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
Keynote Session: Operationalizing Genetic Biocontrol
Discussion Leader: Omar Akbari (University of California, San Diego, United States)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Opening Remarks
7:45 pm - 7:50 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:50 pm - 8:25 pm
Scott O'Neill (Monash University, Australia)
"Using Wolbachia for Arbovirus Transmission Control: Where We Are and What We Have Learned"
8:25 pm - 8:30 pm
Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:05 pm
Andrea Crisanti (Imperial College, United Kingdom)
"Gene Drive from Idea to Implementation"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Inducing and Programming Sterility and Lethality for Genetic Biocontrol
Discussion Leader: Marc Schetelig (Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Givemore Munhenga (National Institute for Communicable Diseases and University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)
"Experience and Lessons Learnt on the Application of SIT Against the Primary Vector Anopheles arabiensis in South Africa"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Pablo Liedo (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Mexico)
"Fruit Flies and the Sterile Insect Technique"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Ligia Cota Vieira (New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
"CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing in the Red Palm Weevil"
10:00 am - 10:05 am
Discussion
10:05 am - 10:15 am
Fernan Perez-Galvez (University of Kentucky, United States)
"Evolutionary Response to Genetic Biocontrol Using Embryonic Conditional Lethality in Continuous Populations of Drosophila melanogaster "
10:15 am - 10:20 am
Discussion
10:20 am - 10:30 am
Hervé Bossin (Institut Louis Malardé, French Polynesia)
"Wolbachia -Induced Sterility Trials in French Polynesia: Advancing Toward Island-Scale Interventions"
10:30 am - 10:35 am
Discussion
10:35 am - 11:05 am
Coffee Break
11:05 am - 11:15 am
Sangwoo Seok (University of Florida, United States)
"Population structure of Aedes albopictus in the Pacific islands and their implications for genetic biocontrol"
11:15 am - 11:20 am
Discussion
11:20 am - 11:40 am
Simon Baxter (University of Melbourne, Australia)
"Developing Bactrocera tryoni Genetic Sexing Strains for Biocontrol"
11:40 am - 11:45 am
Discussion
11:45 am - 12:05 pm
Nikolay Kandul (University of California, San Diego, United States)
"Precision Guided Sterile Insect Technique (pgSIT) for Biological Control of Insect Vectors and Pests"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General 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 Hour™
The GRC Power Hour™ 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: Florence Debarre (Sorbonne Universite, France)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Mechanisms and Applications of Natural and Engineered Genetic Incompatibilities
Discussion Leader: Jeremy Herren (icipe, Kenya)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Michael Smanski (University of Minnesota, United States)
"Applications for Engineered Genetic Incompatibility (EGI) for Genetic Biocontrol"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pm
Zhiyong Xi (Michigan State University, United States)
"Develop Wolbachia for Mosquito Population Suppression"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm
Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pm
John Beckmann (Auburn University, United States)
"Original Cin: CI Gene Drive System Jumps to Deadly Pathogen"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pm
Kelsey Adams (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, United States)
"Engineering Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in the Malaria Mosquito"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Manipulating Microbiomes to Affect Host Phenotypes
Discussion Leader: Jason Rasgon (Penn State University, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
George Dimopoulos (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States)
"Protecting Humans With the Mosquito Microbiome"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Jeremy Herren (icipe, Kenya)
"Symbiotic Microsporidia MB Transmission Blocking for Plasmodium"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:00 am
Nigel Beebe (University of Queensland and CSIRO, Australia)
"Incompatible Males Drive Population Suppression Across Mosaic Populations of Both Wild Type and Wolbachia Carrying Aedes aegypti "
10:00 am - 10:05 am
Discussion
10:05 am - 10:15 am
M. Renee Bellinger (United States Geological Survey, United States)
"Wolbachia as a Tool to Aid in the Conservation of Hawaiian Forest Birds"
10:15 am - 10:20 am
Discussion
10:20 am - 10:30 am
Bilgo Etienne (IRSS/Centre Muraz, Burkina Faso)
"Molecular Immunity of the Co-Infection of Wolbachia wAu, wAlbB Strains and the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium pingshaense "
10:30 am - 10:35 am
Discussion
10:35 am - 11:05 am
Coffee Break
11:05 am - 11:15 am
Shengzhang Dong (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States)
"Engineering siRNA Pathway to Control Arbovirus Transmission in Aedes aegypti "
11:15 am - 11:20 am
Discussion
11:20 am - 11:40 am
Sean Leonard (Lawrence Livermore National Lab, United States)
"Protecting Honey Bees with Synthetic Microbiomes"
11:40 am - 11:45 am
Discussion
11:45 am - 12:05 pm
Grant Hughes (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom)
"Creating Bespoke Microbiomes to Examine Host-microbe Interactions in Mosquitoes"
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General 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
Social and Regulatory Science as Enablers of Genetic Biological Control
Discussion Leader: Stephanie James (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Brinda Dass (FNIH, United States)
"GMO Biocontrol Agents Navigating the US Regulatory System- A Perspective"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pm
Camilla Beech (Cambea Consulting Ltd, United Kingdom)
"Policy and Regulation of Genetic Biocontrol: Frameworks, Commonalities and Gaps"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm
Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pm
Willy Tonui (EHS Consultancy Ltd, Kenya)
"Needs and Requirements for Testing of Genetic Biocontrol Technologies in Africa"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pm
Frederic Tripet (Keele University, United Kingdom)
"The First Release of GM Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: Navigating the Regulatory System and Stakeholder Engagement Challenges"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Manipulating Sex Determination to Affect Genetic Biocontrol
Discussion Leader: Bruce Hay (California Institute of Technology, United States)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Philippos Papathanos (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
"Developing Sex Ratio Distorters in Insect Pests"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Max Scott (North Carolina State University, United States)
"Male-Only Strains for Suppression of New World Screwworm and Spotted Wing Drosophila Populations"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:10 am
Giuseppe Saccone (University Federico II of Naples, Italy, Italy)
"Evolutionary Genetics of Sex Determination in Tephritidae With the Application for Biocontrol"
10:10 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Hsiao-ling Lu (National Formosa University, Taiwan)
"Cloning and Identification of Sex Determination Genes in the Coffee Berry Borer Hypothenemus hampei "
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:10 am
Molly Duman Scheel (Indiana University School of Medicine, United States)
"Yeast Interfering RNA Larvicides Facilitate Sex Separation in Multiple Species of Disease Vector Mosquitoes"
11:10 am - 11:15 am
Discussion
11:15 am - 11:35 am
Jake Tu (Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, United States)
"Manipulating Sex Chromosomes and Sex Determination to Expand the Toolbox for the Control of Mosquito-borne Arboviral Diseases"
11:35 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
Jaroslaw Krzywinski (Pirbright Institute, United Kingdom)
"Insights into Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation Pathways in a Mosquito Anopheles gambiae to Support Genetic Control of Malaria Vectors"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General 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(s); Complete the GRC Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Dates and Venue; Election of the Next Vice Chair(s)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Soft and Hard Technologies to Enable Genetic Biocontrol
Discussion Leader: Jake Tu (Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
anna buchman (verily life sciences, United States)
"The Debug Project: Using Wolbachia to Control Mosquito Populations"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pm
Ruth Müller (Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine & Polo GGB, Belgium)
"Gene-Drive Suppression of Anopheles Mosquito Populations Under Challenging Ecological Conditions"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm
Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pm
Jason Rasgon (Penn State University, United States)
"Revolutionizing Arthropod Genetic Manipulation Through ReMOT Control"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pm
Ernst Wimmer (Georg-August-University Goettingen, Germany)
"Insect Transgenesis and Genome Engineering"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Gene Drive Genetics and Genetic Engineering
Discussion Leader: Ernst Wimmer (Georg-August-University Goettingen, Germany)
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Luke Alphey (The Pirbright Institute, United Kingdom)
"“Local” Gene Drives for Modifying Specific Target Populations"
9:20 am - 9:25 am
Discussion
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Nikolai Windbichler (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
"A Non-autonomous Gene Drive Effector Retarding Parasite Development in Transgenic Mosquitoes"
9:45 am - 9:50 am
Discussion
9:50 am - 10:10 am
Anthony James (University of California, Irvine, United States)
"Population Modification of African Malaria Mosquitoes"
10:10 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Ana Velasquez (Texas A&M University, United States)
"A Daughterless Mouse for Island Conservation"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:10 am
Sebastian Kamau (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States)
"Towards Responsive Eco-Technology: The Development of a Male Sex-Biased Mouse"
11:10 am - 11:15 am
Discussion
11:15 am - 11:35 am
Bruce Hay (California Institute of Technology, United States)
"Cleave and Rescue Gene Drive for Population Modification and Suppression"
11:35 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
Paul Thomas (University of Adelaide, Australia)
"Using Synthetic and Natural Gene Drives for Feral Rodent Population Suppression"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General 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
Mathematical Modeling for Successful Genetic Biocontrol
Discussion Leader: John Marshall (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm
Kimberly Pepin (National Wildlife Research Center, United States)
"The Role of Models in Development and Management of Gene Drive Technology"
7:50 pm - 7:55 pm
Discussion
7:55 pm - 8:15 pm
Florence Debarre (Sorbonne Universite, France)
"Spatial Spread of Gene Drives: Insights from Mathematical Models"
8:15 pm - 8:20 pm
Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:40 pm
Godana Rašic (QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia)
"Genomics-Informed Simulations for the Field Deployment of Biocontrol Tools in Mosquitoes"
8:40 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:05 pm
Alun Lloyd (North Carolina State University, United States)
"Evaluating the Epidemiological Impact of Novel Genetic Control Strategies: Considerations for the Design of Trials for Endemic Infections"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am
Departure