Conference Description
Since 2005, the Cilia, Mucus and Mucociliary Interactions GRC has brought together world-class investigators to discuss the latest topics focused on furthering our understanding of the processes which underline mucociliary clearance system in health and disease. This conference provides a unique opportunity for basic scientists and clinical researchers interested in these interrelated areas to discuss their latest findings and learn about new technologies that provide novel approaches to current challenges. This conference attracts a broad array of scientists ranging from biophysicists and biochemists to physiologists, geneticists, and developmental biologists. In addition to its biological and biophysical focus, a key differentiating aspect of this conference has, and continues to be, the inclusion of new scientific understanding, and technology associated with understanding, the structure and function of cilia and mucins, and how these critical components interact to protect the airway surfaces. The overarching theme of the 2021 conference will be "Integrating our understanding of cilia and mucus from gene regulation to protein structure to function". Therefore, this conference will feature a diverse community of academic and industrial researchers working on efforts in structural biology, bioengineering, biophysics, biochemistry, and embryology, many seeking to solve clinically relevant biomedical problems relating to mucus/mucins and cilia, including SARS-CoV-2. Key topics of this conference revolve around the latest information on basic mechanisms of cellular assembly, processing, and function, and the relationship between motile cilia, mucus and related features that are an essential component of fundamental biological processes. As such, issues related to multiple disciplines will be embraced. Additionally, the 2021 program will continue our rich conference history in providing excellent opportunities for junior investigators to present their work and exchange ideas in a collegial atmosphere with experts in the field. There will be poster sessions organized on topical themes to match the session topics. Bringing together this community of students, scientists, and clinicians, to share the most recent insights and understanding of cilia and mucus – from the perspective of their respective disciplines – will allow the sharing of new ideas and methodologies, mutual learning, and, importantly, the opportunity to develop new collaborations – all with the goal of improving our understating of the mucociliary clearance system in health and disease.
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 January 2, 2021. Please check back for updates.
Keynote Session: Integrating Mucociliary Biology
Discussion Leaders
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Matthias Salathe (University of Kansas Medical Center, USA)
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Win Sale (Emory University, USA)
Speakers
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Susan Dutcher (Washington University in St. Louis, USA)
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Christopher Evans (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, USA)
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Steven Brody (Washington University in St. Louis, USA)
Genetic and Molecular Understanding of Mucus and Cilia Disorders
Discussion Leaders
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Max Seibold (National Jewish Health, USA)
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George Witman (University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA)
Speakers
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Peter Jackson (Stanford University School of Medicine, USA)
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Julia Wallmeier (University of Münster, Germany)
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Kenichi Okuda (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
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John Fahy (University of California, San Francisco, USA)
Systems Biology
Discussion Leaders
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Jean-Luc Desseyn (INSERM, France)
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Hannah Mitchison (University College London, United Kingdom)
Speakers
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Sophie Darch (University of South Florida, USA)
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Silvia Kreda (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
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Prachee Avasthi (Dartmouth College, USA)
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Wallace Marshall (University of California, San Francisco, USA)
Mucin and Cilia Biophysics
Discussion Leaders
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David Hill (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
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Julien Vermot (Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), France)
Speakers
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Zeynep Ökten (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
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Kirsty Wan (Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, United Kingdom)
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Elisabeth Nystrom (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
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Susan Birket (University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA)
Structure and Function
Discussion Leaders
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Eamon Dubaissi (University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
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Mary Porter (University of Minnesota, USA)
Speakers
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Daniela Nicastro (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA)
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Deborah Fass (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel)
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Katerina Toropova (Birkbeck, University of London, United Kingdom)
Signaling and Host Defense
Discussion Leaders
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Dominic Norris (MRC Harwell Institute, United Kingdom)
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Anna Ermund (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
Speakers
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Michelle Paulsen (German Center for Lung Research, Germany)
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Kelsey Wheeler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
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Shiaulou Yuan (Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, USA)
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Hiroshi Hamada (RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Japan)
Regulation and Function
Discussion Leaders
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Nathalie Jurisch-Yaksi (Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway)
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Corrine Kilment (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
Speakers
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Luke Bonser (University of California, San Francisco, USA)
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Dagmar Wachten (Institute of Innate Immunity, University of Bonn, Germany)
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John Dickinson (University of Nebraska, USA)
Disease Modeling
Discussion Leaders
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Benedicte Durand (Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France)
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Nam Soo Joo (Stanford University, USA)
Speakers
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Mustafa Khokha (Yale University School of Medicine, USA)
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John Engelhardt (University of Iowa, USA)
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Rebecca Burdine (Princeton University, USA)
Technologies to Study Cilia, Mucus and Mucociliary Interactions
Discussion Leaders
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Alessandra Livraghi-Butrico (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
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Brian Mitchell (Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, USA)
Speakers
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Jessica Kramer (University of Utah, USA)
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Raman Das (University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
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David Stoltz (University of Iowa, USA)
The GRC Power Hour™
Organizer:
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Alessandra Livraghi-Butrico (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
