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 Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm
Parasite Motility and Invasion
Discussion Leader: Photini Sinnis (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Opening Remarks
7:45 pm - 8:05 pm
Gary Ward (University of Vermont College of Medicine, United States)
"Visualizing the Forces Produced by Toxoplasma Gondii During 3D Motility"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pm
Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:35 pm
Eva Gluenz (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom)
"Leishmania Parasite-Host Interactions: Insights From Functional Genomics"
8:35 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pm
Maryse Lebrun (INSERM and University of Montpellier - CNRS, France)
"Evolution-based Approach to Decipher the Rhoptry Secretory Machinery in Apicomplexa"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Josh Beck (Iowa State University, United States)
"A Novel P. falciparum Knock Sideways Approach for Secreted Proteins Reveals an Important Function for PTEX Component HSP101 Localized to the Parasite ER"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Genome Stability and Genetic Diversity
Discussion Leaders: Sabrina Absalon (Indiana University School of Medicine, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Gerald Spaeth (Institut Pasteur, France)
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Leishmania Genome Instability in Environmental Adaptation and Fitness Gain"
9:20 am - 9:30 am
Discussion
9:30 am - 9:50 am
Jane Carlton (New York University, United States)
"The Trichy World of Trichomonas vaginalis and its Closest Relatives in Birds"
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Discussion
10:00 am - 10:10 am
George Wendt (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States)
"Of Parasites and P53 "
10:10 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Jaime So (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, United States)
"Trypanosomal Variant Surface Glycoprotein Expression in Human African Trypanosomiasis Patients"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Jianbin Wang (University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States)
"Programmed DNA Elimination in Parasitic Nematodes"
11:20 am - 11:30 am
Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am
Laura Kirkman (Weill Cornell Medicine, United States)
"Mechanisms of var Gene Diversification in Plasmodium falciparum "
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Sarah Pangburn (CUNY Graduate Center, United States)
"Evolution of Hemoglobin Digestion Genes in Response to Parasite Niche Expansion"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm
Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm
Brittany Hazzard (University of Maryland Baltimore, United States)
"Examining the Effect of Plasmodium vivax Coinfections on Sexual Differentiation Using Single Cell RNA Sequencing in a Primate Model"
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm
Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The GRC Power Hourâ„¢
The GRC Power Hourâ„¢ 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.
Organizer: Veronica Jimenez (California State University, Fullerton, United States)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Immunology and Immuno-Suppression
Discussion Leader: Tracey Lamb (University of Utah, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Eva Frickel (University of Birmingham, UK, United Kingdom)
"Control of Toxoplasma gondii by Human Cells"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm
Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm
P'ng Loke (National Institutes of Health, United States)
"Heterogeneity of Type 2 Immune Responses to Helminth Infections"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm
Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm
Meera Nair (University of California, Riverside, United States)
"Old and New Pathways of Macrophage-Parasitic Worm Interaction: RELM Proteins and Endocannabinoids"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Kieran Tebben (Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore, United States)
"Dual RNA-seq Reveals the Importance of the Host Immune Response for Controlling P. falciparum Intraerythrocytic Development"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Sara Fresard (City University of New York, Hunter College and The Graduate Center, United States)
"TLF3: Identification of a Unique Pre-beta High Density Lipoprotein as a Third Trypanosome Lytic Factor"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Parasite Dormancy and Persistence
Discussion Leader: Monica Mugnier (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Annemarie Voorberg-van der Wel (Biomedical Primate Research Centre, The Netherlands)
"Plasmodium cynomolgi Hypnozoite Dormancy and Activation"
9:20 am - 9:30 am
Discussion
9:30 am - 9:50 am
Jon Boyle (University of Pittsburgh, United States)
"Flexible, Intrahost Life Stage Conversion in Toxoplasma is a Uniquely Evolved Trait"
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Discussion
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Victoria Mendiola (University of Georgia, United States)
"Visualization and Quantification of Artemisinin-induced Dormant and Dead Plasmodium falciparum "
10:10 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Elizabeth Glennon (Seattle Children's Research Institute, United States)
"Host Regulation of Plasmodium vivax Dormant and Replicating Liver Forms"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Jean-Claude Dujardin (Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium)
"Drug Resistance and Quiescence: Two Faces of Treatment Failure in Leishmaniasis"
11:20 am - 11:30 am
Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am
Alexander Paredez (University of Washington, United States)
"Cellular Signaling in the Regulation of Giardia Cyst Formation"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Haley Licon (Whitehead Institute, United States)
"A Positive Feedback Loop Controls Toxoplasma Chronic Differentiation"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm
Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm
John Samuelson (Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, United States)
"Structure and Function of Lectins and Glycoside Hydrolases of Acanthamoeba and Entamoeba Cyst Walls"
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
Sexual Differentiation and Quorum Sensing
Discussion Leaders: Chi-Min Ho (Columbia University, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Laura Knoll (University of Wisconsin Madison, United States)
"Oxylipin Derivatives of Linoleic Acid Allow Toxoplasma to Have Sex Anywhere"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm
Isabel Roditi (University of Bern, Switzerland)
"Flagellar Fusion - Stealth Communication by African Trypanosomes"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm
Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:00 pm
Björn Kafsack (Weill Cornell Medicine, United States)
"Metabolic Competition between Lipid Metabolism and Histone Methylation Regulates Sexual Differentiation in Human Malaria Parasites"
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm
Gabriele Pradel (Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Germany)
"A Proteomic View on the Egress-related Vesicles of Malaria Gametocytes"
9:20 pm - 9:25 pm
Discussion
9:25 pm - 9:35 pm
Megan Povelones (Villanova University, United States)
"Adhesion of Crithidia Fasciculata Promotes a Rapid Change in Developmental Fate Driven by cAMP Signaling"
9:35 pm - 9:40 pm
Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Host Cell Responses to Manipulation by Parasites
Discussion Leader: Ira Blader (University at Buffalo, SUNY, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Staffan Svard (Uppsala University, Sweden)
"Giardia - On or Off Makes a Difference"
9:20 am - 9:30 am
Discussion
9:30 am - 9:50 am
Gordon Langsley (INSERM, France)
"Host Cell Transformation by Theileria Parasites"
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Discussion
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Laura-Isobel McCall (University of Oklahoma, United States)
"Central Role of Metabolic Resilience in Chagas Disease Tropism, Severity and Treatment Response"
10:10 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Amandine Guerin (University of Pennsylvania, United States)
"HyperLOPIT Analysis Reveals Cryptosporidium Secretory Organelles"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Melissa Lodoen (University of California, Irvine, United States)
"Host-Pathogen Interactions in the Vasculature and CNS During Toxoplasma gondii Infection"
11:20 am - 11:30 am
Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am
Alex Loukas (James Cook University, Australia)
"The Hookworm Pharmacopoeia for Treating Inflammatory Diseases"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Yu-Min Chuang (Yale University, United States)
"Signaling Between Mammalian Adiponectin and a Mosquito Adiponectin Receptor Reduces Plasmodium Transmission"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm
Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm
Gina Gallego- Lopez (Morgridge Institute for Research, United States)
"Toxoplasma gondii Change the Host Cell Redox State"
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
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Business Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Molecular Biology and Gene Expression
Discussion Leader: Vicki Jeffers (University of New Hampshire, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Lyn-Marié Birkholtz (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
"Epigenetic Control of Plasmodium falciparum Sexual Differentiation"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm
Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm
Iris Bruchhaus (Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany)
"Gene Silencing and Overexpression to Study Virulence Factors of Entamoeba histolytica "
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm
Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm
Mohamed-Ali Hakimi (INSERM / University of Grenoble Alpes, France)
"Mechanism of Regulating Gene Expression in Toxoplasma gondii "
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Caroline Keroack (Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, United States)
"Single Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Transcriptional and Epigenetic Programs Associated With Cold-induced Quiescence in Babesia divergens "
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Idálio Viegas (Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM), Portugal)
"N6-methyladenosine in Poly(A) Tails Stabilize VSG Transcripts"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Metabolism and Drug Targets
Discussion Leader: Sara Lustigman (New York Blood Center, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Freddy Frischknecht (Heidelberg University, Germany)
"Forces, Shapes and Proteins Modulating Malaria Parasite Migration"
9:20 am - 9:30 am
Discussion
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Paul Sigala (University of Utah School of Medicine, United States)
"Critical Role for Isoprenoid Synthesis in Apicoplast Biogenesis by Malaria Parasites"
9:40 am - 9:45 am
Discussion
9:45 am - 9:55 am
Galadriel Hovel-Miner (George Washington University, United States)
"Fexinidazole Survival Genes Implicate Novel Redox Pathway in Drug Resistance"
9:55 am - 10:00 am
Discussion
10:00 am - 10:30 am
Coffee Break
10:30 am - 10:50 am
Maria Adelaida Gomez (CIDEIM, Colombia)
"Treatment Challenges for Persistent Leishmania Infections"
10:50 am - 11:00 am
Discussion
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Patrick Skelly (Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, United States)
"Metabolism at the Schistosome Surface"
11:20 am - 11:30 am
Discussion
11:30 am - 11:40 am
Gang Lin (Weill Cornell Medicine, United States)
"Hijacking Plasmodium Ubiquitin Proteasome System to Circumvent Resistance to Artemisinin and Proteasome Inhibitors"
11:40 am - 11:45 am
Discussion
11:45 am - 11:55 am
Yiru Jin (The University of Kansas, United States)
"Targeting CYP51 and CYP5122A1 in the Ergosterol Biosynthesis Pathway in Leishmania donovani "
11:55 am - 12:00 pm
Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Jack Hanna (University of Dundee, United Kingdom)
"Development of a Comprehensive a Mode of Action Toolkit to Support Drug Target Identification in Cryptosporidium"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pm
Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm
Joey Verdi (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Germany)
"The VAST: A Trypanosoma Brucei Based Immunization Platform for Small Molecules and Other "Difficult" Antigens"
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
New Intervention Strategies
Discussion Leader: Akhil Vaidya (Drexel University College of Medicine, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Emily Derbyshire (Duke University, United States)
"Chemical Biology and the Development of Novel Antimalarials"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm
Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm
Joerg Moehrle (Medicines for Malaria Venture, Switzerland)
"The Drug Development Process for Antimalarials"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm
Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm
Boris Striepen (University of Pennsylvania, United States)
"Cryptosporidium Host Parasite Interaction"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm
Srinivasa Rao (Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, United States)
"Cyanotriazoles: A Rapid Sterilizing Trypanosomatid Growth Inhibitors"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am
Departure