Conference Description
Bacterial cells are exquisitely organized in time and space, and carry out complex decision-making, intercellular coordination, and development to thrive in diverse environments. The 2021 inaugural Bacterial Cell Biology and Development Gordon Research Conference will explore recent research into the organization, dynamics, and development of bacterial cells and communities using a breadth of experimental approaches and biological systems. Invited speakers will present work probing the fundamental cell biological mechanisms of growth and division, and of the specialized behaviors and developmental pathways bacteria engage to ensure survival in changing environments. Inclusion of research in species that span bacterial phylogeny, lifestyles, and growth niches will stimulate thought and discussions on the conservation and evolution of cell biological mechanisms in bacteria.
The 2021 Bacterial Cell Biology and Development GRC brings together a group of international scientists including cell biologists, bacteriologists, biochemists, geneticists, physicists, structural biologists, and imaging specialists to facilitate a collaborative and interdisciplinary discussion of bacterial cell biology and development. The program will comprise talks from 24 invited speakers organized into 9 thematic sessions, with an additional ~20 short talks selected from submitted abstracts. Daily poster sessions and ample free time will enable networking, collaboration, brainstorming, and other informal interactions among attendees. As a new GRC, we are not able to hold a trainee-oriented Gordon Research Seminar in conjunction with this inaugural meeting. Look for this offering in future iterations of this GRC.
The topics, speakers, and discussion leaders for the conference sessions are displayed below. The conference chair is currently developing their detailed program, which will include the complete meeting schedule, as well as the talk titles for all speakers. The detailed program will be available by February 20, 2021. Please check back for updates.
Keynote Session: Signaling and Regulation
Discussion Leaders
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Peter Chien (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA)
Speakers
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Michael Laub (Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA)
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Marie Elliot (McMaster University, Canada)
Cell Division
Discussion Leaders
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Seamus Holden (University of Newcastle, United Kingdom)
Speakers
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Mariana Pinho (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal)
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Susan Schlimpert (John Innes Centre, United Kingdom)
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Silvia Bulgheresi (University of Vienna, Austria)
Cellular Decision-Making
Discussion Leaders
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Patrick Viollier (University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland)
Speakers
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Karine Gibbs (Harvard University, USA)
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Urs Jenal (Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland)
Cell Morphology and Dynamics
Discussion Leaders
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Srividya Iyer-Biswas (Purdue University, USA)
Speakers
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Christine Jacobs-Wagner (Stanford University, USA)
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Elitza Tocheva (University of British Columbia, Canada)
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Lotte Sogaard-Andersen (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Germany)
Structure and Transport of Genetic Material
Discussion Leaders
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Jan-Willem Veening (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
Speakers
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Briana Burton (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
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Martin Thanbichler (Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany)
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Joe Pogliano (University of California, San Diego, USA)
Cell Wall and Cell Envelope
Discussion Leaders
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Cara Boutte (University of Texas at Arlington, USA)
Speakers
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Sloan Siegrist (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA)
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Enrique Rojas (New York University, USA)
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Thomas Bernhardt (Harvard Medical School, USA)
Motility
Discussion Leaders
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Daniel Kearns (Indiana University Bloomington, USA)
Speakers
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Tam Mignot (CNRS / Aix-Marseille Université, France)
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Gladys Alexandre (University of Tennessee, USA)
Cell Biology and Interspecies Interactions
Discussion Leaders
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Kristina Jonas (Stockholm University, Sweden)
Speakers
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Andrew Lovering (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom)
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Jeanne Salje (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
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Kerwyn Huang (Stanford University, USA)
Cellular Organization and Structure
Discussion Leaders
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Jennifer Herman (Texas A&M University, USA)
Speakers
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Jan Löwe (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, United Kingdom)
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Anthony Vecchiarelli (University of Michigan, USA)
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Arash Komeili (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
