Agenda

All times are in local time, Tsukuba City, Japan

Keynote (40 min talk + 10 min Q&A)

Invited speakers (15 min talk + 5 min Q&A) 

 Short talks (8 min talk + 2 min Q&A)

All sessions take place in the Conference Center, 3rd floor, Medium Hall 300. Meals are listed in the agenda unless noted otherwise.

Monday, January 5, 2026

07:00--09:00 Breakfast is at the hotel for hotel guests only

08:30--17:00 Name Badge Pick-up in the Conference Center on the 3rd floor, outside of room 300

09:00 Opening Session 1 & Mechanism and Biology of Arginine Methylation
Chair: Aki Fukamizu, University of Tsukuba, Japan

  • 09:00--09:10 Welcome and Opening of the Conference by the Organizers
  • 09:10--09:30 "PRMT5 function in mitochondria", Shihuan Kuang, Duke University, USA
  • 09:30--09:50 "Protective role of protein arginine methyltransferase 6 in alcohol-associated liver disease", Irina Tikhanovich, The University of Kansas Medical Center, USA
  • 09:50--10:10 "Deciphering the Systemic Function of Protein Arginine Methylation", Aki Fukamizu, University of Tsukuba, Japan
  • 10:10--10:20 Short Talk 1: "CARM1-mediated arginine methylation as an epigenetic switch for autophagy", Young Suk Yu, Seoul National University, Korea
  • 10:20--10:30 Short Talk 2: "DNA replication fork integrity is promoted by arginine methylation of MCM4", Michael Ferguson, University of Toronto, Canada

10:30--11:00 Coffee Break

  • 11:00--11:20 "Arginine methylation facilitates the recruitment of FACT complex to chromatin to maintain active transcription", Yanzhong (Frankie) Yang, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center, USA
  • 11:20--11:30 Short Talk 3: "Half-of-sites reactivity allosterically regulates protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1)", Joanie Hevel, Utah State University, USA
  • 11:30--11:50 "A non-canonical role of a conserved arginine methyltransferase", Purusharth Rajyaguru, India Institute of Science, India

12:00--13:45 Lunch/Meet the Expert Session

  • Women in Science: Clare Davies and Rong Huang
  • Work/Life Balance: Mark Bedford and Ho Man Chan

14:00--14:50: Keynote Speaker 1: "Characterizing SND1 a methylarginine effector protein", Mark Bedford, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
Chair: Michael Yu, University at Buffalo, USA

14:50 Session 2: Arginine Methylation and Epigenetics
Chair: Rong Huang, Purdue University, USA

  • 14:50--15:10 "Defining the importance of CARM1 in acute myeloid leukemia", Stephen Nimer, University of Miami, Sylvester Cancer Center, USA
  • 15:1--15:30 "PRMT5 activity sustains histone production to maintain genome integrity", David Shechter, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA

15:30-16:00 Coffee Break

  • 16:0--16:20 "Rational discovery of isoform-selective and potent inhibitors for prmts", Rong Huang, Purdue University, USA
  • 16:20--16:40 "Biological functions of PRMT7 in mammals", Taiping Chen, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
  • 16:40--16:50 Short Talk 4: "Differential Regulation of Histone and Non-Histone Methylation by the CARM1 Inhibitors TP-064 and EZM2302", Su-Nam Kim, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
  • 16:50--18:00 Break

18:00--20:00 Dinner at the conference center

20:00--20:30 Wadaiko (Japanese drum performance)

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

07:00--9:00 Breakfast is at the hotel for hotel guests only

08:30--15:00 Name Badge Pick-up in the Conference Center on the 3rd floor, outside of room 300

09:00 Session 3: Therapeutics Target Arginine Methylation
Chair: Ho Man Chan, AstraZeneca, USA

  • 09:00--09:20 "Understanding cellular sensitivity of MTAP-loss tumors to PRMT5 inhibition", Han Xu, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
  • 09:20--09:40 "Next generation epigenetic cancer therapies by targeting PRMTs in solid tumors", Haiping Wu, Cytosinlab, China
  • 09:40--10:00 "The discovery and development of PRMT5 Inhibitor AZD3470 for MTAP-deleted cancers", Ho Man Chan, AstraZeneca, USA
  • 10:00--10:20 "Targeting PRMTs, then and now - From pan-inhibition to MTAP loss-directed precision", Pooja Shah, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
  • 10:20--10:30 Short Talk 5: "MTA Cooperative PRMT5 Heterobifunctional Degraders", Ryan Kruger, SK LifeScience Labs, USA

10:30--11:00 Coffee Break

  • 11:00--11:20 "Heart failure therapy targeting prmt5", Yasufumi Katanasaka, University of Shizuoka, Japan
  • 11:20--11:40 "Exploring combination therapies of mta cooperative prmt5 inhibitors and defining stratifiers of patient response", Kathleen Mulvaney, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Tech and Children’s National Hospital, USA
  • 11:40--11:50 Short Talk 6: "CARM1-mediated exosome biogenesis rewires inosine metabolism of CD8+ T cells and impairs their antitumor ability", Fabao Liu, Shandong University, China
  • 11:50--12:00 Short Talk 7: "Discovery of ABSK131, a potential best-in-class MTA-cooperative PRMT5 Inhibitor", Haiyan Ying, Abbisko Therapeutics, China

12:00--14:00 Lunch/Meet the Expert Session

  • Science: David Shechter, Wenjiang Gan, Jian Xu, and Taiping Chen
  • Technology: Minkui Luo
  • Master the Publication Process: Mishtu Dey


14:00 Session 4: New Advances in Technology to Study Arginine Methylation
Chair: Dalia Barsyte-Lovejoy, University of Toronto, Canada

  • 14:00--14:20 "Altered protein arginine methylation in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis", Kensuke Ikenaka, The University of Osaka, Japan
  • MOVED TO WEDNESDAY: 14:20--14:40 "Targeting protein arginine methyltransferases to modulate cell stress response", Dalia Barsyte-Lovejoy, University of Toronto, Canada

15:00-17:00 Poster Session / Reception

17:00 Dinner on Own and Free Time - there are plenty of dinner options available within walking distance of the venue

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

07:00--9:00 Breakfast is at the hotel for hotel guests only

08:30--15:00 Name Badge Pick-up in the Conference Center on the 3rd floor, outside of room 300

09:00--09:50 Keynote Speaker 2: "Cellular pathways influenced by arginine methylation", Stéphane Richard, McGill University, Canada
Chair: Ho Man Chen, AstraZeneca, USA

09:50 Session 5: Arginine Methylation in Cancer
Chair: Wei Xu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

  • 09:50--10:10 "PRMT5-mediated methylation of RUVBL1 as a stratification marker for PRMT5 inhibitor therapy in breast cancer", Clare Davies, University of Birmingham, UK
  • 10:10--10:30 "A novel regulatory mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing in cancer", Wenjian Gan, Case Western Reserve University, USA

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break & Group Photo

  • 11:00--11:20 "Dissecting a Role for Protein Arginine Methylation in Metabolic Reprogramming", Michael Yu, University at Buffalo, USA
  • 11:20--11:40 "CARM1 is a therapeutic vulnerability in human breast cancer", Wei Xu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
  • 11:40--12:00 "Arginine methylation regulates glucose metabolism to promote the acquisition of malignancy in cancer cells", Takahiro Yamamoto, Central Institute for Experimental Medicine and Life Science, Japan
  • 12:00--12:20 "Targeting protein arginine methyltransferases to modulate cell stress response", Dalia Barsyte-Lovejoy, University of Toronto, Canada

12:20--14:00 Lunch/Meet the Expert Session

  • Academic career: Aki Fukamizu and Wei Xu
  • Industry and alternative career: Ryan Kruger (SK LifeScience labs) & Cytosinlab (Haiping Wu)
  • Early Career Scientist: Dalia Barsyte-Lovejoy and Pooja Shah

14:00 Session 6: Arginine Methylation in Development and Immunology
Chair: Jian Xu, University of Southern California, USA

  • 14:00--14:20 "Arginine methylation outside the nucleus: regulation of neuronal synapse development via RNA-binding proteins and kinesin motors", Kwok-On Lai, City University of Hong Kong, China
  • 14:20--14:40pm: "PRMT1 promotes inflammation triggered megakaryopoiesis and thrombosis", Xinyang Zhao, The University of Kansas Medical Center, USA
  • 14:40--15:00 "Role of Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 in the CNS development", Misuzu Hashimoto, Gifu University, Japan

15:00--15:20 Coffee Break

  • 15:20--15:40 "PRMT1-SFPQ regulates intron retention and nuclear mRNA storage during craniofacial development", Jian Xu, University of Southern California, USA
  • 15:40--16:00 "Unraveling the role of PRMT5 in telomere biology", Ernesto Guccione, Icahn School of Medicine, USA
  • 16:00--16:20 "CARM1 associates with and methylates ALIX, an accessory protein of the ESCRT machinery", Thierry Dubois, Institute Curie – Research Center, France

16:20--17:30 Business Meeting - panel discussion about the future of the field

Dinner on Own and Free Time - there are plenty of dinner options available within walking distance of the venue

Thursday, January 8, 2026

07:00--9:00 Breakfast is at the hotel for hotel guests only

08:30--11:00 Name Badge Pick-up in the Conference Center on the 3rd floor, outside of room 300

09:00 Session 7: PRMT Chemical and Structural Biology
Chair: Min-Kui Luo, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA

  • 09:00--09:20 "Targeting protein arginine methyltransferases in Multiple Myeloma", Ngoc Tung Tran, Indiana University, USA
  • 09:20--09:40 "A decade journey of developing chemical tools to dissect protein arginine methylation", Minkui Luo, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA
  • 09:40--09:50 Short Talk 8: "Identification of effective combination treatments with PRMT5 inhibition in MTAP null cancers", Blanka Bordas, Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, USA
  • 09:50--10:00 Short Talk 9: "Chemoproteomics to Uncover ‘Readers’ and Functions of Histone Arginine Methylation", Xiaomeng Li, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China
  • 10:00--10:10 Short Talk 10: "PRMT1-mediated methylation regulates MLL2 stability and gene expression", Jaehoon Kim, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
  • 10:10--10:20 Short Talk 11: "Dissecting Neuronal Roles of Arginine Methylation in the Nucleolin GAR Domain", Ofri Abraham, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

10:20--11:00 Wrap up and Prizes

11:00--11:30 Closing Remarks by Organizers and Introducing the next set of Organizers

11:30--13:00 Lunch

Conference ends after lunch.