Sunday
4:00 pm - 8:00 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
The Biophysics of Glyco- and Sphingo-Lipid Biology
The goal of this session is to summarize the present state of the field and identify the major challenges for the future and the techniques, many of them interdisciplinary, that will be needed to address the underlying biophysical mechanisms that define glyco- and sphingo-lipid biology.
Discussion Leaders: Erwin London (Stony Brook University, USA) and Josef Pfeilschifter (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Opening Remarks
7:45 pm - 7:55 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:55 pm - 8:15 pm
John Katsaras (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA)
"The Molecular Structure of Fluid Phase Sphingomyelin Bilayers"
8:15 pm - 8:25 pm
Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:50 pm
Elena Chiricozzi (University of Milano, Italy)
"Ganglioside Neurotrophic Properties and the Microenvironment of TrkA in Neuroblastoma Cells"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Ilya Levental (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA)
"The Role of the Plasma Membrane Phenotype in Cellular Physiology"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Liana Silva (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
"Atypical Versus Canonical Sphingolipids: Do They Behave the Same?"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
The Biochemistry of Glyco- and Sphingo-Lipid Biology
The metabolism of glycolipids and sphingolipid is complex and several of the metabolic intermediates are bioactive signaling molecules. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the regulatory mechanisms controlling their metabolism.
Discussion Leaders: Howard Riezman (University of Geneva, Switzerland) and Antonio Gomez-Munoz (University of the Basque Country, Spain)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am
Yoshio Hirabayashi (Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Japan)
"Complexity of Sphingolipid Metabolism and Regulation: Metabolic Cross-Talk Between Sphingolipid and Sterol in Lipid Domains"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am
Thorsten Hornemann (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland)
"No Brain No Pain - Headless Sphingolipids and Neuropathies"
10:05 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:35 am
Yasuhiro Hayashi (Teikyo University, Japan)
"Heteromeric Complex Between Sphingomyelin Synthase 1 and Glucosylceramide Synthase Regulates Ceramide Metabolism"
10:35 am - 10:45 am
Discussion
10:45 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:25 am
Julie Saba (UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, USA)
"Dendritic Cells Are the Metabolic Gatekeepers of Thymic Egress"
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Discussion
11:35 am - 11:55 am
Marco Colombini (University of Maryland, USA)
"Ceramide Molecules Self-Assemble to Form Large Stable Channels in Glycerophospholipid Membranes"
11:55 am - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Ariadna Gonzalez-Solis (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA)
"Defining the Functions of ORM Proteins as Regulators of Sphingolipid Metabolism Through Development and Characterization of Arabidopsis Loss-of-Function Mutants"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 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
Power 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.
Organizers: Doris Höglinger (Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center, Germany) and Frances Platt (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
The Metabolism and Trafficking of Glyco- and Sphingo-Lipids
The session synergizes with the themes of session 2, by relating sphingolipid metabolism to cellular and organismal functions.
Discussion Leaders: Teresa Dunn (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, USA) and Sho Yamasaki (Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Japan)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm
Joost Holthuis (University of Osnabrueck, Germany)
"Molecular Dissection of Ceramide-Induced Mitochondrial Apoptosis Using Photoactuated Lipid Probes"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm
Akio Kihara (Hokkaido University, Japan)
"Long-Chain Base Metabolism and Alpha-Oxidation in the ER"
8:35 pm - 8:45 pm
Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:10 pm
Leah Siskind (University of Louisville, USA)
"Crosstalk Between Glycosphingolipids and Protein Glycosylation: A New Model of IgA Nephropathy"
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm
Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm
General Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Obesity, Inflammation and Diabetes: The Connection Is Sphingolipids
The session covers the controversial sphingolipid metabolic link between obesity, inflammation and diabetic complications.
Discussion Leaders: Scott Summers (University of Utah, USA) and L. Ashley Cowart (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:45 am
Philipp Scherer (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA)
"The Adipocyte: A Central Modulator of the Ceramide-Insulin Resistance Axis, and Beyond"
9:45 am - 9:55 am
Discussion
9:55 am - 10:20 am
Frank Gonzalez (National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA)
"Modulation of Metabolic Disease by Regulation of Intestinal Ceramide Production"
10:20 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:10 am
J. Thomas Hannich (University of Geneva, Switzerland)
"Atypical 1-Deoxysphingolipids in Anoxia Survival"
11:10 am - 11:15 am
Discussion
11:15 am - 11:40 am
Sebastien Granier (Institute for Functional Genomics (IGF), CNRS / University of Montpellier / INSERM, France)
"Structure and Function of Adiponectin Receptors"
11:40 am - 11:50 am
Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Bhagirath Chaurasia (University of Utah, USA)
"Role of Adipose Ceramides in Metabolic Diseases"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
William Holland (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA)
"Glucagon Receptor Antagonism Decreases Lipotoxicity"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 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
Understanding the 3 "I"s of Glycolipids and Sphingolipids: Inflammation, Infection, Immunity
This session covers the roles of glyco- and sphingo-lipids in bacterial and viral infections as well as underlying mechanisms of innate immunity and inflammation.
Discussion Leaders: Erich Gulbins (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany) and Alessandro Prinetti (University of Milano, Italy)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm
Lina Obeid (Stony Brook University, USA)
"Bioactive Sphingolipid Metabolism: The Plot Thickens"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm
Jin-ichi Inokuchi (Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan)
"New Paradigm for Chronic Inflammation Mediated by Ganglioside Molecular Species"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm
Discussion
8:40 pm - 8:55 pm
Fikadu Tafesse (Oregon Health & Science University, USA)
"The Lipid Matrix at the Host-Pathogen Interface"
8:55 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Tatyana Gudz (Medical University of South Caroloina, USA)
"Sphingolipids, Mitochondria and Brain Injury"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Katrin Becker (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
"Sphingosine and Sphingolipids in Pulmonary Bacterial Infections"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
New Roles for Sphingolipid Metabolites: Autophagy and Mitophagy
Session in memory of Shimon Gatt. Sphingolipid metabolites have recently been identified as mediators of endocytic membrane trafficking, autolysosome destabilization and autophagy.
Discussion Leaders: James Shayman (University of Michigan, USA) and Mariana Nikolova-Karakashian (University of Kentucky, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am
Hong-Gang Wang (Penn State College of Medicine, USA)
"Sphingolipids in Connecting Autophagic and Endolysosomal Pathways to Noncanonical Cell Death"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am
Richard Proia (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, USA)
"Novel Regulators of Sphingolipid Metabolism and Function"
10:05 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Erhard Bieberich (University of Kentucky, USA)
"Ceramide-Associated Tubulin in the Regulation of Mitochondria"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:25 am
Sarah Spiegel (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)
"Sphingosine Kinase 1 in Endocytic Membrane Trafficking and p53-Dependent Autophagic Cell Death"
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Discussion
11:35 am - 11:45 am
Kevin Lynch (University of Virginia, USA)
"Small Molecule Modulators of S1P Chemotactic Gradients"
11:45 am - 11:50 am
Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Norbert Tennagels (Sanofi Diabetes, Germany)
"The Role of C16:0 Ceramide in the Development of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: CerS6 Inhibition as a Novel Therapeutic Approach"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Irina Petrache (National Jewish Health, USA)
"Sphingolipid Control of Mitophagy and Lysosomal Degradation in Lung Cells"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 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; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
New Approaches to Glycolipid and Sphingolipid Biology - Spectrometric, Structural and System-Based Approaches
Glycolipid and sphingolipid metabolic networks are complex and their study requires novel technologies.
Discussion Leaders: Alfred Merrill (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) and Charles Chalfant (University of South Florida, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 7:55 pm
Christoph Arenz (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany)
"Life-Cell Detection of Sphingolipid Metabolizing Enzymes"
7:55 pm - 8:05 pm
Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm
Alexander Carpinteiro (Essen University Hospital, Germany)
"Co-Deficiency of the Acid Sphingomyelinase Ameliorates Farber Disease"
8:20 pm - 8:25 pm
Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:50 pm
Doris Höglinger (Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center, Germany)
"Functionalized Lipids for Investigations of Lysosomal Lipid Trafficking"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm
Toshiyuki Yamaji (National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan)
"Genome-Wide CRISPR Screening for Identifying Genes Involved in Glycolipid Metabolism"
9:10 pm - 9:15 pm
Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm
Juergen Seibel (University of Wuerzburg, Germany)
"Click Chemistry to Monitor Dynamic Redistribution of Sphingolipids in Host Cells"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Dysfunctional Glyco- and Sphingo-Lipid Metabolism in Cancer
Three NIH NCI program project grants investigate dysfunctional sphingolipid metabolism in solid and non-solid tumors. Several of these P01 grants have led to therapeutic modalities that are now in the clinic in phase I/II studies.
Discussion Leaders: Richard Kolesnick (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA) and Myles Cabot (Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:30 am
Yusuf Hannun (Stony Brook University, USA)
"Enzymes of Sphingolipid Metabolism as Targets in Cancer Therapy"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:05 am
Thomas Loughran (University of Virginia, USA)
"Dysfunctional Sphingolipid Metabolism in AML, a Team Approach"
10:05 am - 10:15 am
Discussion
10:15 am - 10:25 am
Binks Wattenberg (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)
"ORMDLs/Orms: Direct Sensors and Regulators of Sphingolipid Biosynthesis in Cancer"
10:25 am - 10:30 am
Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:25 am
Besim Ogretmen (Medical University of South Carolina, USA)
"Development of Novel Cancer Therapeutics by Targeting Sphingolipid Signaling"
11:25 am - 11:35 am
Discussion
11:35 am - 11:45 am
Toshiro Okazaki (Kanazawa Medical University, Japan)
"Inhibitory Role of SMS2 in Mouse Cancer Models"
11:45 am - 11:50 am
Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm
Suraj Dhungana (Waters Corporation, USA)
"Mass Spectrometry Imaging Localization of Ganglioside Signatures in Mouse Brain following β-Galactosidase Knock Out"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm
Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm
Christina Voelkel-Johnson (Medical University of South Carolina, USA)
"A Role for CerS6 on the EMT Spectrum"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm
Discussion
12:20 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
New Roles for Glycolipids in the Sphingolipid Storage Diseases
Several important inheritable diseases are directly related to dysfunctional glycolipid and sphingolipid metabolism.
Discussion Leaders: Tony Futerman (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) and Edward Schuchman (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:00 pm
Dagmar Wachten (Biophysical Imaging, Institute of Innate Immunity, University Hospital, University of Bonn, Germany)
"Cellular Functions of GlcCer and GBA2"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm
Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm
Hans Aerts (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
"Glucosylceramide, More than a Membrane Lipid"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm
Discussion
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm
Takashi Watanabe (Kyushu University, Japan)
"Quality Control of Glucosylceramide by EGCrP1 Is Related to the Pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans "
8:50 pm - 8:55 pm
Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:05 pm
Joerg Koehl (University of Lübeck, Germany)
"An Unexpected Role of Complement in Glucosylceramide Metabolism"
9:05 pm - 9:10 pm
Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm
Soo Min Cho (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel)
"RNA-Seq Analysis of Microglia and Brain in Various Lysosomal Storage Diseases"
9:20 pm - 9:25 pm
Discussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm
Closing Remarks
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am
Departure