Scientific Program
Nov 15 - 17, 2023 | Leuven, BelgiumWednesday, November 15th
12:30 am – 2:00 pm
Registration
Check-In + set-up Posters
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Opening Lecture
2:00 pm
Welcome
Introduction by Geert Bultynck
2:15 pm
Endoplasmic reticulum biology and Ca2+-release channels
by Jan B. Parys (KU Leuven, Belgium)

Jan B. Parys
3:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Session 1: Ca2+ in pathophysiology
3:15 pm
Introduction
Session chair: Thomas Voets
3:20 pm
Targeting ER signaling as an approach to treat neurodegeneration
by Ilya Bezprozvanny (UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, USA)

Ilya Bezprozvanny
3:50 pm
Calcium signaling and neuropathy
by Barbara Ehrlich (Yale University, USA)

Barbara Ehrlich
4:20 pm
Coffee Break
5:00 pm
Calcium signaling in cancer cells: new challenges
by Natalia Prevarskaya (Universite de Lille, France)

Natalia Prevarskaya
5:30 pm
Selected Short Talk: Mitoception or transfer of normal mitochondria to tumor cells reverses Ca2+ remodeling in colon cancer cells
by Carlos Villalobos (University of Valladolid, Spain)
5:45 pm
Selected Short Talk: Astrocyte store-operated calcium entry is required for the development of chronic neuropathic pain
By Jeremy Smyth (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, USA)
Commercial Partners talks
Session Chair: Geert Bultynck
6:00 pm
CoolLed Sponsored Movie
6:05 pm
Hamamatsu Sponsored Short Talk
Jean Marc D’Angelo (Hamamatsu Photonics, France): Electric Field Stimulation Technique for High-Throughput Screening of Voltage-Gated Ion Channels and Julius Rönkkö (University of Helsinki, Finland): Human IP3 receptor triple knockout stem cells remain pluripotent despite altered mitochondrial metabolism
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Opening Beer & Cheese reception
Guided by Dimitri Staelens

Dimitri Staelens
Thursday November 16th
8:30 am – 12:00 pm
Session 2: Novel insights in Ca2+-transport systems
8:30 AM
Introduction
Session Chair: Philippe Gailly and Luc Leybaert
8:35 AM
ORP5/ORP8, phosphatidylserine and STIM1-Orai1 interaction and function
by Shmuel Muallem (NIH, USA)

Shmuel Muallem
9:05 AM
Lessons learned from in vivo measurements of Ca2+ signals in exocrine glands
by David Yule (University of Rochester, USA)

David Yule
9:35 AM
Selected Short Talk: Disrupted Ca2+ homeostasis and immunodeficiency in patients with functional Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor subtype 3 defects
by Julika Neumann (KU Leuven, Belgium)
9:50 AM
Selected Short Talk: Adhesion to laminin-1 and collagen IV induces the formation of Ca2+ microdomains that sensitize mouse T cells for activation
by Mariella Weiß (University Medical Centre Hamburg, Germany)
10:05 AM
Coffee Break
10:40 AM
Novel insights in NAADP signaling
by Andreas Guse (University Medical Centre Hamburg, Germany)

Andreas Guse
11:15 AM
Selected Short Talk: Ryanodine receptors regulate ER lysosomal contact and function
by Tim Vervliet (KU Leuven, Belgium)
11:30 AM
Selected Short Talk: Two pore channel 2 (TPC2) activity governs leukocyte adhesion in endothelial cells
by Inga Paules (University of Münster, Germany)
11:45 AM
Selected Short Talk: MASTER-NAADP – Membrane permeAble, Stabilized, biorEversibly pRotected derivative of the Ca2+ mobilizing second messenger NAADP
by Franziska Möckl (University Medical Centre Hamburg, Germany)
12:00 pm – 2:00pm
Sandwich lunch with poster session (Odd Numbers)
2:10 pm – 4:10 pm
Session 3: Cell death and survival
2:10 PM
Introduction
Session Chair: Patrizia Agostinis
2:15 PM
The sophisticated Ca2+toolkit required for the initiation of development in mammals
by Rafael Fissore (University of Massachusetts, USA)

Rafael Fissore
2:45 PM
Selected Short Talk: Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) as a modulator of Ca2+ signaling in cancer cell lines
by Fernanda Lemos (KU Leuven, Belgium)
3:00 PM
Selected Short Talk: Human fertilization in vivo and in vitro requires the CatSper channel to initiate sperm hyperactivation
by Christoph Brenker (University of Münster, Germany)
3:15 PM
Selected Short Talk: Going global: How Ca2+ release from lysosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum is coordinated
by Yu Yuan (UC London, UK)
3:30 PM
The Cell Calcium sponsored Keynote lecture: Calcium fluxes in cell death
by Ana Garcia-Saez (University of Cologne, Germany)


Ana Garcia-Saez
4:30 pm – 7:15 pm
Socio-cultural activities or free time
7:30 pm
Dinner at ‘t Oud Gasthuys
Address: Brusselsestraat 63B – Leuven
(Inner Square 30CC near to Roman Gate)
Friday, November 17th
8:30 am – 10:05 am
Session 4: Mitochondrial Ca2+
8:30 AM
Introduction
Session chair: Amalia Dolga
8:35 AM
Licensing of IP3Rs that deliver Ca2+ to mitochondria – a KRAP story
by Peace Atakpa-Adaji (Cambridge University, UK)

Peace Atakpa
9:05 AM
Calcium signalling and organelle contact sites: two interconnected elements in physiological and pathological conditions
by Paola Pizzo (University of Padova, Italy)

Paola Pizzo
9:35 AM
Selected Short Talk : Are TRPV1 channels new players in the reticulum-mitochondrial Ca2+-coupling?
by Sylvie Ducreux (Universite de Lyon, France)
9:50 AM
Selected Short Talk: Novel regulation of IP3 receptors by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate contributes to controlling the transition from local to global Ca2+ signals
by Adelina Ivanova (Cambridge University, UK)
10:05 AM – 10:35 AM
Coffee Break
10:40 am – 12:15 pm
Session 5: Novel insights in Ca2+-binding proteins & effectors
10:40 AM
Introduction
Session chair: Genevieve Dupont
10:45 AM
Molecular segregation of calmodulin mutation phenotypes
by Malene Brohus (Aalborg University, Denmark)

Malene Brohus
11:15 AM
Systematic discovery of calcineurin signaling pathways
by Martha Cyert (Stanford University, USA)

Martha Cyert
11:45 PM
Selected Short Talk: Interplay between axonal mitochondrial transport and neuronal activity.
by Tom Venneman (KU Leuven, Belgium)
12:00 PM
Selected Short Talk: Annexin-A5 is fundamental for VDAC1-dependent mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis and determines the susceptibility to apoptosis
by Oflaz Furkan (Medicial University of Graz, Austria)
12:15 PM – 2:15 PM
Sandwich lunch with poster session: even numbers
2:30 PM – 3:40 PM
Session 6: Role of Ca2+ Stores
2:30 PM
Introduction
Session chair: Llew Roderick
2:35 PM
Interplay between stress sensing, signaling and cardiac excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling
by Marek Michalak Michalak (University of Alberta, Canada)

Marek Michalak
3:05 PM
Ca2+ tunneling as an integral modality downstream of SOCE
by Khaled Machaca (Weill Cornell Medical, Qatar)

Khaled Machaca
3:40 PM – 4:45 PM
Closing Session
3:40 PM
Introduction
Session Chair: Jan B. Parys
3:45 PM
Closing Lecture: IP3 receptors and ER-mitochondrial contact sites
by Gyorgy Hajnoczky (Thomas Jefferson University, USA)

Gyorgy Hajnoczky
4:45 PM
Concluding Remarks and Awards
by Geert Bultynck
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Closing Reception
8:00 PM – END
Party at Bar Vista, indicate on registration if attending