Scientific symposia

Chemical tools to reveal new biology

Organizers
George Burslem, University of Pennsylvania
Yael David, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Chemical biology is a powerful interdisciplinary bridge linking basic and translational research. This includes the development of new chemical modalities, which open the door to performing research at a biochemical resolution in the appropriate physiological context, leading to the discovery of fundamental biological processes as well as new therapeutic modalities. This theme will focus on cutting-edge chemical technologies developed and applied toward understanding, modulating and controlling biological systems.

Epigenetic chemical biology

• Rewiring cancer drivers to activate apoptosis with chemical induces of proximity
  Gerald Crabtree, Stanford University
• Uncovering cancer-associated epigenetic events using novel chemical tools
  Yael David, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Mechanism-based approaches for targeting histone reader proteins
  Marcey Waters, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• TBD
  Tatiana Kutateladze, University of Colorado

Chemical biology for therapeutics

• Accelerating DUB inhibitor discovery
  Sara Buhrlage, Harvard University
• Targeting histone “reader” subunits of chromatin remodeling complexes in disease
  Emily C. Dykhuizen, Purdue University
• New approaches to target undruggable proteins
  Jian Jin, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Unveiling potent inhibitors for protein N-terminal methyltransferase
  Rong Huang, Purdue University

New accessible chemical technologies

• Chemical-proteomic strategies to investigate reactive cysteines
  Eranthie Weerapana, Boston College
• Post-translational editing of proteins in mammalian cells
  George Burslem, University of Pennsylvania
• Genetic code expansion technology for all that want to reveal new biology
  Ryan Mehl, Oregon State University
• Chemical tools for biological discoveries
  Monika Raj, Emory University

Empowering futures: The transformative power of mentorship in science

Organizers
Nisha Cavanaugh, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Orla Hart, Purdue University
Reinhart Reithmeier, University of Toronto

Dive into a world where mentorship meets innovation, growth and community building! This symposium will examine mentorship at different stages of biochemistry and molecular biology training, from undergraduate through graduate, postdoc and beyond. We will spark conversations about what it means to have successful mentoring relationships and creative approaches for engaging trainees on their journeys to becoming independent scientists. We're excited to invite you to inspire, educate and connect, and above all, to explore the transformative power of mentorship in science.

Transforming biomedical education and training through effective mentoring

• Mentorship matters: The case for graduate professional development
  Reinhart Reithmeier, University of Toronto
• Mentoring matters — Let’s dive in! Engaging, inspiring, and empowering the next generation of biomedical professionals through transformative mentorship
  Shana Stoddard, Rhodes College
• Postdocs — at the junction between mentee and mentor
  Nancy Schwartz, University of Chicago
• Improving academic mentorship
  Sarvenaz Sarabipour, University of Connecticut

Building a community of mentorship

• Catalyzing growth: Scientific meetings as mentorship platforms for aspiring researchers
  Orla Hart, Purdue University
• The chemistry of community
  Mecky Pohlschröder, University of Pennsylvania
• Improving undergraduate research experiences through graduate mentor training: A transformative model across STEM and beyond
  Zahra Tehrani, Purdue University

Beyond mentoring: Career growth and DEIB

• Career growth and advancement through effective mentoring
  Nisha Cavanaugh, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
• Rethinking mentoring to cultivate a mentoring network: Moving from “mentor” to “mentors”
  Kenzie Cameron, Northwestern University
• Holistic student mentoring: Training the next generation of diverse scientific leaders
  Jorge Torres, University of California, Los Angeles
• Mentoring for impact: Fostering diversity and inclusion in biomedical training
  Laura de Lorenzo Barrios, University of New Mexico

Host–pathogen interactions

Organizer
Tamara O'Connor, John Hopkins School of Medicine

The interplay between pathogens and their hosts is a critical determinant of infectious disease. Acting at these interfaces is a highly orchestrated, complex series of molecular and biochemical interactions. In this theme, we will examine the chemical crosstalk between pathogens, microbiota and immune cells that enable host colonization, the macromolecular machines pathogens use to interact with host cells, how they modulate host cellular processes to establish infection, and how they transition from one site of infection to another.

• Vibrio pathogenesis: Invasion, proliferation and escape
  Kim Orth, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• A multilayered assault: Toxoplasma usurps host ESCRT and membrane contact site components
  Isabelle Coppens, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
• Gut dysbiosis: ecological causes and causative effects on human disease
  Andreas Baumler, Univeristy of California, Davis
• Mobilization of host cell structures by microbial pathogens
  Matthew Welch, Univeristy of California, Berkeley

Interorganellar signaling and communication

Organizers
Navdeep Chandel, Northwestern University
Isha Jain, Gladstone Institutes–UCSF

Organelle crosstalk is essential for coordinating compartment-specific metabolism within the cell. Essential processes — such as redox homeostasis, bioenergetics, lipid metabolism and iron homeostasis — must be carefully orchestrated across organelles to ensure cell and organismal survival. Organelles utilize metabolites, calcium, ROS, lipids and proteins as mechanisms for crosstalk. In this theme, we delve into how organelles communicate during health and how they signal in times of stress. Communication breakdown among organelles could lead to onset of common diseases. Join us as we explore this intricate dialogue within the cell.

Redox

• Identification of druggable and redox vulnerabilites in cancer
  Liron Bar–Peled, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Mitochondria as signaling hubs that regulate stem cell function
  Mireille Khacho, University of Ottawa
• Evading aging: Mitochondrial and proteostatic adaptations in oocytes
  Elvan Boke, Centre for Genomic Regulation
• Regulation of mitochondrial health during tissue regeneration
  Prashant Mishra, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Stress responses

• Engineering precise mtDNA deletions by reconstituting end-joining in human mitochondria
  Agnel Sfeir, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Genetic dissection of mitochondrial stress
  Lucas Jae, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
• Turning the oxygen and vitamin dials
  Isha Jain, Gladstone Institutes
• Evoking the sense of smell to coordinate homeostatic stress responses
  Andrew Dillin, University of California, Berkeley

Metabolites

• TBD
  Pekka Katajisto, University of Helsinki/Karolinska Institute
• Metabolic regulation of tissue stem cells
  Heather Christofk, University of California, Los Angeles
• Tracing amino acid, acetyl-CoA, and lipid metabolic networks across organelles and tissues in health and disease
  Christian Metallo, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• TBD
  Tara Teslaa, University of California, Los Angeles

Lipids and membranes

Organizers
Gerry Hammond, University of Pittsburgh
Judith Simcox, University of Wisconsin

Lipids are fundamental building blocks of life. Their unique chemical properties drive many core cellular processes. Their self-organization in the aqueous environment enables membrane-bound cells to exist and facilitates organelle compartmentalization. They are an exquisitely high-yield energy source, which is both efficiently stored, highly stable and rapidly mobilized. Their vast array of unique chemical configurations enables them to function as both first and second messenger molecules.

Dysfunction of lipid abundance and signaling is a hallmark of metabolic diseases including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Understanding both the basic and disease-driving function of lipids is important to establish cellular regulation and disease etiology.

New frontiers in inositol lipid signaling

• Lipid switches in cell physiology: From nutrient signals to disease
  Volker Haucke, Leibniz Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie
• The sub cellular landscape of PI3K activation at single molecule resolution
  Gerry Hammond, University of Pittsburgh
• PI3K signaling in health and disease: New twists and turns 
  Ralitsa Madsen, University of Dundee
• Phosphoinositide signaling as a dynamical system
  Wu Min, Yale University

Emerging roles for lysosomal lipids in metabolic disease

• Mechanisms and physiology of lysosomal lipid degradation
  Robert Farese, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Lysosome cholesterol sensing in growth regulation
  Hijai Shin, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Novel regulators of lysosomal lipids and their role in neurodegeneration
  Monther Abu-Remaileh, Stanford University
• Lipid trafficking in Parkinson’s Disease
  Suzanne Pfeffer, Stanford University School of Medicine

Novel insights into neurodegeneration from lipid biology

• Lipid mediators of Alzheimer's disease: A tale of mice and men
  Judith Simcox, University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Lipid signaling in neurodegeneration
  Eamonn Dickson, University of California, Davis
• Mitochondrial quality control in neuronal homeostasis and neurodegenerative disease
  Chantell Evans, Duke University
• The lipidome landscape in models of Niemann-Pick Type C
  Stephanie Cologna, University of Illinois at Chicago

Maximizing access through diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility

Organizers
Carlos Lopez, Altos Labs Inc.
Teresita (Tere) Padilla-Benavides, Wesleyan University

The "Changing the culture of science" symposium will amplify voices of underrepresented scientists. Speakers will share their personal narratives of being BMB scientists who have navigated barriers and transformed scientific culture through their contributions to science. A separate session will highlight BMB scientists’ innovative ideas and initiatives on mentorship, skills development, community-building and strategies for improving recruitment, retention and sense of belonging.

Exploring personal and professional journeys in scientific research — How life influences science

• Imposter syndrome and being the “other” as a systems biologist
  Carlos F. Lopez, Altos Labs Inc.
• Hydroxyl radical protein footprinting for the structural characterization of proteins in their native cellular environment
  Lisa Jones, Univeristy of California, San Diego
• TBD
  Julie A. Rhoades, Vanderbilt University
• TBD
  Blanton Tolbert, Case Western Reserve University

Exploring personal and professional journeys in scientific research — How science influences personal journeys

• A long, winding road to get where I am: How an undergraduate biochemistry course changed the course of my career path
  Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Augusta University
• Life adventures with transition metals and cells
  Teresita Padilla–Benavides, Wesleyan University
• Cellular and molecular basis of active forgetting
  Isaac Cervantes–Sandoval, Georgetown University
• My career-long fascination with antiviral therapeutics
  Craig E. Cameron, University of North Carolina

Fostering diversity and inclusion: Strategies for equity, accessibility and sustainable recruitment/retention in STEM

Roundtable discussion

• Leonard Harris, University of Arkansas
• Belinda Akpa, University of Illinois Chicago
• Lea Vacca Michel, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Mary L. Garcia–Cazarin, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Metabolism and biosynthesis

Organizers
Lydia Finley, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Gerta Hoxhaj, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Cellular metabolism — the chemical reactions that convert nutrients into energy and the building blocks of life — has gained attention for its role in organismal homeostasis and disease. With renewed interest in metabolism has come an appreciation for the many unknowns in the metabolic networks themselves: how metabolic pathways are regulated, how they are configured to support growth or other cellular functions, and how cells balance competing demand for metabolic intermediates. This theme will cover recent research in the basic architecture of metabolic networks, new approaches to monitoring metabolism, and insight into how these pathways contribute to disease.

Building up: Harnessing reducing equivalents to maintain biosynthesis

• Compartmentalized NADPH metabolism: Role and regulatory mechanisms
  Gerta Hoxhaj, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Expanding the set of genetically encoded tools for compartment-specific manipulation of redox metabolism in living cells
  Valentin Cracan, Scintillon Institute
• Catabolism of extracellular GSH supplies amino acids to cells
  Isaac S. Harris, University of Rochester
• Mechanisms of metabolite regulation of protein function
  Ed Chouchani, Harvard Medical School

Regulation of metabolic networks in health and disease

• New insights into metabolic regulation of the epigenome in cancer
  Kathryn Wellen, University of Pennsylvania
• Decoding nucleotide metabolism: Unveiling roles and regulations
  Issam Ben–Sahra, Northwestern University
• The functional outcome of Folate deficiency in effector T cells 
  Naama Kanarek, Harvard Medical School
• Metabolism, cellular decisions and the language that unites them
  Jared Rutter, University of Utah; Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Bioenergetic strategies in mammalian cells

• TCA cycle remodeling during cell state transitions
  Lydia Finley, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Mechanisms and consequences of aspartate limitation during mitochondrial dysfunction
  Lucas Sullivan, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
• Localized real-time sensors for metabolic signaling
  Lulu Cambronne, University of Texas at Austin
• Measuring cancer and immune metabolism in vivo
  Caroline Bartman, University of Pennsylvania

Metals of life: From microbes to medicine

Organizers
Sabeeha Merchant, University of California, Berkeley
Amit Reddi, Georgia Tech

Transition metals play important roles as cofactors and signaling molecules. Despite their essentiality, they can also be toxic. Thus, cells and organisms are challenged to sense and maintain the appropriate concentration and availability of metals and rapidly mobilize them for metalloprotein utilization and signaling. This theme will highlight the latest research findings in transition metal sensing, transport, trafficking and signaling, from microbes to humans, in both health and disease.

Transition metal sensing and transport

• Extracellular heme utilization and its role in Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence and pathogenesis
  Angela Wilks, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
• Mechanisms underlying copper homeostasis in Chlamydomonas
  Sabeeha Merchant, University of California, Berkeley
• Multitasking functions of the IRT1 plant metal transporter
  Gregory Vert, Université Paris–Saclay
• Substrate selectivity in Nramp-family metal ion transporters
  Rachelle Gaudet, Harvard University

Transition metal signaling

• Transitional metal signaling from metalloallostery to metalloplasia: bioinorganic chemistry beyond active sites
  Christopher Chang, Princeton University
• Illuminating extracellular metal dynamics: From tool development to discovery
  Marie Heffern, University of California, Davis
• The sensing of ferrous iron via a bacterial two-component system
  Aaron Smith, University of Maryland, Baltimore
• Structural and functional diversification across the heme-binding split-barrel family
  Crysten Blaby–Haas, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Metal trafficking

• Illuminating heme trafficking and signaling in health and disease
  Amit Reddi, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Repurposing elesclomol for genetic disorders of copper deficiency
  Vishal Gohil, Texas A&M University
• Cracking the CIA code — understanding the molecular basis of Fe-S protein maturation by the cytosolic iron sulfur cluster assembly system
  Deborah Perlstein, Boston University
• Control of essential metal availability in plant cells
  Sebastien Thomine, Université Paris–Saclay

Molecular movement and compartmentalization — Contacts, transporters and nanodomains

Organizers
Nora Kory, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Tim Levine, University College London

Advanced high-resolution tools have enriched our understanding of tissue, cell and subcellular heterogeneity, highlighting the need to unravel the mechanisms governing the movement of small molecules within and between cellular compartments. This theme integrates insights into the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of spatial heterogeneity and the dynamics of molecular transfer. It highlights the impacts of disrupted metabolic compartmentalization in human disease, emphasizing the roles of solute carriers and molecular transfer across organelle contact sites.

Inter-compartment communication through direct contact

• Identifying the components of membrane contact sites without doing any experiments
  Tim Levine, University College London
• How and why do bridge-like lipid transport proteins regulate in the intracellular distribution of phosphatidylethanolamine?
  Will Prinz, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Mechanisms maintaining cellular lipid balances
  Rachid Thiam, French National Centre for Scientific Research and École Normale Supérieure in Paris
• Lipid transporters that build the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria
  Natividad Ruiz, Ohio State University

Molecular movement by transporters

• Orchestrating metabolic complexity — Mitochondrial transporters and the control of cellular metabolism
  Nora Kory, Harvard University
• Mitochondrial metabolite compartmentalization in health and disease
  Shingo Kajimura, Harvard University; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• Mechanistic studies of small substrate transporters
  Heather Pinkett, Northwestern University
• The role of protons in synaptic vesicle glutamate transport
  Robert Edwards, University of California, San Francisco

Metabolic heterogeneity across scales — from nanodomains to whole tissues

• cAMP nanodomain signaling at membrane contact sites
  Manuela Zaccolo, Oxford University
• Tumor biochemistry in personalized cancer care
  Nathalie Agar, Harvard Medical School
• Control of trafficking of ER membrane proteins by the mitochondria
  Gyorgy Hajnoczky, Thomas Jefferson University
• Illuminating the biochemical activity architecture of the cell
  Jin Zhang, University of California, San Diego

New frontiers in enzyme and pseudoenzyme research

Organizers
Shantá D. Hinton, College of William and Mary
Vincent Tagliabracci, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Enzymes regulate and accelerate chemical reactions, ensuring that biological and biochemical processes are accomplished. Evolutionary and genomic studies revealed that many of these enzymes (pseudoenzymes) lack critical active site residues, yet maintain the three-dimensional fold. Pseudoenzymes are widespread in nature and play important roles in human health and disease. Moreover, some proteins within a superfamily act as moonlighting enzymes, which perform the canonical enzymatic function of the superfamily but also have at least one other alternate function. This theme will explore the expanding roles of these enzymes and pseudoenzymes across diverse areas of biology.

New frontiers in enzyme and pseudoenzyme research

• Protein tyrosine phosphatases and the regulation of cell signaling: from basic research to new therapeutics
  Nicholas K. Tonks, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Protein AMPylation as a novel signaling mechanism in mitochondria
  Anju Sreelatha, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Pseudophosphatase MK-STYX: regulator of stress and neuronal signaling
  Shantá D. Hinton, College of William and Mary
• Death at a funeral: how activation of the zombie enzyme, MLKL, kills cells by necroptosis and leads to disease
  James Murphy, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medicine Research

Enzymes and pseudoenzymes in health and diseases

• Cholesterol-mediated regulation of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B
  Benoit Boivin, University at Albany
• MKP-2 in sexual dimorphism and development of diabetes
  Ahmed Lawan, University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of PTP1B protects against high-fat diet induced cardiac dysfunction
  Maria Kontaridis, Masonic Medical Research Institute
• Tyrosine kinase-dependent networks in Brain Metastasis reveal actionable therapeutic targets
  Ann Marie Pendergast, Duke University

Structural insights in enzymes and pseudoenzymes

• Visualizing PI3K activation at the membrane with cryo-EM
  Klimnet Verba, University of California, San Francisco
• New insights into Ras GTPase Activating Proteins
  Titus Boggon, Yale University
• Enzymes, pseudoenzymes, and moonlighting proteins: diversity of functions in protein families
  Constance J. Jeffrey, University of Illinois Chicago
• Activation mechanisms of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and their signaling complexes
  Natalia Jura, University of California, San Francisco

Oncogenic hubs: Chromatin regulatory and transcriptional complexes in cancer

Organizers
Cigall Kadoch, Harvard Medical School
G. Greg Wang, Duke University School of Medicine

Perturbed chromatin and gene regulatory complexes are frequent determinants of aberrant gene expression in cancer and other diseases. Oncogenesis can be initiated or maintained by altered biomolecular condensates, or "hubs," involving proteins such as transcription factors, RNA-binding proteins, chromatin regulatory and ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes, among others. Studies have begun to increasingly reveal the involvement of intrinsically disordered regions and phase separation potential within condensate-associated proteins in the context of cancer. Indeed, advancing our understanding of the underlying biochemical processes that govern condensate formation and function is central to the identification and development of new therapeutic opportunities targeting these mechanisms.

Transcriptional dysregulation in cancer and diseases

• Chromatin-bound onco-condensates drive cancerous transcriptional programs
  G. Greg Wang, Duke University
• Decoding and targeting chromatin-associated condensates in cancer
  Liling Wan, University of Pennsylvania
• Specificity of condensate composition regulates transcription and is dysregulated in cancer
• Benjamin Sabari, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
• Dark proteome-mediated transcriptional control in cancer at single-molecule resolution
  Shasha Chong, California Institute of Technology

Histone modifications: mechanisms and therapeutic targeting

• “Oncohistones” in driving tumors and therapeutic resistance
  Nada Jabado, McGill University
• Biology and therapeutic targeting of cohesin-mutant myeloid malignancies
  Zuzana Tothova, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
• A gateway to controlling extrachromosmal DNA amplification and rearrangements 
  Johnathan Whetstine, Fox Chase Cancer Center
• Non-canonical functions of MLL1 in cancer
  Yali Dou, University of Southern California

Mechanisms of chromatin regulatory and remodeling complexes in diseases

• Structure and function of mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes in health and disease
  Cigall Kadoch, Harvard Medical School; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• The role of NSD2 in epigenetic dysfunction in lymphoid malignancy
  Jonathan D. Licht, University of Florida
• Chromatin dynamics in cancer
  Emily Bernstein, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Dynamics of 3D genome structure and function
  Anders Sejr Hansen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

RNA biology

Organizers
Sergej Djuranovic, Washington University in St. Louis
Olivia S. Rissland, University of Colorado School of Medicine

RNA biology has emerged as one of the most important areas in modern biology and medicine. Coding and noncoding RNAs are central players in a wide spectrum of biological processes. This theme will explore the forefront of research on post-transcriptional gene regulation, ranging from the roles of RNAs and proteins in RNA processing and translation to new technologies and RNA-based therapies.

RNA processing

• Evolutionary plasticity of poly(A) signals
  Olivia Rissland, University of Colorado
• Gene expression regulation by RNA modifications
  Siggy Nachtergaele, Yale University
• Exploring the crossroads of neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration: The RNA exosome and human disease 
  Derrick Morton, University of Southern California
• Leveraging machine learning to reveal the splicing code
  Hani Goodarzi, University of California, San Francisco

RNA in cytoplasm

• Ribosomal frameshifting on polyA tracks in heat stress
  Sergej Djuranovic, Washington University in St. Louis
• Understanding long noncoding RNA multifunctionality through splicing and structural dynamics
  Alisha Jones, New York University
• Dynamics of translation
  Joseph D. Puglisi, Stanford University
• Target-directed microRNA degradation
  Katherine McJunkin, National Institutes of Health

RNA-based therapies/RNA methods

• CRISPR-Cas effectors exhibit metal-dependent specificity switching
  Dipali Sashital, Iowa State University
• De novo gene synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
  Samuel Sternberg, Columbia University
• TBD
  Alicia Bicknell, Moderna Inc.
• TBD
  Liana Lareau, University of California, Berkeley

Structural biology of proteins and subcellular structures

Organizers
Christopher Barnes, Stanford University
Breann Brown, Vanderbilt University

For decades, determining macromolecular structures has been pivotal in deciphering the complexities of biology and cell signaling. The evolution of computational methods and imaging has transformed our study of challenging macromolecules and cellular architectures. This theme will spotlight how structural biologists use complementary approaches to unveil insights into the intricacies of diverse and dynamic cellular systems that govern life itself.

Structural approaches to address human health

• The structural basis for receptor signaling as a blueprint for biologics
  Daryl Klein, Yale University
• Structural and biochemical approaches to study the nsp16-nsp10 methyltransferase from coronaviruses
  Monica Rosas–Lemus, University of New Mexico
• Structural characterization of bacterial lipoproteins
  Naima Sharaf, Stanford University
• TBD
  Jonathan Abraham, Harvard University

Biomolecular complexes and allostery

• Investigating the allosteric control of heme biosynthesis
  Breann Brown, Vanderbilt University
• Harnessing protease conformational dynamics for detection and treatment of viral infection
  Jeanne Hardy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• The intrinsic structural dynamics of a histone deacetylase enzyme dictate enzymatic activity and inhibition
  D. Flemming Hansen, Francis Crick Institute
• Structure and function of encapsulin nanocompartments
  Tobias Giessen, University of Michigan Medical School

Advances in integrative structural biology

• Structure-guided approaches to engineer broad immunotherapies against emergent viruses
  Christopher Barnes, Stanford University
• Mapping mitochondrial protein import in cells
  Danielle Grotjahn, Scripps Research Institute
• Developing correlative cryo-EM technologies to support in situ structural biology
  Elizabeth Wright, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Discovering and validating the biology of superdark transmembrane proteins using millions of AlphaFold2 structure predictions
  Daniel Isom, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Synthetic biology

Organizers
Vatsan Raman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Danielle Tullman–Ercek, Northwestern University

The tools and approaches of synthetic biology enable interrogation and engineering of microbial and mammalian systems across scales: from the molecular (nucleic acids, proteins, lipids) to the network (regulation, metabolic pathways) to multicellular systems (tissues, biofilms, microbiomes). This theme will highlight work across scales and applications from human health to sustainability.

Synthetic biology for human health

• Programming cellular sensors with genetic control systems
  Laura Segatori, Rice University
• Engineering high-precision, dynamic genetic control systems for cellular reprogramming
  Katie Galloway, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Phage-based approaches to eliminate or alter bacteria within complex microbial communities
  Mark Mimee, University of Chicago
• TBD
  Joshua Leonard, Northwestern University

Synthetic biology for environmental health

• The devil is in the (molecular) details: Engineering bacterial microcompartment assembly for applications in medicine, materials, and sustainable chemical production
  Danielle Tullman–Ercek, Northwestern University
• TBD
  James Carothers, University of Washington
• Manipulating soil microbes to improve plant drought tolerance 
  Jennifer Brophy, Stanford University
• Evolution of the minimal cell
  Jay Lennon, Indiana University

Synthetic biology enabling technologies

• High-throughput approaches to understand and engineer bacteriophages
  Vatsan Raman, University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Engineering bacteria to grow into macroscopic living materials with tailored properties
  Caroline Ajo–Franklin, Rice University
• Bioengineering with synthetic cells
  Kate Adamala, University of Minnesota
• Measuring protein ensemble features to design conformation-shifting proteins
  Anum Glasgow, Columbia University