that's still to come.

We are delighted to share that Laura Aguado Santos has successfully defended her PhD thesis, “Characterization of brain arteriovenous malformation and the secondary injury after surgical resection in rats by multimodal imaging”. This PhD thesis is the result of a collaborative project between Achucarro and CIC biomaGUNE.

Every PhD tells the story of years of learning, determination, and discovery. We're delighted to celebrate this achievement and recognize all the dedication that has led to this important milestone.

Congratulations, Dr. Aguado Santos! Zorionak Laura! 👏🎓

New publication in Nature Communications 🧠🔬

An international research group led by several Achucarro researchers has identified MCT2 as a previously unrecognized regulator of white matter integrity. Published in Nature Communications, the study shows that this metabolic transporter plays a key role in helping oligodendrocytes maintain myelin and support axonal integrity.

The researchers also found that MCT2 expression is reduced in oligodendrocytes from patients with progressive multiple sclerosis, suggesting that these cells become metabolically compromised during disease progression. The findings open new avenues for developing neuroprotective therapies for multiple sclerosis.

Congratulations to all authors, collaborators and funding organizations who contributed to this achievement! ✨

Read more on our website 👉 https://www.achucarro.org/news/2026-07-novel-metabolic-regulator-white-matter/

Yesterday, July 13, we welcomed Santiago Solé Domenech (Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, USA) to Achucarro for a seminar on microglial mechanisms involved in amyloid-beta clearance in Alzheimer’s disease. 🧠

In his talk, “Beyond Phagocytosis: Lysosomal Acidification and Digestive Exophagy in Microglial Alzheimer’s Aβ Clearance, From Cell Culture Models to the Living Brain”, he presented research exploring how microglia degrade fibrillar amyloid-beta plaques that are too large to be eliminated by phagocytosis.

This work describes the process of digestive exophagy, in which microglia form tightly sealed lysosomal synapses on amyloid-beta aggregates and secrete lysosomal contents and protons to promote their degradation. The findings suggest that incomplete acidification of these compartments may limit the efficient degradation of fibrillar amyloid-beta.

The research also presents a novel methodology to measure lysosomal pH in macrophages and microglia in the intact mouse brain. Preliminary results indicate that these cells do not fully acidify their lysosomes, providing new opportunities to investigate how lysosomal acidification influences the clearance of pathogenic fibrils.

Thank you to Santiago Sole Domenech for the visit and for sharing these insights with our community. 👏

Achucarro at FENS Forum 2026! 🧠

Over the past few days, several Achucarro researchers have been in Barcelona, organising Symposia, sharing their research, and networking with colleagues.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to another inspiring edition.

See you back in 2028! 👏

New publication in PLOS Biology from the Astiz Lab🧠 🔬

This publication is the result of a great collaboration between the Laboratory of Circadian Physiology, led by Prof. Dr. Mariana Astiz, and Prof. Dr. Med. Malte Spielmann's Lab in Germany. They report that the adult suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the brain's central circadian clock, remains sensitive to glucocorticoids through astrocytes.

The findings challenge the long-standing view that the adult SCN is largely resistant to glucocorticoids and provide new insights into hormonal feedback to the central clock .

Congratulations to all authors and collaborators on this achievement! ✨

Read more on our website 👉 https://www.achucarro.org/news/2026-07-study-reveals-glucocorticoid-sensitivity-in-the-adult-scn/

Last Friday, July 3, we welcomed Manuel Valero García (Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona) to Achucarro for a seminar on the inhibitory and glial mechanisms of memory consolidation. 🧠

He presented his work exploring how genetically defined neuronal and glial cell populations cooperate to shape hippocampal network dynamics during memory processing. By combining large-scale electrophysiology with optogenetic manipulations in behaving mice, his team identified the circuit mechanisms that determine the long-term incorporation of neuronal assemblies into physiological memory reactivation.

The research also explores how glial activity shapes hippocampal network dynamics during memory consolidation.

Thank you to Manuel Valero García for the visit and for sharing these insights with our community. 👏

Today, Achucarro turns 14! 🎂

Fourteen years ago, Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience began its journey with a shared ambition: to advance our understanding of the brain through excellent research.

Since then, our community has grown through new ideas, collaborations, discoveries, and the dedication of everyone who has been part of this journey.

Over the past 14 years, together we've achieved:
🧠 722 scientific publications
📖 67.812 citations
🎓 74 PhD graduates
🎤 329 seminars
💡 3 patents
📚 4 Advanced Training Courses

Behind every number are the people who made them possible: researchers, technical and administrative staff, collaborators, and partners. Thank you for your curiosity, dedication, and commitment to advancing neuroscience.

As we celebrate this milestone, we also look ahead with the same curiosity that brought us here to new questions, new collaborations, and new discoveries.

Zorionak, Achucarro! 🧠🔬🎉