Agenda - TGF-β Family in Development and Disease

All times are in local time.

Invited speakers (20 min talk + 5 min Q&A) // Short talks (10 min talk + 5 min Q&A)

Keynote Presentation (40 min talk + 5 min Q&A)

"Short Talk Abstracts" will be chosen from submissions and will be announced after the abstract deadline.

Breakfasts are served in the hotel restaurant, lobby level, and is for Sheraton hotel guests only. Please note, that your room reservation made through our negotiated link, includes breakfast. If you did not use our link, your breakfast might not be included so please check your reservation.

Lunches are served in the hotel restaurant on Lobby level

Sunday and Wednesday Receptions will take place on the Lobby level

All sessions and Poster receptions will take place on the 2nd floor marked SL

Wednesday dinner will take place in the hotel restaurant, located on Lobby level

17:00–20:00 - Name Badge Pick-up

18:00--19:00 Reception

19:00--19:15 Welcome and introduction by the conference organizers

19:15--20:45 Session 1: TGF-β: History and Future Implications
Chair: Mythreye Karthikeyan, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

19:15--20:00 Keynote: Timothy Springer, Harvard University, USA

20:00--20:45 EMBO Keynote Lecture: Targeting of pro-tumorigenic TGFb pathways in cancer treatment, Carl-Henrik Heldin, Uppsala University, Sweden

Dinner On Own - here are some suggestions close by

08:00–14:30 - Name Badge Pick-up

07:30–09:00 - Breakfast

09:00--12:10 Session 2: Immunoregulation in Cancer and Inflammation
Chair: Andrew P. Hinck, University of Pittsburgh, USA

09:00--09:25 Control of tumorigenic T cell differentiation by TGF-beta, Julien C. Marie, CRCL, France
09:25--09:50 Redefining possible for TGFb in oncology, Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff, UCSF, USA
09:50--10:05 Short Talk 1: Genetic identification of the receptors and cells mediating activin A-induced tumor immune evasion, Daniel B. Constam, Ecole Polytechniqhe Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
10:05--10:20 Short Talk 2: Dissecting mechanisms of tumor immune checkpoint blockade resistance caused by host genetic variation within Adam17, James P. Heiserman, The University of California, San Francisco, USA
10:20--10:45 Receptor-level logic of TGF-β family signaling in antitumor immunity, Kristian Pietras, Lund University, Sweden

10:45--11:15 Coffee Break

11:15--11:40 Rick Maizels, University of Glasgow, UK
11:40--11:55 Short Talk 3: Mechanisms of tumor dormancy in host anti-tumor immunity and in immune therapeutic relapse, Li Yang, NCI, USA
11:55--12:10 Short Talk 4: BMP-SMAD Signaling Enhances Selinexor Potency to Induce Apoptosis in Multiple Myeloma, MD Abu Hanif, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Norway

12:30--14:30 Lunch and Meet the Experts Session

Joan Massagué and Jodie Babbit: Navigating Careers in Academia

Rick Maizels and Mary Mullins: Writing For Success

Cathy Savage-Dunn and Gareth Inman: Work Life Imbalance

Tom Thompson and Petra Knaus: Managing and Mentoring

Maureen O'Connor and Chuck Streich: Navigating Careers outside Academia

14:30--17:10 Session 3: Mechanisms of Cancer Progression and Metastasis
Chair: Gareth Inman, University of Glasgow, UK

14:30--14:55 TGF-β driven dormant metastasis program, Joan Massague, Memorial Sloan Kettering, USA
14:55--15:20 Shining new light on regulation of cancer stem cells by TGFb, Lalage Wakefield, NCI, USA
15:20--15:35 Short Talk 5: Onecut2 is a novel Smad cofactor that reprograms pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, Hao Fu, Nagoya University, Japan
15:35--15:50 Short Talk 6: TGF-β Signalling Governs Quiescence and Chemoresistance in CD123high Leukemic Stem Cells, Sepideh Azizi, Adelaide University, Australia

15:50--16:20 Coffee Break

16:20--16:45 TGF-β and EMT guide transcriptional regulatory pathways of extracellular vesicle secretion, Aristidis Moustakas, Uppsala University, Sweden
16:45--17:00 Short Talk 7: HVEM, a target of BMP signaling, accelerates growth and invasion of mesenchymal glioblastoma, Kohei Miyazono, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan
17:00--17:05 Poster Flash Talks (1 slide/presenter - 1 min)

Sebastiaan van Kampen, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands, A genetic precision approach to model gene dosage effects in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Julie Sitolle, Université Lyon 1 France, TGFβ signaling modulates muscle stem cell function during skeletal muscle regeneration

Nate Sanford, University of Pittsburgh, USA, Identification of amino acid motifs responsible for partial processing of the BMP9/BMP10 heterodimer

Sydney Parks, Baylor College of Medicine, USA, TGFBR2 is critical for regulating endometrial epithelial hyperplasia, endometrial tumor formation, and vaginal homeostasis

Jeremy Kessler, University of Geneva, Switzerland, New aspects of TGFβ signaling in muscle homeostasis and regeneration

Amy Isaac, University of Cincinnati, USA, Design and characterization of de novo ligand traps and fusions to selectively inhibit activin ligands

Chun-Lin Chen, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan, Dexamethasone-induced TβR3 upregulation suppresses tumor invasion

17:05--17:45 Business Meeting

17:45--19:45 Poster Session 1 (even numbers) Reception

Dinner On Own - there are many restaurants in Porto and here is a good guide

08:00–14:30 - Name Badge Pick-up

07:30–09:00 - Breakfast

09:00--12:10 Session 4: Development and Disease Intersections
Chair: Rosemary Akhurst, UCSF

09:00--09:25 Sub-functionalized Type I BMP receptor activities govern embryonic signaling driving dorsoventral patterning, Mary Mullins, University of Pennsylvania, USA
09:25--09:50 Tamara Alliston, NIAMS, USA
09:50--10:05 Short Talk 8: A TGFβ–metabolic–epigenetic axis controls sex-biased heterotopic ossification, Heeseog Kang, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA
10:05--10:20 Short Talk 9: Structure-function analysis of growth differentiation factor 11 binding to immunoglobulin superfamily member 1, Charlotte Mack, McGill University, Canada

10:20--10:50 Coffee Break and Group Photo

10:50--11:15 TGF-β and BMP signaling mechanisms in C. elegans host-pathogen response, Cathy Savage-Dunn, CUNY, USA
11:15--11:40 Mechanistic insights into mutations in TGF-β pathway components in connective tissue disorders, Caroline Hill, Francis Crick Institute, UK
11:40--11:55 Short Talk 10: NODAL level-dependent derepression and signaling dynamics in the regulation of anterior-posterior responses and patterning, Vasso Episcopou, Imperial College London, UK
11:55--12:10 Short Talk 11: TGFβR1 drives upper lip morphogenesis through modulating early olfactory development, Camilla S. Teng, University of California, San Francisco, USA

12:30--13:30 Lunch

13:15--16:00 Optional Group Outing - or Free Time on your own.

Group Outing: Port and Chocolate tasting at Sandeman’s (Caves Sandeman / Largo Miguel Bombarda 47, Vila Nova de Gaia).

THIS IS NOW SOLD OUT. The bus transportation is included in the cost for this port tasting at 32euro/person. Please pay onsite (cash only) by Monday 12 pm. This is first come, first serve and only available for conference participants. If you are interested, please sign up here Port and Chocolate Tasting.xlsx asap as there are only 49 spots for this event. You can pay by cash only (please have exact change) by Monday 12 pm.

Itinerary:

13:15-13:30 Bus pick up from the hotel
14:00 Port and chocolate tour starts
15:30 Bus leaves the Sandeman's Caves for the hotel return

16:00--17:40 Session 5: Therapeutic Challenges and Opportunities
Chair: Maureen O'Connor, HyperMabs, Canada

16:00--16:25 Non-Coding RNAs in TGF-β/SMAD Signaling and Cancer Cell Plasticity, Peter ten Dijke, Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
16:25--16:50 Selective targeting of matrix TGF-β1 is an attractive approach to attenuate the progression of pulmonary fibrosis, Mohammed Alsuraih, Scholar Rock, USA
16:50--17:05 Short Talk 12: Engineered Anti-Müllerian Hormone with enhanced biochemistry and contraceptive function, James A. Howard, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, USA
17:05--17:30 Mechanisms and models of GREM1 signalling in colorectal cancer, Derek Brazil, Queens University Belfast, UK
17:30--17:40 Poster Flash Talks (1 slide/presenter - 1 min)

Radit Aditirta, The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom, Investigating the effects of pathogenic TGFBR2R528C in an in vitro Loeys-Dietz syndrome model

Benney Argue, Northwestern University, USA, Single-Cell Long-Read Sequencing Reveals Novel TGFβ-1 Isoforms

Evan Buddle, McGill University, Canada, TGFBR3L function and glycosylation are conserved in inhibin B–producing mammals

Zeynep Kocberber, Technische Universität, München, Germany, Pmepa1-tgf-b signalling controls adipocyte function in obesity

Aravind Ramakrishnan, Boston Children's Hospital, USA, Distinguishing signaling responses between latent TGF-β presenting cells, activating cells, and bystander cells

Javier Stelling Ferez, The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom, Single molecule imaging and tracking to unravel TGF-β receptor dynamics

Xue Li Wong, Institute of Metabolic Science, Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, A putative endocrine role for activin-a in the regulation of systemic protein homeostasis

17:40--19:30 Poster Session 2 (odd numbers) Reception

Dinner On Own - there are many restaurants in Porto and here is a good guide

08:00–14:30 - Name Badge Pick-up

07:30–09:00 - Breakfast

09:00--12:10 Session 6: Vascular Physiology and Angiogenesis
Chair: Paul Yu, Harvard Medical School, USA

09:00--09:25 Deciphering BMP9/BMP10/ALK1 signaling in vascular homeostasis, Sabine Bailly, INSERM Institute, France
09:25--09:50 Differential transcriptional responses to BMP9 and BMP10 reveal ALK1-dependent and -independent signaling mechanisms underlying HHT pathogenesis, Paul Oh, Barrow Neurological Institute, USA
09:50--10:05 Short Talk 13: Leveraging protein design for new targeted therapies for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, Cynthia S. Hinck, University of Pittsburgh, USA
10:05--10:20 Short Talk 14: Architecture of an activated BMP receptor kinase heterotetramer, Brandon Courteau, University of California, San Francisco, USA

10:20--10:50 Coffee Break

10:50--11:15 Balancing cardiac repair and remodeling: Endoglin-dependent TGFβ signaling in the epicardium, Marie Jose Goumans, Leiden University, The Netherlands
11:15--11:40 Mechanical Forces as Drivers of Vascular TGFβ/BMP Signaling and Gene Regulation, Petra Knaus, Freie Universität, Germany
11:40--11:55 Short Talk 15: Smurf-mediated ubiquitination of CDK9 restricts Smad2-driven transcriptional elongation during mesendoderm differentiation, Ying E Zhang, NCI, USA
11:55--12:10 Short Talk 16: Distinct dimerization of DAN family member, SOSTDC1, reveals novel mechanism for bimodal regulation of Wnt signaling, Melissa M. Gouge, University of Cincinnati, USA

12:30--14:00 Lunch

14:00--15:00 Career Development Session

Benjamin Tajer
Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff
Lorena Lerner
Romain Donne
Tarsis Ferreira

15:00 Session 7: Tissue Homeostasis
Chair: Lindsay Dawson, Texas A&M, USA

15:00--15:25 Targeting non-canonical signalling downstream of ACVR1/ALK2 in Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, Gonzalo Sanchez-Duffhues, CINN/ISPA, Spain
15:25--15:50 Jodie Babitt, Mass General Hospital, USA
15:50--16:05 Short Talk 17: Isoform-Specific TGF-β1 Antagonism via De Novo Protein Design for Targeted Fibrosis Inhibition, Tarsis Ferreira, University of Houston, USA
16:05--16:20 Short Talk 18: TGF-β signaling coordinates β-cell secretory dysfunction and visceral adipose remodeling in metabolic disease, Sushil G. Rane, NIH, USA

16:20--16:50 Coffee Break

16:50--17:15 Integration of signaling, epigenetics, and metabolism by TGF-β pathways in cell fate determination, Qiaoran Xi, Tsinghua University, China
17:15--17:40 The roles of TGFβ signaling in female reproductive physiology and disease, Diana Monsivias, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
17:40--17:55 Short Talk 19: Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-9, a systemic homeostasis factor with diverse functions in the liver and beyond, Katja Breitkopf-Heinlei, University of Heidelberg, Germany

18:00--18:15 Junior Investigator Awards

18:15--19:30 Reception

19:30--22:00 Conference Dinner at the Sheraton hotel and Entertainment

07:30–09:00 - Breakfast

09:00--12:20 Session 8: Signaling networks in homeostasis and disease
Chair: Toril Holien, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

09:00--09:25 Tom Thompson, University of Cincinnati, USA
09:25--09:50 Phospho-Tyr Code Dictates Tumor-Regulatory Functions of Smad4, Xin-Hua Feng, Zhejiang University, China
09:50--10:05 Short Talk 20: Intracellular type I receptor dimerization couples ligand binding to TGFβ family signaling, Takenobu Katagiri, Saitama Medical University Advanced Research Center, Japan
10:05--10:20 Short Talk 21: Engineering a TGF-β antagonist for gene delivery and cell-targeted inhibition, Lukasz Wieteska, The Francis Crick Institute, UK

10:20--10:50 Coffee Break

10:50--11:15 Ligand-Independent Assembly of TGF-β Receptors Establishes a Structural Context for Signaling, Erik Martinez-Hackert, Michigan State University, USA
11:15--11:30 Short Talk 22: Rationalized design of targeting TGFbeta TME in head and neck cancer immunotherapy trial without an FDA approved TGFbeta inhibitor, Xiao-Jing Wang, University of California Davis, School of Medicine, USA
11:30--11:45 Short Talk 23: Unlocking the Druggability of Activin A Through Fragment-Based Screening, Lena Quambusch, University of Cambridge, UK
11:45--12:10 Revisiting the logic of Activin A-mediated signaling, Aris Economides, Regeneron, USA

12:10--12:20 Closing Remarks and End of Conference

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