Scientific Programme

September 1 - 4, 2024 | Cambridge, UK

Sunday, 1st September

12:30 – 14:00

Registration

Check-In + set-up Posters

14:00 – 14:15

Welcome and Introduction

Sandip Patel

14:15 – 15:15

Annette Draeger Opening Lecture

Speaker Annette Dolphin (UCL): Lessons in drugs and trafficking from voltage-gated calcium channels

Chair Sandip Patel (UCL)

15:15 – 16:45

Session 1: Functional and dysfunctional states of calcium binding proteins

Chair Daniele Dell’Orco (University of Verona), co-chaired by Malene Brohus (Aalborg University)

Alessandra Astegno (University of Verona): The Large Repertoire of Calmodulin-related Proteins in Plants and Parasites

James Ames (University of California at Davies): Structural Basis of L-type Channel Regulation by Calmodulin and CaBP1

Short talks selected from abstract submissions:

Helene Halkjær Jensen (Aalborg University): Calmodulin variants in schizophrenia patients display gain-of-function or loss-of-function effects

Valerio Marino (University of Verona): Effects of heavy metals on Ca²⁺-sensors under physiological and pathological conditions

Session discussion

16:45

Coffee / Tea Break

17:15 – 18:45

Session 2: Plasma membrane – ER junctions: hubs for local and global calcium signaling

Chair Indu Ambukdar (NIH/NIDCR), co-chaired by Hwei Ling Ong (NIH/NIDCR)

Genevieve Dupont (Université Libre de Bruxelles): Computational insights into the molecular mechanism of T cells microdomains formation

Isabella Derler (Johannes Kepler University Linz): Photocrosslinking: a novel tool to study Orai1 channel dynamics

Björn Diercks (University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf): Initial Ca2+ microdomains in T cells

Session discussion

18:45 – 19:15

jECS Session

Chair Gaia Gherardi (University of Padova)

This session will consist of two speakers selected at the jECS meeting.

Speaker 1 – TBA

Speaker 2 – TBA

Session discussion

19:15

Welcome Reception & Buffet Dinner

Monday, 2nd September

8:30 – 9:00

Refreshments

9:00 – 10:30

Session 3: Organelle-cross talk

Chair Mohammed Trebak (University of Pittsburgh), co-chaired by Cara Yuan (UCL)

Rajender Motiani (Regional Centre for Biotechnology): Calcium driven inter-organelle crosstalk: A master regulator of vertebrate pigmentation

Jen Liou (UT Southwestern Medical Center): Regulation of receptor-induced PIP2-Calcium Signaling at ER-PM junctions by Nir proteins

Anna Raffaello (University of Padova): New modulators of mitochondrial calcium uptake

Session discussion

10:30

Coffee / Tea Break

11:00 – 12:30

Session 4: Calcium signalling in disease

Chair Khaled Machaca (Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar), co-chaired by Silke Chalmers (Aarhus University)

Greg Monteith (University of Queensland): Pathways to targeting calcium channels for cancer therapy

Mohammed Trebak (University of Pittsburgh): Calcium signaling through Orai channels in health and disease

Short talks selected from abstract submissions

Priyadarsini Gangadharannambiar (The Open University): The Role of Calcium Signalling in the Progression to Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer

Dimitry Lim (University of Eastern Piedmont): The ER-mitochondria distance controls mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake, OXPHOS and protein homeostasis: Implications for neurodegenerative diseases

Session discussion

12:30 – 13:00

Flash Talks 1

Chair Ana Rossi (University of Cambridge)

P25 Franziska Möckl – MASTER-NAADP – Membrane permeAble, STabilized, biorEversibly pRotected precursor of the Ca²⁺ mobilizing second messenger NAADP
P71 Jens Loncke – Wolfram syndrome type 2-linked CISD2 deficiency underlies dysregulated Ca²⁺ and MAM homeostasis.
P86 Qianqian Song – Molecular and structural characterisation of cardiac function in the lysosomal storage disease Niemann-Pick Disease Type C
P96 Mark Williams – Cholinergic mobilisation of juxtaposed TPC1-InsP₃R3 calcium stores triggers secretion of mucus and fluid to flush the human colonic stem cell niche
P67 Miryam A. Hortua-Triana – The role of the Toxoplasma gondii Endoplasmic Reticulum for transferring Calcium to the mitochondrion and acidic organelles.
P08 Gustavo da Silva Pereira – A lysosomal two-pore channel disrupts neuronal Ca²⁺ entry and dopaminergic function in vivo in models of familial Parkinson disease
P74 Agathe Moret – Subcellular compartmentalized calcium signaling using an expanded palette of genetically encoded calcium indicators
P81 Nicolas Rosa – Role of mechanosensitive Piezo1 channels in phagocytosis by neutrophils

13:00 – 14:30

Lunch with Poster Session 1

14:30 – 16:00

Session 5: New calcium imaging technologies

Chair Robert Campbell (University of Tokyo), co-chaired by Helene Halkjær Jensen (Aalborg University)

Hod Dana (Case Western Reserve University): Development and application of a high-sensitivity version of the calcium-sensitive activity integrator CaMPARI

Claire Deo (EMBL): Chemigenetic molecular tools for photoacoustic imaging of neural activity

Short talks selected from abstract submissions

Hazel Erkan-Candag (Medical University of Graz): A new photopharmacological tool reveals L1 as a regulatory sterol binding site in TRPC3

Shosei Imai (University of Tokyo): A bright and highly-responsive Ca²⁺ biosensor based on the mScarlet red fluorescent protein

Session discussion

Sponsor Talk: CoolLED

16:05

Coffee / Tea Break

16:30 – 18:00

Session 6: Advances in NAADP and cyclic ADP-ribose signalling

Chair Katja Rietdorf (The Open University), co-chaired by Maggie Mu (UCL)

Jonathan Marchant (Medical College of Wisconsin): Characterizing the role of Jupiter microtubule-associated homolog 2 (JPT2) in NAADP-evoked Ca²⁺ release from acidic Ca²⁺ stores.

Jiusheng Yan (University of Texas): Crosstalk between NAADP and PI(3,5)P₂ signaling mediated by Lsm12 and two-pore channels

Yongjuan Zhao (CUHK-Shenzhen): Unraveling the Biosynthesis and Degradation of Cyclic ADP-Ribose: Implications for Neuronal Function and Neurodegeneration

Session discussion

18:00 – 19:00

19:00 –

Dinner

Bar & Posters

Tuesday, 3rd September

8:30 – 9:00

Refreshments

9:00 – 10:30

Session 7: Plasma Membrane Calcium Pumps Under Normal and Disease Conditions

Chair Agnes Enyedi (Semmelweis University), co-chair Sarolta Tóth (Semmelweis University)

Jason Bruce (The University of Manchester): Fuelling PMCA in pancreatic diseases

Elizabeth Cartwright (University of Manchester): The pathophysiological role of PMCAs in heart failure and hypertension

Dirk Montag (Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology): The PMCA – neuroplastin liason is essential for hearing and associative learning and memory

Session discussion

10:30

Coffee / Tea Break

11:00 – 12:30

Session 8: The role of allostery in calcium signalling

Chair David Weber (University of Maryland), co-chaired by Gustavo da Silva Pereira (UCL)

Gary Shaw (University of Western Ontario): Coupling of Binding Sites in S100 Proteins

Rupal Gupta (The City University of New York): Calcium induced dynamic allostery in S100A12

Short talks selected from abstract submissions

Emil D. Iversen (Aalborg University): Calcium dependent binding of calmodulin to voltage-gated sodium channel IQ domains

Rachel Morris (University of Liverpool): Long QT syndrome-associated calmodulin mutations, D93Y and E140V alters calmodulin’s secondary structure and its interaction with CaMKIIδ and the calcium ion channels, Cav1.2 and RyR2

Session discussion

12:30 – 16:30

Free Time

16:30 – 17:30

General Assembley

Chair: Geert Bultynck

17:30 – 18:30

Claude Klee Lecture

Speaker: Martha Cyert (Stanford, USA): Discovering new mechanisms for calcineurin signaling

Chair: Jim Putney

19:30

BBQ

Bar & Posters

Wednesday, 4th September

8:30 – 9:00

Refreshments

9:00 – 10:30

Session 9: Artificial intelligence

Chair Jonathan Marchant (Medical College of Wisconsin), co-chair Sushil Kumar (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Andreas Bender (University of Cambridge): Artificial Intelligence in Chemical and Biology and Drug Discovery – Methods, Applications, and Pitfalls

Lukas Friedrich (Merck Healthcare KGaA): Industrial Applications of Machine Learning in Early Drug Discovery

Short talk selected from abstract submissions

Sara López-Vázquez (University of Valladolid): SARS-CoV-2 viroporin E induces Ca²⁺ release and neuron cell death in primary cultures of rat hippocampal cells aged in vitro

Session discussion

10:30

Coffee / Tea Break

11:00 – 12:30

Session 10: Annexins and the S100 proteins

Chair Ursula Rescher (University of Münster), co-chair Inga Pauels (University of Münster)

Jesper Nylandsted (Danish Cancer Society Research Centre): Ca²⁺-Guided Plasma Membrane Repair Mediated by Annexin Proteins

Axel Brakhage (Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology): Pathogenic fungus hijacks human S100A10 (p11) to redirect fungal-containing phagosomes to non-degradative pathway

Short talks selected from abstract submissions

Terunao Takahara (Nagoya University): A novel role of Ca²⁺/Calmodulin in the regulation of mTORC2 signaling

Femke Speelman-Rooms (KU Leuven): Unravelling the Ca²⁺-independent impact of BAPTA-AM on the autophagic pathway

Session discussion

12:30 – 13:00

Flash Talks 2

Chair Martin Bootman (The Open University)

P65 – Dmytro Gordienko – Mitochondria control gene transcription via retention of NFAT in cell nucleus
P59 – Judith Estrada-Meza – Local translation as a molecular mechanism underlying tanycyte-neuron communication for energy balance regulation
P91 – Andrew Thomas – Fructose (but not glucose) activates a unique subcellular calcium signaling pathway in hepatocytes to stimulate lipogenesis.
P11 – Srijit Ghosh – Postjunctional M2 muscarinic receptor activation disrupts buffering of calcium entry by SERCA, inducing airway smooth muscle contraction
P92 – Sarolta Tóth – PMCA4b regulates cell polarity in luminal type breast cancer cells
P15 – Luca Hegedüs – PMCA4 expression is associated with histological subtype and drug sensitivity in pleural mesothelioma
P76 – Gabriele Olivieri– Characterization of human calcium binding protein CIB2 in solution NMR
P05 – Silke B. Chalmers – Micro to macro mechano: exploring the physiological significance of macrophagic PIEZO1 from subcellular to system-wide scales