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Biology of Spirochetes (GRS)

Gordon Research Seminar

Spirochete Lifestyles and Their Unique Parasitic and Environmental Strategies

March 28 - 29, 2020
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Chairs Fabiana L. Ferreira and Robert A. Gaultney
Contact Chairs
Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco
Via Giovanni Pascoli
Lucca (Barga), IT
 Venue and Travel Information
Venue
Office Manager: Hannah Hendrick
Office Manager Email: RenaissanceTuscany_SM@grc.org
Office Phone: +39 (0) 583 7691

Application Information

Applications for this meeting must be submitted by February 29, 2020. Please apply early, as some meetings become oversubscribed (full) before this deadline. If the meeting is oversubscribed, it will be stated here. Note: Applications for oversubscribed meetings will only be considered by the conference chair if more seats become available due to cancellations.

GRS Speaker Abstract Deadline: Although applications will be accepted until the date noted above, any applicants who wish to be considered for an oral presentation should submit their application by December 28, 2019. Please refer to the application instructions in the Conference Description section below for more details (if available).

Conference Description

The Gordon Research Seminar on the Biology of Spirochetes is an excellent venue for early-career researchers in the diverse field of spirochetes to present their findings and to network with peers. The 2020 fourth edition BoS GRS will include presentations from all major groups of spirochetes and fields of research, including bacterial physiology, epidemiology, and host-pathogen interactions involving this unique bacterial family. State of the art and breaking research will be highlighted in addition to opportunities to discuss and collaborate with researchers from all over the world.

Application Instructions

The seminar will feature approximately 10 talks and 2 poster sessions. All attendees are expected to actively participate in the GRS, either by giving an oral presentation or presenting a poster. Therefore, all applications must include an abstract.

The seminar chair will select speakers from abstracts submitted by December 28, 2019. Those applicants who are not chosen for talks and those who apply after the deadline to be considered for an oral presentation will be expected to present a poster. In order to participate, you must submit an application by the date indicated in the Application Information section above.

Related Meeting

This GRS will be held in conjunction with the "Biology of Spirochetes" Gordon Research Conference (GRC). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRC in addition to an application for the GRS. Refer to the associated GRC program page for more information.

Conference Program

Saturday
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Arrival and Check-in
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRS Chair
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm
Keynote Session: Translational Research for Disease Control
Discussion Leader: Philip Adams (National Institutes of Health, USA)
3:15 pm - 3:50 pm
Albert Ko (Yale School of Public Health, USA)
"Graduate Students Advancing Translational Research in Brazilian Urban Slums"
3:50 pm - 4:00 pm
Discussion
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Poster Session
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Unravelling Host-Spirochete Interactions
Discussion Leaders: George Aranjuez (University of Central Florida, USA) and Amanda Hatke (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)
5:30 pm - 5:45 pm
Amy Ly (University of Toronto, Canada)
"Identification and Characterization of Tissue-Specific Fibronectin Binding Borrelia burgdorferi Vascular Adhesins"
5:45 pm - 5:50 pm
Discussion
5:50 pm - 6:05 pm
Fauna Yarza (University of California, San Francisco, USA)
"Investigating the Impact of the Ixodes scapularis Immune System on Tick-Microbe Interactions"
6:05 pm - 6:10 pm
Discussion
6:10 pm - 6:25 pm
Lauren Farris Vitek (Texas A&M University, USA)
"Borrelia burgdorferi Induction of Mammalian Type I Interferon Response Through cGAS-STING Pathway"
6:25 pm - 6:30 pm
Discussion
6:30 pm - 6:45 pm
Edward Schuler (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)
"Analysis of the Antibody Response to Leptospira Surface Antigens: Implications for the Development of a Leptospira Subunit Vaccine"
6:45 pm - 6:50 pm
Discussion
6:50 pm - 7:05 pm
Anya O'Neal (University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA)
"Tick Croquemort Binds to Infection-Derived Lipids and Elicits Borrelia burgdorferi Immunity in the Vector"
7:05 pm - 7:10 pm
Discussion
7:10 pm - 7:25 pm
Alexandra Powell (Texas A&M Health Science Center, USA)
"Classical Complement Pathway Evasion in Lyme Disease Spirochetes, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Borrelia"
7:25 pm - 7:30 pm
Discussion
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dinner
Sunday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Spirochete Gene Regulation and Physiology / Mentorship Component: Career Insights After Graduation
Discussion Leader: Constantin Takacs (Stanford University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:15 am
Christa Winslow (Medical College of Wisconsin, USA)
"Investigation of the Porin Function of a Borrelia burgdorferi Protein Essential to Murine Infection: Development of an Antibiotic-Based Screen"
9:15 am - 9:20 am
Discussion
9:20 am - 9:35 am
Michael Crowley (Washington State University, USA)
"An Lp17-Encoded sRNA of Borrelia burgdorferi Represses Outer Surface Protein C Expression Following the Establishment of Murine Infection"
9:35 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 9:55 am
Roman Thibeaux (Institut Pasteur in New Caledonia, New Caledonia)
"The Zoonotic Pathogen Leptospira interrogans Mitigates Environmental Stress Through Cyclic-di-GMP-Controlled Biofilm Production"
9:55 am - 10:00 am
Discussion
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Panel Discussion
Career Insights After Graduation
  • Philip Adams (National Institutes of Health, USA)
  • Albert Ko (Yale School of Public Health, USA)
  • Taylor Van Gundy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA)
  • Celia Fontana (Boehringer Ingelheim, France)
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Poster Session
Coffee will be served in the poster area from 11:00 am - 11:30 am
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Spirochete Survival Strategies and Host Adaptation
Discussion Leader: Megan Jones (University at Buffalo, SUNY, USA)
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm
Delphine Bonhomme (Institut Pasteur, France)
"Leptospiral Lipopolysaccharide Escapes TRIF-Mediated TLR4 Responses"
1:45 pm - 1:50 pm
Discussion
1:50 pm - 2:05 pm
Thomas Hart (University at Albany, SUNY, USA)
"A Lyme Borreliae Protein, CspA, Drives Spirochete Host Tropisms Through the Convergent Evolution of Its Complement Factor H-Binding Cleft"
2:05 pm - 2:10 pm
Discussion
2:10 pm - 2:25 pm
Ashley Marcinkiewicz (Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, USA)
"Complement Evasion of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto Promotes Genotype-Specific Vertebrate Host Association"
2:25 pm - 2:30 pm
Discussion
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Evaluation Period
Fill in GRS Evaluation Forms
3:00 pm
Seminar Concludes

Contributors

National Institutes of Health - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R13AI50023. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Conference Links

Conference History Biology of Spirochetes Contribute Financially to This Conference

Poster Information

Poster sessions are an integral part of the our conferences, and offer all conferees an opportunity to discuss their research.

Preparing your GRC poster

Diversity Funding

Financial assistance is available for qualified applicants through the GRC Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship Program. This program provides a grant to underrepresented minority graduate students, postdocs, faculty and scientists to help fund their attendance at their first GRC meeting.  Learn more.

Conferee Single Room:
$325.00
Conferee Shared Room:
$270.00
Conferee Off-Site:
$190.00
Guest Single Room:
$325.00
Guest Shared Room:
$270.00
Guest Off-Site:
$190.00
Child 4-12 yrs Shared Room:
$135.00
Child 4-12 yrs Off-Site:
$95.00
Child Under 4 yrs Shared Room:
Free
Child Under 4 yrs Off-Site:
Free
Bus Arriving:
$48.00
Additional Fee Info

Biology of Spirochetes
March 29 - April 3, 2020


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401-783-4011

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