Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm
Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm
Keynote Session: Membrane Fusion: From Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis to SARS-CoV-2-Induced Syncytia Formation
Discussion Leader: Mark Rose (Georgetown University, United States)
7:40 pm - 8:25 pm
Axel Brunger (Stanford University, United States)
"Molecular Mechanisms of Calcium-Triggered Exocytosis"
8:25 pm - 8:35 pm
Discussion
8:35 pm - 9:20 pm
Ravindra Gupta (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
"Cell-Cell Fusion and SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Intracellular Membrane Fusion
Discussion Leader: Roy Duncan (Dalhousie University, Canada)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Reinhard Jahn (Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Germany)
"SNARE-Mediated Membrane Fusion - Focus on Intermediate Steps"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Josep Rizo (UT Southwestern Medical Center, United States)
"Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Exquisite Regulation of Synaptic Vesicle Fusion"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Carolina Gomis Perez (Yale school of Medicine, United States)
"Rapid Propagation of Membrane Tension at Retinal Bipolar Neuron Presynaptic Terminals"
10:00 am - 10:05 am
Discussion
10:05 am - 10:25 am
Ling-Gang Wu (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, United States)
"Imaging Fusion and Fission in Live Cells"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Arun Anantharam (University of Toledo, United States)
"Pre- and Postsynaptic Roles of Synaptotagmin 7 in Exocytosis"
11:20 am - 11:25 am
Discussion
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Jiajie Diao (University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, United States)
"Active Syntaxin is Sorted from Reservoir Clusters for Fusion"
11:35 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 11:50 am
Luke Chao (Harvard Medical School / Mass. General Hospital, United States)
"Opa1 Regulation of Membrane Ultrastructure and Dynamics"
11:50 am - 11:55 am
Discussion
11:55 am - 12:05 pm
John Jimah (Princeton University, United States)
"Mechanism of Dynamin-Mediated Actin Bundling in Endocytosis"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The GRC Power Hourâ„¢
The GRC Power Hourâ„¢ is designed to address diversity and inclusion in the scientific workplace by providing a safe environment for informal and meaningful conversations amongst colleagues of all career stages. The program supports the professional growth of all members of our communities, including ethnicity, race and/or gender identity by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring.
Organizers: Mary Baylies (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States) and Mark Rose (Georgetown University, United States)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Virus-Cell Fusion
Discussion Leader: Benjamin Podbilewicz (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Gregory Melikian (Emory University, United States)
"Regulation of Lassa Virus Fusion by Endosomal Host Factors"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm
Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm
Yorgo Modis (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
"A Phlebovirus-Like Fusion Protein in an Endogenous Retrovirus from a Parasitic Nematode"
8:20 pm - 8:25 pm
Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:35 pm
Alexia Prokopik (Emory University, United States)
"Hemagglutinin Mediated Membrane Fusion: Dynamics of Fusion Peptide Insertion and Interaction with Transmembrane Domain"
8:35 pm - 8:40 pm
Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:00 pm
James Munro (UMass Chan Medical School, United States)
"Conformational Dynamics of Class-I Viral Fusion Machines"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm
Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:25 pm
Felix Rey (Institut Pasteur, France)
"Class II Fusion Proteins in Viruses and Cells"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Cell-Cell Fusogens
Discussion Leader: Joshua Zimmerberg (National Institutes of Health, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Benjamin Podbilewicz (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel)
"Fusexin-Mediated Cell-Cell Fusion: Mechanisms and Evolutionary Implications"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
William Snell (University of Maryland College Park, United States)
"Fusion-Driving Trimer Formation by Broadly Conserved, Class II Gamete Fusogen HAP2 During Fertilization in Chlamydomonas Depends on Engagement of a HAP2-Associated, Species-Specific Receptor"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Pablo Aguilar (IFIBYNE-UNSAM-Argentina, Argentina)
"Discovery of Archaeal Fusexins Homologous to Eukaryotic HAP2/GCS1 Gamete Fusion Proteins"
10:00 am - 10:05 am
Discussion
10:05 am - 10:25 am
Roy Duncan (Dalhousie University, Canada)
"Cellular Pathways and FAST Protein Mediated Syncytium Formation"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Douglas Millay (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, United States)
"Characterization of the Muscle Cell Fusogens Myomaker and Myomerger"
11:20 am - 11:25 am
Discussion
11:25 am - 11:45 am
David Sanders (Princeton University, United States)
"Incidental Insights Into Cell-Cell Fusion in the Time of COVID"
11:45 am - 11:50 am
Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Katie Tieu (Virginia Commonwealth University, United States)
"SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Induces Cell-Cell Fusion of Endothelial Cells"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Nicolas Brukman (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel)
"IZUMO1 is a Sperm Fusogen"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm
Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Membrane Adhesion in Cell Fusion
Discussion Leader: N. Louise Glass (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Leonid Chernomordik (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, United States)
"Conserved and Disparate Players in Myoblast, Osteoclast and Cancer Cell Fusion"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pm
Naokazu Inoue (Fukushima Medical University, Japan)
"Gamete Fusion: How Spermatozoon is able to Recognize Oocyte"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm
Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm
Shaogeng Tang (Stanford University, United States)
"Human Sperm TMEM95 Binds Eggs and Facilitates Membrane Fusion"
8:30 pm - 8:35 pm
Discussion
8:35 pm - 8:55 pm
Andrea Pauli (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Austria)
"Bouncer and SPACA4 – Two Sides of the Same Coin"
8:55 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Amber Krauchunas (University of Delaware, United States)
"The Secreted Protein SPE-36 is a Part of the C. Elegans Fertilization Synapse"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Jennifer Pinello (University of Maryland, United States)
"MAR1 Links Membrane Adhesion to Membrane Merger During Cell-Cell Fusion in Chlamydomonas"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Actin Cytoskeleton in Cell Fusion
Discussion Leader: Stefanie Sprunck (University of Regensburg, Germany)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Sophie Martin (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
"Architecture of the Yeast Fusion Site"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Mary Baylies (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States)
"Regulation of Myoblast Fusion and Possible Links to Myonuclear Positioning"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Jonas Olbrich (University of Osnabrueck, Germany)
"The Influence of the APC/CFzr on the Actin Dynamics During Drosophila Myoblast Fusion"
10:00 am - 10:05 am
Discussion
10:05 am - 10:15 am
Zhou Luo (UT Southwestern Medical Center, United States)
"The Cellular Architecture and Molecular Determinants of the Zebrafish Fusogenic Synapse"
10:15 am - 10:20 am
Discussion
10:20 am - 10:50 am
Coffee Break
10:50 am - 11:10 am
Daniel Fletcher (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
"Force-Mediated Membrane Fusion"
11:10 am - 11:15 am
Discussion
11:15 am - 11:35 am
Ori Avinoam (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel)
"Capturing Myoblast Fusion with High Spatial and Temporal Resolution"
11:35 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
Jean-Francois Cote (Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montreal (IRCM), Canada)
"ELMO1/2 Proteins as Rheostats of Rac1 Activity Control Myoblast Fusion During Embryogenesis and Muscle Regeneration"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Yue Lu (UT Southwestern Medical Center, United States)
"Invasive Membrane Protrusions Promote Mouse Myoblast Fusion"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm
Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Business Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Membrane Organization and Lipids
Discussion Leader: Leonid Chernomordik (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Michael Kozlov (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
"Model for ER Membrane Remodeling Driven by Membrane Tension"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm
Raya Sorkin (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
"Unveiling Viral Fusion Using Single-Molecule Mechanical Methods"
8:05 pm - 8:10 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:20 pm
Anson Shek (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany)
"Mechanism of Action of Sphingolipids and Membrane Protein Prm1 in Cell Fusion During Yeast Mating"
8:20 pm - 8:25 pm
Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:45 pm
Huanghe Yang (Duke University School of Medicine, United States)
"TMEM16F Phospholipid Scramblase Mediates Trophoblast Fusion and Placental Development"
8:45 pm - 8:50 pm
Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Manish Sharma (Emory University, United States)
"A Novel Approach to Pinpoint the HIV-1 Fusion Sites in Cells"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm
Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:25 pm
Joshua Zimmerberg (National Institutes of Health, United States)
"Lipid-Protein Interactions During Membrane Fusion Mediated by Influenza Virus HA"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Diverse Cell Fusion Systems
Discussion Leader: Sophie Martin (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
N. Louise Glass (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
"Allorecognition Regulates Somatic Cell Fusion in Fungi"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:35 am
Ursula Machi (Georgetown University, United States)
"Regulated Secretion Mediates Yeast Cell Fusion"
9:35 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 9:50 am
Isabel Roditi (University of Bern, Switzerland)
"A Split-Cre-Lox System to Permanently Label and Visualise Trypanosomes that have Undergone Flagellar Fusion"
9:50 am - 9:55 am
Discussion
9:55 am - 10:15 am
Don Fox (Duke University, United States)
"Cytoplasmic Sharing Through Apical Junction Remodeling"
10:15 am - 10:20 am
Discussion
10:20 am - 10:50 am
Coffee Break
10:50 am - 11:10 am
Vicki Losick (Boston College, United States)
"Epithelial Cell Fusion in Wound Healing and Aging"
11:10 am - 11:15 am
Discussion
11:15 am - 11:25 am
Nicole Tischler (Fundación Ciencia & Vida - Universidad San Sebastián, Chile)
"The Membrane Fusion Trigger of a Pleolipovirus Infecting Haloarchaea"
11:25 am - 11:30 am
Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am
Stefanie Sprunck (University of Regensburg, Germany)
"Gamete Fusion in Flowering Plants: Twice the Fun, Double the Trouble?"
11:50 am - 11:55 am
Discussion
11:55 am - 12:05 pm
Jarred Whitlock (NICHD (NIH), United States)
"An Inducible Marrow Explant Model for Dissecting Osteoclast Fusion in Health and Disease"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Cell Fusion and Disease/New and Notable Topics
Discussion Leader: Gregory Melikian (Emory University, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Chiara Zurzolo (Institut Pasteur, France)
"Tunneling Nanotubes: Structure, Formation and Role in the Progression of Neurodegenerative Diseases"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm
Congyan Zhang (HHMI/UC Berkeley, United States)
"Syncytin-Mediated Tunneling Membrane Tubes Facilitate the Intercellular Transfer of Cargos Including Cas9 Protein"
8:05 pm - 8:10 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:20 pm
Yichi Zhang (UT Southwestern Medical Center, United States)
"Impaired Activity of the Fusogenic Micropeptide Myomixer causes Myopathy Resembling Carey-Fineman-Ziter Syndrome"
8:20 pm - 8:25 pm
Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:35 pm
Tyler Vance (University of Toronto, Canada)
"SPACA6 Structure Reveals a Conserved Superfamily of Gamete Fusion-Associated Proteins"
8:35 pm - 8:40 pm
Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:00 pm
Melissa Wong (Oregon Health & Science University, United States)
"Macrophage-Tumor Cell Fusion Impact on Tumor Progression"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm
Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:20 pm
General Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
Closing Remarks
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am
Departure