November 12, 2025
During its 1st Grant Period, the SIGMA-1EUROPE COST Action proudly supported the participation of its members in international scientific events through a total of 12 conference grants, including 1 Dissemination Conference Grant, 7 Young Researcher and Innovator Conference Grants (YRICGs), and 4 Inclusiveness Target Country Conference Grants (ITCCGs). These grants enabled young researchers and participants from inclusiveness target countries to share their work, build collaborations, and promote the SIGMA-1EUROPE network:
11th Croatian Congress of Pharmacology with International Participation (September 25–28, Split, Croatia) – 4 grants (1 dissemination, 1 YRICG, 2 ITCCGs).
The Congress featured a SIGMA-1EUROPE-sponsored symposium led by Tangui Maurice, Chair of the Action, who introduced SIGMA-1EUROPE’s objectives followed by dedicated oral presentations from members:
- Tangui Maurice (France): Amylovis-201, a new dual-target ligand acting as an anti-amyloidogenic compound and agonist of the sigma-1 chaperone protein, is neuroprotectant in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models
- Srećko Gajović (Croatia): Monitoring time-dependent brain damage and repair after ischemic injury in living animals as tool for evaluation of sigma-1 receptor related preclinical interventions
- Urban Košak (Croatia): A novel therapeutic candidate for Alzheimer’s disease targeting sigma-1, sigma-2, and 5-HT2A receptors and butyrylcholinesterase
- Celia Escriche (Croatia): Unlocking the power of inhibiting soluble epoxide hydrolase and sigma-1 receptor antagonism through dual mechanism analgesic compounds
Photo: Celia Escriche
5th European Symposium / 1st Meeting of the European Network for Sigma-1 Receptor as a Therapeutic Opportunity (June 25–26, Granada, Spain) – 3 grants (2 YRICGs, 1 ITCCG).
Kinga Sałaciak (Poland) participated with an oral presentation titled “Targeting Sigma-1 Receptors for Improved Executive Flexibility Under Glutamatergic Dysfunction”. Kinga demonstrated how Sigma-1 receptor ligands may help restore cognitive flexibility under disrupted glutamatergic signalling — a mechanism relevant to psychiatric disorders. Photos by Kinga Sałaciak.
Alba López Ruiz (Spain) participated with a poster presentation on design and pharmacological evaluation of new chemical compounds with dual mechanism of action. Another poster presentation was presented by Javier Sánchez Sánchez-Corral (Spain) titled “Unlocking the power of inhibiting soluble epoxide hydrolase and sigma-1 receptor antagonism through dual mechanism analgesic compounds”. Photos: Alba López Ruiz and Javier Sánchez Sánchez-Corral.
28th EVER Congress (October 9–11, Florence, Italy) – 2 grants (1 YRICG, 1 ITCCG).
Judit Hodrea (Hungary) presented poster titled “Sigma-1 receptor activation represents a novel therapeutic strategy for ocular hypertension” and received the Best Poster Award! Another poster titled “Sigma-1 receptor agonist fluvoxamine is protective against hyperglycemia-induced fibrosis in human trabecular meshwork cells” was presented by Alexandra Rózsahegyi (Hungary). Photos: Judit Hodrea.
X EFMC International Symposium on Advances in Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry (August 31–September 4, Porto, Portugal) – 1 grant (1 YRICG).
Giacomo Rossino (Italy) presented a poster titled “Bivalent ligands for targeting the Sigma-1 receptor and TSPO: a novel avenue for neuroprotective agents”. Photo: Giacomo Rossino.
EUROPIN Summer School on Drug Design (September 14–19, Vienna, Austria) – 1 grant (1 YRICG).
Denys Bondar (Slovenia) at the conference presented a poster titled “Design and In Silico Study of Hydroxamic Acids as Sigma-1 Receptor Ligands”. The contribution focused on combining GRID-based pharmacophore modeling, molecular dynamics simulations, and sustainable synthetic strategies to identify promising Sigma-1 receptor ligands. Photo: Denys Bondar.
International Conference on Biological & Clinical Studies (June 8–9, Lisbon, Portugal) – 1 grant (1 YRICG).
Delvina Bucaj (Armenia) participated with the presentation titled “A Cutting-Edge Approach to Treating Complex Diseases”.
Participation in the international scientific conferences provided an excellent opportunity to enhance the visibility of both the researcher’s work and the SIGMA-1EUROPE Action within the global research community. The presentations stimulated valuable discussions with experts in the field, generated constructive feedback that will help refine future research directions, and facilitated the establishment of new collaborations for upcoming studies. Overall, the participation contributed to the dissemination of the Action’s objectives, fostered scientific exchange across disciplines, and strengthened international cooperation.
