Conference Description
The Muscle: Excitation-Contraction Coupling GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
In the last years, significant progress in the excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) field has produced major new and exciting advances. These include insights into the importance of protein-protein allosteric interactions, surface/organelle ion homeostasis in health and disease and innovative leveraging of this new knowledge toward therapeutic strategies to address ECC-associated diseases in both skeletal and cardiac muscle. It has also emerged that signaling in nanometer scale domains (nanodomains) are critical regulators of not only the very first and determinative steps in muscle activation (ECC), but also the resulting muscle function, memory and both adaptive and pathological remodeling. This is true for striated muscle types (skeletal and cardiac), the traditional foci of this GRC, but also for smooth muscle. We will re-introduce smooth muscle to this 2023 GRC, at a modest level for specific reasons. All 3 muscle types have similar ECC nanodomains, containing many of the same proteins, but the way they transduce ECC is quite different. Comparative discussion of how these 3 muscle types have become differentially specialized, using similar protein nanodomains will greatly inform all three fields.
The 2023 Muscle ECC GRC sessions will discuss new advances that span from the level of structure-function of individual proteins (e.g. the L-type Ca channel (LTCC) and ryanodine receptor (RyR)) and their nanodomain partners, to how these influence the integrated muscle, heart and vessel function in both health and diseases which afflict millions of people. Specific goals are: Goal 1: Assemble top-notch scientist-speakers and participants to share new breakthroughs in knowledge, to stimulate and participate in deep and broad discussions that span from molecular mechanisms to integrated physiology and pathophysiology in muscle. This will enhance understanding and stimulate new discoveries related to the science of and therapeutic strategies for skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle-related diseases. Goal 2: Increase the visibility and leadership of junior ECC ESIs (students, postdoctoral fellows & early assistant professors) and inspire/motivate their research careers to new highs by providing an interactive informal forum in which to present their work and network with each other as well as established ECC leaders. These overarching objectives will be met through, 1) an exciting scientific program focused on cutting-edge research presented by both established and new investigators, 2) incorporation of innovative elements like “Poster Preview Sessions” and “Late-Breaking Topic” poster talks to highlight late-breaking developments, 3) integration of ESI “questions first”, poster talks and ESI discussion co-leader roles at the GRC and 4) robust engagement with the preceding GRS.
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 4, 2023. Please check back for updates.
L-type Ca Channels
Discussion Leaders
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Riccardo Olcese (University of California, Los Angeles, United States)
Speakers
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Steven Marx (Columbia University, United States)
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Manuel Navedo (University of California Davis, United States)
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Ivy Dick (University of Maryland School of Medicine, United States)
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Anamika Dayal (Medical University Innsbruck, Austria)
Ryanodine Receptor
Discussion Leaders
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Xander Wehrens (Baylor College of Medicine, United States)
Speakers
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Parisa Asghari (University of British Columbia, Canada)
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Wayne Chen (University of Calgary, Canada)
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Mark Nelson (University of Vermont, United States)
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Robyn Rebbeck (University of Minnesota, United States)
InsP3 Receptors-Nuclear Signaling
Discussion Leaders
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Enrique Jaimovich (Universidad de Chile, Chile)
Speakers
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Senka Holzer (Medical University of Graz, Austria)
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Marcel Egger (UniBE, Switzerland)
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Irina Serysheva (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, United States)
Malignant Hyperthermia and CPVT
Discussion Leaders
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Hector Valdivia (University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States)
Speakers
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Vincent Jacquemond (CNRS - Univ Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France)
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Francisco Alvarado (University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States)
Store-Operated Ca Entry, TRP and SAC
Discussion Leaders
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Isabelle Marty (Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences (INSERM U1216), France)
Speakers
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Feliciano Protasi (University Gabriele d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Italy)
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Ingrid Bonilla (The Ohio State University/Veterans Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System, United States)
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David Beech (University of Leeds, United Kingdom)
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Mohamed Trebak (University of Pittsburgh, United States)
Muscular Dystrophy and Diabetes
Discussion Leaders
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Madeline Nieves-Cintron (Department of Pharmacology, University of California Davis, United States)
Speakers
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Dawn Lowe (University of Minnesota, United States)
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Scott Earley (University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, United States)
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Jeff Erickson (University of Otago, New Zealand)
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Eduardo Rios (Rush University, United States)
Nanodomain Structure-Function
Discussion Leaders
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Peter Lipp (Saarland University; Molecular Cell Biology; PZMS, Germany)
Speakers
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Mark Cannell (University of Bristol, United Kingdom)
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William Louch (University of Oslo, Norway)
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Julia Gorelik (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
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TingTing Hong (University of Utah, United States)
Heart Failure and Skeletal Muscle Fatigue
Discussion Leaders
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Bjorn Knollmann (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, United States)
Speakers
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Katharine Dibb (University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
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Long-Sheng Song (University of Iowa, United States)
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Llewelyn Roderick (KU Leuven, Belgium)
Keynote Session: Structure-Function of the Ca Release Channels
Discussion Leaders
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W. Jonathan Lederer (University of Maryland School of Medicine, United States)
Speakers
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Filip Van Petegem (University of British Columbia, Canada)
The GRC Power Hour™
Organizers
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Susan Treves (University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland)
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Michelle Munro (University of Otago, New Zealand)