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Cell Polarity Signaling

Gordon Research Conference

Cell Polarity in Development, Division, and Disease

June 12 - 17, 2016
Chair Ian G. Macara
Vice Chair Ulrich Tepass
Mount Snow
89 Grand Summit Way
West Dover, Vermont, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

Cell polarity is a universal biological process that is fundamental to all aspects of cell division, growth, development, and tissue morphogenesis. It is also perturbed in numerous developmental diseases, in aging, and in cancer. Polarity underlies the generation of diverse cell types by asymmetrically dividing stem cells, and provides the organizational structures for tissue architecture. The recognition that cell polarity, and defects in polarization, are of such broad biological importance has led to an explosion of interest in this area, with over 21,000 papers identified on PubMed.

A distinctive feature of the 2016 Cell Polarity conference will be the inclusion of a Gordon Research Seminar, organized by two postdoctoral fellows, which will assemble about 45 – 50 graduate students and postdoctoral trainees to present and discuss their research immediately before the GRC begins. Invited speakers will include established investigators but participation by young investigators will be strongly emphasized. Speakers for short talks will also be selected from the poster abstracts, to provide multiple opportunities for presentation of the newest findings. We wish to establish a tradition that speakers will not present at 2 consecutive Cell Polarity GRCs, and for this reason we have selected a fresh list of speakers for 2016. The meeting will also include new sessions on Cell Polarity in Disease (polycystic disease, wound healing, immune responses), Mitotic Spindle Orientation Mechanisms, Polarity in Unicellular Organisms and Epithelial Mechanobiology, in addition to traditional sessions on Stem Cells, Polarity in Development, Polarity and Cancer, and Planar Cell Polarity.

Overall, the 2016 Conference and Seminar at Mt. Snow Resort in VT will provide an exciting combination of basic and translational research topics in cell polarity as it relates to development and disease. Together they will facilitate discussion of cutting edge research in polarity, and will foster new ideas and collaborations that will help drive the field forward.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Cell Polarity Signaling" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pmKeynote Session: Cell Polarization Mechanisms
Discussion Leader: Ian Macara (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA)
7:40 pm - 7:55 pmOpening Remarks
7:55 pm - 8:15 pmIntroduction by Discussion Leader
8:15 pm - 9:00 pmDaniel St. Johnston (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
"Different Modes of Epithelial Polarity"
9:00 pm - 9:20 pmDiscussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmCell Polarity in Unicellular Organisms
Discussion Leader: Anne Spang (Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland)
9:00 am - 9:20 amIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Cell Polarity and Stress Response in S. cerevisiae
9:20 am - 9:40 amDaniel Lew (Duke University Medical Center, USA)
"Mechanism of Gradient Sensing in Yeast via a Mobile Polarity Site"
9:40 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amUrs Jenal (Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland)
"Coordination of Caulobacter Cell Polarity and Cell Proliferation by a Small Signaling Molecule"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am - 11:05 amCoffee Break
11:05 am - 11:25 amSophie Martin (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
"Focalization of Pheromone Signalling Promotes Cell Fusion in the Fission Yeast"
11:25 am - 11:35 amDiscussion
11:35 am - 11:45 amPaul Cullen (State University of New York at Buffalo, USA)
"Spatial Landmarks Regulate a Cdc42-Dependent MAPK Pathway to Control Differentiation and the Response to Positional Compromise"
11:45 am - 11:50 amDiscussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pmDaniel Dickinson (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
"Unraveling PAR Protein Interactions with Single-Cell Biochemistry"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pmDiscussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmAkiko Satoh (Hiroshima University, Japan)
"Mechanism of Domain Formation in Apical Membrane of Drosophila Photoreceptors"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pmDiscussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmGeneral Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pmPower Hour
The GRC Power Hour is an optional informal gathering open to all meeting participants. It is designed to help address the challenges women face in science and support the professional growth of women in our communities by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring.
Organizer: Jody Rosenblatt (Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, USA)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmPolarity in Development: Stem Cells
Discussion Leader: Jeremy Nance (New York University School of Medicine, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Remodeling of C. elegans Primordial Germ Cells Through Polarized Pruning by the Soma
7:50 pm - 8:10 pmElaine Fuchs (The Rockefeller University, USA)
"Polarity and the Governance of Epithelial Stem Cells"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pmKen Prehoda (University of Oregon, USA)
"Insights into the Origin of Animal Cell Polarity from the Resurrection of Ancient Proteins"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:00 pmAshley Rich (University of Chicago, USA)
"Optogenetic Dissection of Drosophila Neuroblast Polarization"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pmDiscussion
9:05 pm - 9:15 pmEurico Morais-de-Sa (Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, Portugal)
"Shaping Epithelial Apicobasal Polarity at Mitotic Exit"
9:15 pm - 9:20 pmDiscussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:30 amGroup Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pmPolarity in Development: Epithelia
Discussion Leader: Elizabeth Knust (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany)
9:00 am - 9:20 amIntroduction by Discussion Leader: The Crumbs Protein Complex - A Hub to Coordinate Adhesion, Polarity and Signaling
9:20 am - 9:40 amBarry Thompson (The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom)
"Cdc42 Drives Positive Feedback by Activating Both aPKC and PAK Kinases at the Apical Domain of Epithelial Cells"
9:40 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amBob Varelas (Boston University School of Medicine, USA)
"Polarity Regulated Hippo Pathway Signaling in the Airway Epithelium"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am - 10:50 amCoffee Break
10:50 am - 11:10 amFernando Martin-Belmonte (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain)
"Wnt Signaling in Epithelial Morphogenesis and Patterning in Tubular Organs"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 11:40 amMichel Bagnat (Duke University, USA)
"Apical Membrane Biogenesis in the Zebrafish Gut"
11:40 am - 11:50 amDiscussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pmBhuminder Singh (Vanderbilt University, USA)
"Apical Mistrafficking of the EGF Receptor Ligand Epiregulin Disrupts Epithelial Polarity"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pmDiscussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmSenthil Muthuswamy (Harvard Medical School, USA)
"The Role of Scribble in Mammary Gland Morphogenesis"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pmDiscussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmGeneral 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 pmEpithelial Mechanobiology - Extrusion and Strain
Discussion Leader: Alpha Yap (The University of Queensland, Australia)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Monitoring Junctional Tension for Local Tissue Surveillance
7:50 pm - 8:10 pmJody Rosenblatt (Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, USA)
"Hijacking Epithelial Cell Extrusion to Drive Tumor Formation and Invasion"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pmUlrich Tepass (University of Toronto, Canada)
"The Cell Biology of Neuroblast Ingression"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:00 pmAdam Martin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
"Organizing the Contraction that Changes Tissue Shape"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pmDiscussion
9:05 pm - 9:15 pmKathryn Worley (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA)
"Chirally Biased Traction Forces Observed on Micropatterned Surfaces"
9:15 pm - 9:20 pmDiscussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmPolarity in Disease: Cancer
Discussion Leader: Luke McCaffrey (McGill University, Canada)
9:00 am - 9:20 amIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Polarity and Epithelial Remodelling During Breast Cancer Progression
9:20 am - 9:40 amAndrea McClatchy (Harvard Medical School, USA)
"Plasma Membrane Domain Organization in Morphogenesis and Tumorigenesis"
9:40 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amAndrew Ewald (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA)
"Polarity Changes During Normal and Neoplastic Epithelial Morphogenesis"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am - 10:50 amCoffee Break
10:50 am - 11:10 amJoseph Kissil (Scripps Research Institute, USA)
"Merlin and Angiomotin - Coordinators of Signaling at Cell:Cell Junctions"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 11:30 amSandra Iden (University of Cologne, Germany)
"Non-Cell Autonomous Suppression of Melanoma by the Epidermal Polarity Protein Par3 Through Control of Direct Keratinocyte-Melanocyte Interactions"
11:30 am - 11:35 amDiscussion
11:35 am - 11:45 amDanielle Park (Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom)
"Extracellular Matrix Anisotropy in Breast Cancer Invasion and Metastasis"
11:45 am - 11:50 amDiscussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pmAaron Mertz (Rockefeller University, USA)
"How Is a Stratified Epithelium Built Mechanically In Vivo"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pmDiscussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pmTeresa Zulueta-Coarasa (University of Toronto, Canada)
"Dynamic Force Patterns Promote Collective Cell Migration"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pmDiscussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmGeneral 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 in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmPlanar Polarity and Tissue Morphogenesis
Discussion Leader: Helen McNeill (Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Canada)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Fat Cadherins and the Hippo Pathway in Tissue Organization
7:50 pm - 8:10 pmDanelle Devenport (Princeton University, USA)
"Coordinating Planar Cell Polarity in an Expansive and Regenerative Tissue"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pmSergei Sokol (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA)
"Interactions of Core PCP Proteins During Vertebrate Neural Tube Closure"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pmDiscussion
8:50 pm - 9:00 pmKari Barlan (University of Chicago, USA)
"Fat2 and Lar Define a Planar Signaling System Controlling Collective Cell Migration"
9:00 pm - 9:05 pmDiscussion
9:05 pm - 9:15 pmMasanori Nakayama (Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Germany)
"Asymmetric Distribution of the PAR-3/aPKC Complex in the Planar Axis Controls Vascular Inflammation"
9:15 pm - 9:20 pmDiscussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmGeneral Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmEpithelial Polarity and Patterning
Discussion Leader: Terry Lechler (Duke University Medical Center, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 amIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Spindle Orientation in Epidermal Development and Disease
9:20 am - 9:40 amJessica Feldman (Stanford University, USA)
"Patterning the Microtubule Cytoskeleton During Cell Differentiation"
9:40 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:10 amKaterina Ragkousi (Stowers Institute for Medical Research, USA)
"Polarizing Nemotestella Embryonic Epithelia, One Cell Cycle at a Time"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am - 11:00 amCoffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 amPatrick Laprise (CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Canada)
"Function and Regulation of the Protein Yurt Within the Polarity Network"
11:20 am - 11:30 amDiscussion
11:30 am - 11:40 amAndrew Gladden (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA)
"Loss of Planar Polarization Disrupts Tension-Mediated Organization of the Primordial Epidermal Bulge Stem Cell Niche"
11:40 am - 11:45 amDiscussion
11:45 am - 11:55 amDavid Sprinzak (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
"A Synthetic Biology Approach for Studying Fat4-Dachsous1 Planar Cell Polarity Signaling"
11:55 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmCeniz Zihni (University College London, United Kingdom)
"An Evolutionarily Conserved Cdc42-Activated Morphogenetic Origin Controls Epithelial Polarity"
12:10 pm - 12:15 pmDiscussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmGeneral 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 pmPolarity in Disease - PCD, Wound Healing, Immune Response
Discussion Leader: William Bement (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmIntroduction by Discussion Leader: Cellular Pattern Formation in Response to Plasma Membrane Damage
7:50 pm - 8:15 pmPaul Martin (University of Bristol, United Kingdom)
"Live Imaging of Tissue Repair and Inflammation"
8:15 pm - 8:25 pmDiscussion
8:25 pm - 8:50 pmJane Stinchcombe (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
"The Leading Role of the Centrosome in Polarity of Immune Cells"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pmDiscussion
9:00 pm - 9:15 pmGeneral Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:30 pmClosing Remarks
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Contributors

Conference Links

Conference History Cell Polarity Signaling (GRS)
Additional Fee Info

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