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 Staff / Welcome and Introduction from the Chairs
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm
Nanostructures, Molecular Assembly and Mechanical Properties of Silk Macromolecules
Discussion Leaders: Fritz Vollrath (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) and Rui L. Reis (3B´s Research Group - University of Minho, Portugal, Portugal)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:45 pm - 8:10 pm
Cedric Dicko (Lund University, Sweden)
"Wet Dehydration During Acid-Induced Silk Gelation - Implications for Spinning and Biomaterials Fabrication"
8:10 pm - 8:15 pm
Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:40 pm
Shengjie Ling (ShanghaiTech University, China)
"Structure, Property and Function of Silk Nanofibrils"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:10 pm
Gregory Holland (San Diego State University, United States)
"Combing Biophysical Methods to Understand Spider Silk Formation"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Artificial (Recombinant) Silks
Discussion Leaders: Auxiliadora Prieto (Spanish National Research Council-CSIC, Spain) and Thomas Scheibel (University of Bayreuth, Germany)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:35 am
Anna Rising (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden)
"Production and Applications of Artificial Spider Silk"
9:35 am - 9:45 am
Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am
Xiaoxia Xia (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)
"Recombinant Spider Silk Protein Condensates for Creating Functional Materials"
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am
Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:25 am
David Breslauer (Bolt Threads, United States)
"Scaling and Commercializing Spider Silk: Lessons Learned"
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Discussion
11:35 am - 11:45 am
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:45 am - 11:50 am
Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 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 Hour™
The GRC Power Hour™ 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: Whitney Stoppel (University of Florida, United States) and Hanna Dams-Kozlowska (Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Biochemistry, Biocompatibility and Chemistry with Silk
Discussion Leaders: Rosalyn Abbott (Carnegie Mellon University, United States) and Amanda Baryshyan (Mori, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:05 pm
Chunmei Li (Tufts University, United States)
"Green Processing of Silk Materials Towards Sustainability"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pm
Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Amanda Murphy (Western Washington University, United States)
"New Strategies for Covalent Modification of Silk Fibroin"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm
Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:25 pm
Kelly Burke (University of Connecticut, United States)
"Engineering Silk Fibroin Networks for Responsive Biomaterials"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Silk Purification: Quality Control
Discussion Leaders: Lorenz Meinel (University of Wuerzburg, Germany) and Connie Garrison (None, United States)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:35 am
Jonathan Kluge (Vaxess Technologies, Inc., United States)
"The Use of Silk Fibroin in a Microneedle Array Patch for Influenza Vaccines"
9:35 am - 9:45 am
Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am
Jeannine Coburn (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, United States)
"Engineering Silk Scaffolds: Fine-Tuning the Structure of Lyophilized Silk for Biological Performance"
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am
Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:25 am
Rangam Rajkhowa (Deakin University, Australia)
"Silk for Stabilising Emulsions"
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Discussion
11:35 am - 12:05 pm
R. Helen Zha (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United States)
"Interfacial Self-Assembly of Silk Fibroin Coatings for Biomedical Applications"
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm
Discussion
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
Advanced Processing Strategies
Discussion Leaders: Anthony (Tony) Weiss (The University of Sydney, Australia) and Evangelia Bellas (Temple University, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:05 pm
Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina (University of New South Wales, Australia)
"Biofabrication Approaches Enabled by Covalent Crosslinking of Silk Fibroin"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pm
Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Vladimir Tsukruk (Georgia Institute of Technology, United States)
"Functional Nanomaterials from Synthetic and Silks: From Molecular Organization to Flexible Sensors"
8:45 pm - 8:50 pm
Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm
Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:15 pm - 9:20 pm
Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Tissue Engineering with Silk
Discussion Leaders: Joshua Mauney (University of California, Irvine) and Xiaoqin Wang (Huasi Biotechnology Co., Ltd, China)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:35 am
Whitney Stoppel (University of Florida, United States)
"Developing Strategies to Systematically Investigate Biomaterial Degradation and Bioactivity In Vivo"
9:35 am - 9:45 am
Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am
Chiara Ghezzi (University of Massachusetts Lowell, United States)
"Silk-Based Gingival Tissue Model to Study Oral Microbiome Interactions"
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am
Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:25 am
Biman Mandal (Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), India, India)
"Non-Mulberry Wild Silk: Biophysical Attributes & Potential Applications"
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Discussion
11:35 am - 11:45 am
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:45 am - 11:50 am
Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm
General Discussion
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
Optical and Electronic Sensors with Silk
Discussion Leaders: Vamsi Yadavalli (Virginia Commonwealth University, United States) and Chen Yang (Boston University, United States)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Fiorenzo Omenetto (Tufts University, United States)
"Silk in High Technology"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:40 pm
Tzahi Cohen-Karni (Carnegie Mellon University, United States)
"Materials and Platforms for Flexible Multimodality (Sense and Actuate) Cell and Tissue Interfaces"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm
Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:00 pm - 9:05 pm
Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:15 pm - 9:20 pm
Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Business Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chair(s); Complete the GRC Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Dates and Venue; Election of the Next Vice Chair(s)
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Regulatory and Commercialization for Silk-Based Materials
Discussion Leaders: Monica Serban (University of Montana, United States) and Randy Lewis (UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY, United States)
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:40 am
Chanhum Park (Professor, South Korea)
"Bio 3D, 4D Printing Using Silk Fibroin"
9:40 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:20 am
Joseph Brown (Sofregen Medical, Inc.)
"Saving Voices with Silk: The First FDA-Cleared Regenerated Silk Device for Long-Term Voice Restoration"
10:20 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 am
Andreas Teuschl (University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, Austria)
"Hurdles to Overcome in Translating Promising Academic Work into A Commercial Medical Device – A Story on Silk-Based Ligament/Tendon Grafts"
11:30 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 11:50 am
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:50 am - 11:55 am
Discussion
11:55 am - 12:05 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:20 pm
Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:20 pm - 12:25 pm
Discussion
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm
General Discussion
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
Next Generation Silk-Based Materials – Future Designs and Functions
Discussion Leaders: Jessica Garb (University of Massachusetts Lowell, United States) and Alessandra Balduini (University of Pavia, Italy)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:05 pm
Benedetto Marelli (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States)
"Growing Silk in Technical Materials for Boosting Food Security"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pm
Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:45 pm
J. Miguel Oliveira (3B's Research Group, Institute 3Bs, Univeristy of Minho, Portugal)
"Enzymatically-Crosslinked Silk Fibroin Fydrogels - To Print or Not to Print: That is The Question"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm
Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:25 pm
Markus Buehler (MIT, United States)
"Bottom-Up Analysis and Design of De Novo Silk-Inspired Proteins Using Multiscale Modeling and Deep Learning"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am
Departure