Conference Description
The Pancreatic Diseases 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scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages.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.
Recent years have brought rapid advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying pancreatic development, regeneration, and malignant transformation, as well as our ability to model these processes in mice and human cells. These studies have revealed lineage relationships between the different pancreatic cell types and plasticity in response to environmental influences. Moreover, epidemiological studies show a clear association between pancreatic diseases, in particular between diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Yet, the mechanisms involved in the co-occurrence of pancreatic diseases are poorly understood. This GRC aims to link the understanding of the biology of the exocrine and endocrine pancreas to applications for human diseases. This conference is unique in that it convenes experts from all aspects of pancreas biology as well as clinicians working on translational approaches for diabetes, pancreatic cancer, and pancreatitis. By providing a forum for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge, unpublished concepts and approaches, the goal of this GRC is to stimulate discussion across disciplines. This exchange will foster interdisciplinary approaches and promote the exchange of ideas to lead to new collaborations, as well as empower young scientists to showcase their work to peers and leaders in the field.
The upcoming fifth Pancreatic Diseases GRC will focus on understanding cell behavior and communication in pancreatic diseases with the goal of gaining insights into how the systemic and local environment impact endocrine and exocrine cells in health and disease. The program that has been assembled is first-rate, benefitting from the contribution of international world-class scientists engaged in research relevant to different aspects of pancreatic diseases. The ultimate goal of the conference is the identification of novel concepts in pancreatic diseases that might be exploitable for pharmacological and cell-based therapeutic approaches. As for all GRCs, the guiding principle of this conference is the presentation of new, unpublished results and the free, unhampered discussion that follows. Participation of young scientists is especially emphasized, with opportunities for short talks and poster presentations.
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 December 31, 2022. Please check back for updates.
A High-level View of Pancreatic Diseases
Discussion Leaders
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Steven Leach (Dartmouth College, United States)
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Lori Sussel (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, United States)
Speakers
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Prof. Dr. med. Markus Maximilian Lerch (LMU University Hospital, Germany)
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Antoinette Moran (University of Minnesota, United States)
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Miriam Cnop (Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)
Intra-Pancreas Communication
Discussion Leaders
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Limor Landsman (Tel Aviv university, Israel)
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Farzad Esni (University of Pittsburgh, United States)
Speakers
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James Wells (Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation, United States)
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Peter Thompson (Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Canada)
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Joana Almaça (University of Miami, United States)
Inter-Organ Communication
Discussion Leaders
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Amelia Linnemann (Indiana University School of Medicine , United States)
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Matthias Hebrok (TUM & Helmholtz Munich, Germany)
Speakers
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Mehboob Hussain (University of Michigan, United States)
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Clotilde Théry (Institut Curie / INSERM U932, France)
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Emilyn Alejandro (U of Minnesota, United States)
Cross Talk Between Exocrine Disease and Endocrine Dysregulation
Discussion Leaders
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Ilse Rooman (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium)
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Jorge Ferrer (Centre for Genomic Regulation, Spain)
Speakers
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Teresa Mastracci (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, United States)
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Jack Virostko (The University of Texas at Austin, United States)
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Rohit Kulkarni (Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, United States)
Recapitulating Cell Interactions in Vitro / Niche / Pancreatic Organoids
Discussion Leaders
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Anne Grapin-Botton (MPI-CBG Dresden, Germany, Germany)
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Seung Kim (Stanford University, United States)
Speakers
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Fanny Mann (Developmental Biology Institute of Marseille (IBDM), France)
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Daniel Öhlund (Umeå University, Sweden)
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Cristina Nostro (University Health Network, Canada)
Organellar Function in Pancreatic Homeostasis and Disease
Discussion Leaders
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Cosimo Commisso (Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, United States)
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Michele Solimena (TU Dresden, Germany)
Speakers
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Orian Shirihai (UCLA, United States)
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Christine Chio (Columbia Unversity, United States)
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Rushika Perera (University of California, San Francisco, United States)
The Pancreatic Microenvironment
Discussion Leaders
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Decio Eizirik (Universite LIbre de Bruxelles, Belgium)
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Corinne Bousquet (INSERM - Cancer Research Center of Toulouse, France)
Speakers
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Roberto Mallone (Université Paris Cité - INSERM U1016 Cochin Institute, France)
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Claus Jorgensen (Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, United Kingdom)
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Mara Sherman (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States)
Genomics of Pancreatic Diseases
Discussion Leaders
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Lorenzo Pasquali (UPF, Spain)
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Julie Sneddon (University of California, San Francisco, United States)
Speakers
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Jonas Rosendahl (University Clinic Halle (Saale), Germany)
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Yan Li (Case Western Reserve University, United States)
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Gioacchino Natoli (European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Italy)
Modeling Pancreatic Diseases
Discussion Leaders
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Françoise Carlotti (Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands)
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Scott Lowe (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States)
Speakers
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Roland Rad (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
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Maike Sander (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany)
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Alexander Kleger (Ulm University, Germany)
The GRC Power Hourâ„¢
Organizers
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Nabeel Bardeesy (Massachusetts General Hospital, United States)
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Maureen Gannon (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States)