AICMCB2025 | Molecular Biology Conference | Cell Biology Conference | Synergia Summits | Prague

Prof. Teresa Pellegrino

Italian Institute of Technology, Italy

Title: Magnetic Nanoparticle-based platforms to treat cancer and awake the immune system

Teresa Pellegrino since 2014 is tenured team leader of the group of “Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications” at the Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy. She received her PhD in Chemical synthesis in 2005 from the University of Bari. Her current research interests focus on the development of inorganic nanostructures for drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, photo-thermal treatment and radiotherapy applications. She is coauthor of 150 papers in peer review international journals. She is the recipient of H2020 ERC Consolidator grant “ Magnetic Hyperthermia for Metastasized Tumor Treatment and Remote Manipulation of Microdevice -GIULIa” N. 101044020 and the Investigator Grant received by the Italian Association of Cancer Research IG-AIRC-2023’ entitled ‘Magnetic scaffolds for tumor treatment: combining immunotherapy, differentiation therapy and mild magnetic hyperthermia

Prof. Zhongsheng You

Washington University in St. Louis, USA

Title: Will be updated soon

Dr. Zhongsheng You is a tenured Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine. He has also co-directed the Molecular Cell Biology PhD Program at Washington University since 2019. Dr. You received his B.S. from Zhejiang University in China in 1994, M.S. from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1997, and PhD from the University of California at San Diego in 2002. After completing postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, he joined Washington University as an assistant professor in 2009. During his PhD research with Professor John Newport, Dr. You uncovered novel mechanisms of cell cycle regulation by protein degradation and checkpoint pathways. His postdoctoral research with Professor Tony Hunter led to a major discovery regarding the activation mechanism of ATM, a tumor suppressor crucial for the cellular response to DNA double-strand break damage. At Washington University, Dr. You’s research focuses on on DNA and RNA surveillance mechanisms and their implications for cancer. In the DNA surveillance area, his work has yielded key insights into the intricate process of DSB resection, spanning initiation, elongation and termination phases. More recently, his lab has discovered a novel Ca2+-mediated signaling pathway that safeguards genome stability during replication stress. In the realm of RNA surveillance, his lab has developed multiple reporter systems for studying the nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD) pathway and has identified NMD as a potential therapeutic target in cancers with mutations in spliceosome factor genes.

Prof. Roi Gazit

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Title: Exciting Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Roi Gazit, PhD. is a Principal Investigator of Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC) and Immunology at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev since 2013. He is an active member of NIBN, ISCS, IIS, and ISEH. Roi earned a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in life science and developmental biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. PhD in immunology, under supervision of Ofer Mandelboim, studying NK-cell in vivo, including the generation of the first NK specific mouse model and elucidation of novel NK-cell abnormalities in human. Postdoc at Harvard Medical School, Derrick Rossi laboratory, focusing on the identification and utilization of HSCs’ genes, including reprogramming and generation of a novel HSC-reporter mouse. His laboratory at the Ben-Gurion University is studying HSCs’ transcriptome along normal development and during immune-challenges

Prof. Adriana Ioana Colovai

USA

Title: Will be updated soon

I am an associate professor of Pathology and director of Cellular Immunology and Immunogenetics laboratories at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. My research interests encompass tumor immunology and transplantation. Before joining Montefiore, I studied the structure and function of HLA-bound peptides in the Immunogenetics Laboratory at Columbia University, under the mentorship of Dr. Nicole Suciu-Foca. Our results have advanced the understanding of the role of these peptides as allo- and tumor antigens. In my quest for new tumor antigens, I also studied the function and prognostic value of cellular markers overexpressed in hematological malignancies. My current research is focused on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and development of new tools to monitor minimal residual disease, with the goal of preventing relapse and improving transplant outcomes.

Prof. Beatriz Fontoura

USA

Title: Will be updated soon

Dr. Beatriz Fontoura received her Ph.D. degree in Basic Biomedical Sciences from New York University School of Medicine. For her post-doctoral training, Dr. Fontoura joined the Laboratory of Cell Biology at The Rockefeller University under the mentorship of Dr. Gunter Blobel. Dr. Fontoura is currently a Professor in Department of Cell Biology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She has the endowed title of Ruth S. Harrell Professorship in Medical Research. She is currently a member of the Pew Foundation National Advisory Committee.

Prof. Michael Sherman

Ariel University, Israel

Title: Will be updated soon

Dr. Sherman holds a doctoral degree from Moscow University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. In 1995, he started his lab at Boston Biomedical Research Institute. From 2001 to 2005 he was Associate professor at Boston University, and from 2005 to 2018 Full professor at this institute. From 2010-2015, he was a Program Leader at BU Cancer Center. His working field includes the role of molecular chaperones in cancer development, as well as mechanisms of senescence and development of drug resistance with emphasis on DNA repair. He is an author of more than 120 original and review papers and book chapters.

Prof. Vanessa Sperandio

USA

Title: Will be updated soon

Vanessa Sperandio is the Chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Robert Turell Professor. She was the Jane and Bud Smith Distinguished Chair in Medicine, and a Professor in the departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She got her bachelors in biology, and her masters and PhD in Molecular Genetics in the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. She was a Latin American Pew Fellow in Biomedical Sciences (1997), an Ellison Foundation New Scholar (2004), a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases (2006), and a National Academy Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow (since 2007). She is the recipient of the ASM 2015 Eli Lilly and Company-Elanco Research award, and a winner of the 2014 GSK Discovery Fast-track challenge. In 2013 she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) and is the Chair of the Board of Governors of the AAM. She was elected as an American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) fellow in 2022. Her research investigates chemical, stress and nutritional signaling at the interface amongst the mammalian host, beneficial microbiota and invading bacterial pathogens. The main tenant of research in her laboratory is the study of how bacterial cells sense several mammalian neurotransmitters leading to rewiring and reprogramming of bacterial transcription towards host and niche adaptation. She has also identified several bacterial receptors to mammalian neurotransmitters and reported that invading pathogens hijack these inter-kingdom signaling systems to promote virulence expression. She also translated these basic science concepts into strategies to develop novel approaches to anti-microbial therapy.

Prof. Baruch Minke

Israel

Title: Nociception and pain in humans lacking functional TRPV1 channel

Baruch Minke has created a new field of research. He co-discovered a new type of ion channel, which he designated the Transient Receptor Potential or in short, the TRP channel, as a result of his studies on phototransduction and vision in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). He investigated the biophysical and biochemical properties of TRP channels in fruit fly eyes and identified together with the late Prof. Zvi Selinger phospholipase C as a crucial component of the Drosophila TRP signaling pathway. Today he has extended his research to the first identified loss of function mutation in human TRPV1 channel that govern at least several of the human body’s regulatory processes related inflammatory pain and to noxious heat detection. His major aim is to decipher the critical roles of TRP channels in invertebrate vision and of TRPV1 in human somatosensory physiology.

Prof. Ryan J. Mailloux

Canada

Title: Flavin-dependent dehydrogenases as key sources of mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide (mtH2O2): implications in understanding the manifestation and treatment of liver diseases

Professor Ryan J. Mailloux joined McGill University in 2019 and is currently the Director of the School of Human Nutrition. His research aims to understand how mitochondria generate free radicals and use these reactive molecules in cell communication. Specifically, his work focuses on mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide in the liver, the redox regulatory mechanisms that control its production, and how controlled mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide production can be used it to maintain optimal liver health through the induction of oxidative eustress signals. His research also focuses on exploring the consequences of dysfunctional mitochondrial redox communication in the induction of hepatic oxidative distress and how this triggers the manifestation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its progression to hepatocellular carcinoma.

Prof. Jian Zhang

The Fourth Military Medical University, China

Title: Will be update soon

Professor Zhang is currently the director of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Fourth Military Medical University, and the PI of State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers. He is mainly engaged in the molecular mechanism research of cancer drug resistance and malignant transformation of inflammation to cancer. He has presided over one national "863" young scientist project, seven projects of National Natural Science Foundation and Shaanxi Outstanding Youth Fund, and other projects. He has obtained 1 PCT patent authorization of USA and 2 invention patent authorization of China. He published 52 SCI papers in J Clin Invest, Science Adv, Mol Therapy and other authoritative journals as corresponding/co-corresponding author. There are 3 papers obtained Top 1% ESI highly cited papers. He has won the second prize of National Science and Technology Progress, the First Prize of Science and Technology of Shaanxi Province, the Chinese Medical Youth Science and Technology Award. He is currently serving as Vice chairman and Secretary-General of Shaanxi Biochemical Society and member of Metabolism Committee of Chinese Cell Biology Society.

Prof. M. Benjamin Major

Washington University School of Medicine, USA

Title: Will be updated soon

Research Interests Studying how perturbation of specific signal transduction pathways contributes to the initiation, progression and dissemination of cancer. Professional Education BS: Michigan State University, 1997, Microbiology and Virology PhD: University of Utah, 2004, Oncological Sciences Postdoc: University of Washington, 2004-2009, Proteomics

Prof. Lars Larsson

Sweden

Title: Experimental and clinical studies of Critical Illness Myopathy: Underlying mechanisms and intervention strategies

I have the expertise, training, and leadership necessary to successfully complete the proposed research project. A statement based on my research focusing on regulation of muscle contraction at the whole muscle, motor unit, muscle cell and motor protein levels in health and disease in experimental and clinical studies, i.e., research conducted at different European and US universities since more than 45 years. This research has involved the modification/development of novel methods allowing detailed analyses of motor unit, muscle cell and myosin function and structure in different mammalian species, including humans. A strong focus has been on the function and regulation of the molecular motor protein myosin. After diagnosing the first intensive care unit (ICU) patient in Scandinavia with critical illness myopathy (CIM) while being on call Christmas 1995, the research in my group is focusing on improving our understanding of basic underlying mechanisms, improving diagnosis and monitoring, implementing, and evaluating intervention strategies of CIM in experimental models and clinical studies, and translating promising interventions to the clinic. This work has involved the modification of a very powerful and unique rat experimental model not limited by early mortality. I have collaborated with Dr. Dworkin using this model for more than two decades, originally at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), later at Uppsala University and currently at Karolinska Institutet (KI). After his retirement from PSU, Dr. Dworkin joined my research group in Sweden and we now have the only two models of this experimental set-up available worldwide allowing us to conduct two long-term studies in parallel. The hallmark of CIM is the preferential loss of the motor protein myosin, but we have also shown that the ICU condition induces significant post-translational modifications of myosin with a strong negative impact on myosin function.

Prof. Sang-Bing Ong

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Title: Will be updated soon

Prof Sang-Bing Ong has been leading research studying the roles of cardiac mitochondrial dynamics in cardioprotection. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Malaysia, a Masters and a PhD in London UK followed by postdoctoral research in San Diego and Singapore. He was a Hitachi Fellow in Hokkaido Japan and a Thailand MHESI’s Visiting Professor. He has held academic positions in Malaysia, Singapore and is now heading the Mitochondria@HeartHK laboratory at the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics and Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics and Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Prof. Andreas Bergmann

USA

Title: Genetic control of apoptosis-induced proliferation in Drosophila.

Prof. Bergmann performed his doctoral thesis in the laboratory of Prof. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard at the Max-Planck-Institute in Tübingen/Germany and obtained his doctorate degree in 1996. He received postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. Hermann Steller at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA/USA. After that, he became an independent investigator at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX/USA in 2000. In 2011, he moved into his current position at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester/MA/USA where he holds the rank of Professor. There, he studies the genetic control of programmed cell death (apoptosis), oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in the genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Combining genetics, cell and molecular biology as well as biochemical approaches, his goal is to use the tools available in Drosophila to embrace the biological complexity of apoptosis control and its effects on neighboring cells in multi-cellular organisms during development and pathogenesis.

Prof. Nullin Divecha

Title: Nuclear phosphoinositide signaling and its role in controlling cell fate decisions

Will be updated soon

Prof. Alexander Sorkin

USA

Title: EGF receptor endocytosis: mechanisms and role in signaling

Alexander Sorkin did his post-doctoral training at the Vanderbilt University and then started independent research as an Assistant professor at the University of Colorado where he went through the rank to become a Professor of Pharmacology. In 2010, he joined the University of Pittsburgh as Richard Beatty Mellon Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell Biology where he continues in this role at the present time.

Prof. Winfried Weissenhorn

Université Grenoble Alpes, France

Title: Cleaving membranes with ESCRTs and beyond

Winfried Weissenhorn is a Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology at the University Grenoble Alpes, Director of the Institute of Structural Biology (IBS) in Grenoble and principal investigator of a research group focusing on the structural biology of HIV-1 entry and cellular complexes recruited for budding. He received his PhD in Biochemistry in 1991 from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and performed his post-doctoral training in structural biology at Harvard University. Before he joined IBS in 2015, he was group leader in structural Biology at the EMBL (1998-2006) and the UVHCI (2007-2014) in Grenoble. He received the Line Renaud award from the FRM (Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale en France) in 2011 and he is a senior member (promotion 2012) of the “Institut Universitaire de France”

Dr. Dasiel Oscar Borroto Escuela

Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Title: Will be updated soon

I am focused on understanding how receptor-receptor interactions in heteroreceptor complexes integrate signals in the brain and contribute to the development of brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, addiction, and depression. My work explores these complexes as potential therapeutic targets for psychiatric and neurological disorders. My work also involves developing and refining innovative methods to better describe these interactions, such as in situ proximity ligation assays (PLA) and adaptations of Light Resonance Energy Transfer (LRET)-based techniques to study GPCR oligomerization dynamics in neurons and heterologous systems. Throughout my career, I have pioneered key discoveries in the field, including the identification of GPCR-GPCR and GPCR-RTK receptor-receptor interactions and their allosteric effects in the central nervous system (CNS). I introduced the concept that these interactions may form the molecular basis for learning and memory, and I have also proposed that alterations in GPCR heterocomplexes play a role in mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. My research has led to novel therapeutic approaches, including the development of small interfering peptides that target receptor interfaces in heterocomplexes. My contributions have been acknowledged through awards such as the ECNP Fellow Award and the I3 Research Certifiation. My ongoing commitment is to advance the study of heteroreceptor complexes and their role in brain diseases, providing innovative insights and therapeutic avenues for CNS disorders

Keynote Speakers