Dr. Shumin Duan organized and chaired the symposium on “Purine mediated neuron-glia interactions: physiological and pathological relevance” at the 2007 IBRO (International Brain Research Organization) World Congress of Neuroscience held between July 12th and 17th in Melbourne, Australia. During the symposium, Dr. Duan gave a talk entitled “Mechanisms of ATP release from astrocytes and their physiological and pathological implications”.