Biology and Pathobiology of the Cornea

Gordon Research Conference

March 25 - 30, 2012
Chairs and
Vice Chairs and
Four Points Sheraton / Holiday Inn Express
1050 Schooner Drive
Ventura, California, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The scope of the 2012 Gordon Conference on the Biology and Pathobiology of the Cornea will include the cornea and supporting tissues. Sessions will cover a wide range of topics, including development, homeostasis, barrier function, secretion, transparency, response to challenges such as infection, inflammation and dry eye, repair, and tissue engineering/regeneration. Emphasis will be on current challenges in cell and molecular biology as they relate to both basic research and translation to the clinic. The Conference will bring together a collection of investigators at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and trainees to present their work in poster format and to exchange ideas with leaders in the field. Following the GRC philosophy, the conference will emphasize new unpublished research, informal discussions, poster presentations, career networking, and opportunities for involvement of young scientists and students. Late breaking hot topic talks will be selected from submitted abstracts. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion time and opportunities for informal gatherings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
4:00 pm - 8:00 pmArrival and Check-in (Office Closed 6:00 pm - 7:45 pm)
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 7:45 pmWelcome by Meeting Chairs
7:45 pm - 9:30 pmChallenges in Basic Corneal Research and Clinical Application
Discussion Leader: Todd Margolis (Proctor Foundation/UC San Francisco, USA)
7:45 pm - 8:20 pmShigeru Kinoshita (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan)
"Towards sophisticated therapeutic modalities from corneal translational research"
8:20 pm - 8:25 pmDiscussion
8:25 pm - 9:00 pmReza Dana (Schepens Eye Research Institute, Mass. Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School, USA)
"Challenges and priorities in basic corneal research"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pmDiscussion
9:05 pm - 9:30 pm Open Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:30 amGroup Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pmCorneal Development and Systems Biology
Discussion Leaders: Bogi Anderson (University of California, Irvine, USA) and Chia-Yang Liu (University of Cincinnati, USA)
9:00 am - 9:25 amJohn Lowengrub (University of California, Irvine, USA)
"Feedback, lineages and cancer"
9:25 am - 9:35 amDiscussion
9:35 am - 10:00 amDavid C. Beebe (Washington University School of Medicine, USA)
"The importance of Pax6 and BMP signaling for the formation of the ocular surface epithelia"
10:00 am - 10:10 amDiscussion
10:10 amCoffee Break
10:35 am - 10:45 amTsutomu Kume (Northwestern University, USA)
"Conditional inactivation of Foxc2 in neural crest cells leads to corneal neovascularization"
10:45 am - 10:50 amDiscussion
10:50 am - 11:15 amThomas F. Linsenmayer (Tufts University Medical School, USA)
"Developmental regulation of corneal innervation"
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:35 amLu Chen (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"The kaleidoscope of corneal lymphangiogenesis"
11:35 am - 11:40 amDiscussion
11:40 am - 12:05 pmShivalingappa Swamynathan (University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, USA)
"Regulation of ocular surface maturation and maintenance by Kruppel-like factors Klf4 and Klf5"
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmOpen Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmStem Cells, Development and Regulation
Discussion Leader: Robert Lavker (Northwestern University, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pmScheffer Tseng (Tissue Tech, Inc., USA)
"Niche regulation of human limbal epithelial stem cells"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pmDiscussion
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmShizuya Saika (Wakayama Medical University, Japan)
"Roles of conjunctival Muc16 in homeostasis of corneal epithelium in mice"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmJulie Daniels (University College, London, UK)
"Epithelial-stromal interactions: Lessons for tissue engineering"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:05 pmSophie Deng (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
"Wnt signaling in human limbal stem/progenitor cells"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:25 pmOpen Discussion
9:30 pmDiscussion at Posters
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmMaintenance of Normal Structure and Function
Discussion Leaders: Sarah Hamm-Alvarez (University of Southern California, USA) and Darlene Dartt (Schepens Eye Research Institute, Mass. Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School, USA)
9:00 am - 9:25 amDiane Barber (UC San Francisco, USA)
"pH sensors in cell migration and metabolic adaptation"
9:25 am - 9:35 amDiscussion
9:35 am - 10:00 amJoseph Bonanno (Indiana University School of Optometry, USA)
"The nature of the corneal endothelial pump"
10:00 am - 10:10 amDiscussion
10:10 amCoffee Break
10:35 am - 10:45 amMario Matthaei (Wilmer Eye Institute, USA)
"Analysis of cellular stress response related genes reveals endothelial overexpression of Cdkn1a (P21) and cellular senescence in a mouse model of Fuchs Dystrophy"
10:45 am - 10:50 amDiscussion
10:50 am - 11:15 amVickery Trinkaus-Randall (Boston University School of Medicine, USA)
"Phosphorylation of tyrosine, serine, and threonine residues and downstream signaling depends on the distinct activation: nucleotides versus growth factors"
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:35 amHan Peng (Northwestern University, USA)
"miR-31/FIH-1 promotes corneal epithelial cell differentiation via Notch signaling"
11:35 am - 11:40 amDiscussion
11:40 am - 12:05 pmShukti Chakravarti (Johns Hopkins University, USA)
"Extracelluar matrix proteins and tissue homeostasis"
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmOpen Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmProteomics and Metabolomics
Discussion Leader: Vasilis Vasiliou (University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pmFrank J. Gonzalez (National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA)
"Metabolomics in the discovery of disease mechanisms and biomarkers"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pmDiscussion
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmDenise Stephens (University of California, Irvine)
"Whole genome profiling of mouse cornea reveals novel transcription factors in corneal epithelium development and homeostasis"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmGordon Laurie (University of Virginia, USA)
"Tear proteomics and the contribution of lacritin to the health of the ocular surface"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:05 pmVivien Coulson-Thomas (University of Cincinnati, USA)
"Computational studies of potential binding sites for small leucine rich proteoglycan to growth factor receptors"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:25 pmOpen Discussion
9:30 pmDiscussion at Posters
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmInfection and Inflammation
Discussion Leaders: Jim Chodosh (Mass. Eye and Ear Hospital/Harvard Medical School, USA) and Eric Pearlman (Case Western Reserve, USA)
9:00 am - 9:25 amRussell Vance (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Innate immune detection of bacterial infection"
9:25 am - 9:35 amDiscussion
9:35 am - 10:10 amPaul G. McMenamin (Monash University, Australia)
"Communication between myeloid cells in the cornea via membrane nanotubes: characterization and studies of dynamics in vivo"
10:10 amCoffee Break
10:35 am - 10:45 amMatilda Chan (University of California, San Francisco, USA)
"Macrophage metalloelastase (MMP12) regulates inflammation following corneal injury"
10:45 am - 10:50 amDiscussion
10:50 am - 11:15 amMichael S. Gilmore (Mass. Eye and Ear Hospital/Harvard Medical School, USA)
"Staphylococcus aureus interactions with the cornea and new therapeutic approaches for targeting them"
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:35 amMark Willcox (University of New South Wales, Australia)
"Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in defense and inflammation genes with contact lens related keratitis"
11:35 am - 11:40 amDiscussion
11:40 am - 12:05 pmNoorjahan Panjwani (Tufts University School of Medicine, USA)
"Update on pathogenic mechanisms of Acanthamoeba keratitis"
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmOpen Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmDry Eye and Wound Healing
Discussion Leader: Nancy McNamara (UC San Francisco, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pmMichael Stern (Allergan, Inc, USA)
"Pathobiology of dry eye"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pmDiscussion
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmKarsten Gronert (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
"Sex specific regulation of intrinsic ocular lipid circuits of inflammatory resolution"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmKrystel R. Huxlin (University of Rochester, USA)
"Biological and optical impact of PPARγ ligands on corneal wound healing in vivo - how do they compare with more traditional treatments for corneal fibrosis?"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:05 pmCarlo Iomini (Mt Sinai School of Medicine, USA)
"Primary cilia mediate corneal patterning and repair"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:25 pmOpen Discussion
9:30 pmDiscussion at Posters
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmModeling and Engineering
Discussion Leaders: Matthew Petroll (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) and Christopher Murphy (University of California, Davis)
9:00 am - 9:25 amChoun-ki Joo (The Catholic University of Korea, Korea)
"The cornea in end stage disease: needs and performance criteria"
9:25 am - 9:35 amDiscussion
9:35 am - 10:00 amJeffrey W. Ruberti (Northeastern University, USA)
"Gaining control of collagen organization: What do cells do and how can we do it too?"
10:00 am - 10:10 amDiscussion
10:10 amCoffee Break
10:35 am - 10:45 amPeter Pinsky (Stanford University, USA)
"Elastic and swelling properties of the human cornea: from molecular to macroscopic scale models"
10:45 am - 10:50 amDiscussion
10:50 am - 11:15 amPaul F. Nealey (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
"Towards a synthetic basement membrane for the corneal epithelium"
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:35 amChe Connon (University of Reading, United Kingdom)
"Ex vivo expansion and differentiation of limbal stem cells is affected by substrate mechanical properties"
11:35 am - 11:40 amDiscussion
11:40 am - 12:05 pmHeather Sheardown (McMaster University, Canada)
"Collagen matrices crosslinked using multifunctioinal dendrimers as artificial cornea scaffolds"
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmOpen Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmRegeneration and Reconstruction
Discussion Leader: Roger Beuerman (Duke-Nus Graduate Medical School, Singapore)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pmSteven Little (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
"Advanced controlled release systems for next generation ophthalmic therapy"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pmDiscussion
8:05 pm - 8:15 pmJian Wu (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
"Bioengineering human corneal stroma by human corneal stromal stem cells (hCSSCs)"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmShigeto Shimmura (Keio University, School of Medicine, Japan)
"Strategies in cornea stem cell therapy"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:05 pmKamil Godula (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA)
"Synthetic ocular mucin mimetics: a new tool for biological studies of the glycocalyx"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pmDiscussion
9:10 pm - 9:25 pmOpen Discussion
9:30 pmDiscussion at Posters
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

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