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Workshops
ECDYSONE
Room: Hoover Room Organizers: Laurie H. von Kalm, University of Central Florida, Orlando; and Lucy Cherbas, Indiana University, Bloomington Summary: The workshop will focus on the role of ecdysteroids in development. Topics to be covered include molecular analysis of transcriptional regulators in the ecdysone response, interactions between the ecdysone and patterning gene hierarchies, tissue-specific responses to ecdysone, regulation of ecdysteroid biosynthesis, and technical advances of interest to researchers in the field.
GENETICS OF NON-DROSOPHILID INSECTS: EMERGING MODELS
Room: Maryland A Organizers: Jack Werren, University of Rochester, NY; and Claude Desplan, New York University, NY Summary: The goal of this workshop is to present advances in genetic studies of insects other than Drosophila. The workshop will focus on several emerging models for insect genetics, including Tribolium, the honey bee, parasitic wasps Nasonia and Copidosoma, and the pea aphid. Topics include comparative genomics, evo-devo and behavioral genetics. Speakers:
FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF MITOCHONDRIA Room: Maryland B Organizer: David Rand, Brown University, Providence, RI Summary: Mitochondrial genetics is well developed in other model systems such as yeast, but genetic analyses of mitochondria represent a sporadic and dispersed part of the Drosophila literature. The main goal of the workshop is to consolidate different aspects of mitochondrial research. The functional genomics of mitochondria includes anything functional, genetic or genomic about mitochondrial biology. Researchers from labs focusing on mtDNA replication, oogenesis, aging, population genetics and comparative genomics will present their findings. We hope to unite biochemical, cellular, population genetic and evolutionary lines of inquiry in one informal session. Speakers:
OLFACTORY LEARNING AND MEMORY Room: Maryland C Organizers: Scott Waddell, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester; and Efthimios M. C. Skoulakis, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Vari, Greece Summary: The goal of this workshop is to increase the exposure of the field of learning and memory amongst the greater fly community. We particularly wish to encourage students already in the fly community to become interested in this stimulating area of research. Secondly, we wish to use this workshop as an annual event that will bring researchers in the field together to discuss current work and foster collaboration and communication.
RNA BIOLOGY
Room: Maryland B Organizer: Susan R. Haynes, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD Summary: The goal of this workshop is to bring together Drosophilists who work on all aspects of RNA biology for informal discussions of common interests. Topics include RNA-protein interactions, the regulation and mechanisms of RNA splicing, polyadenylation, localization, stability, and export, and micro-RNAs and other non-coding RNAs.
CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND THE CELL CYCLE Room: Maryland A Organizer: John Manak, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA Summary: The goal of the workshop is to bring together Drosophila researchers who work on genes involved in regulating chromatin structure. An emphasis will be placed on genes that are involved in processes important for cell cycle progression. Topics will include heterochromatin, centromeres, histones and histone variants, histone and chromatin modifications, chromosome condensation, chromatid cohesion, and DNA replication.
STEM CELLS Room: Maryland C Organizers: Sumana Datta, Texas A&M University, College Station; and Haifin Lin, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC Summary: This workshop will focus on cutting edge discoveries in the control of stem cell division, maintenance of stem cell identity, analyses of stem cell lineage and mechanisms of determining the identity of stem cell progeny. We are beginning to see common players as well as common issues in different stem cell systems. The organizers hope to bring together researchers in the disparate areas of oogenesis, neural development and cell cycle, and to encourage groups to explore new stem cell systems.
DROSOPHILA RESEARCH AND PEDAGOGY AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS Room: Virginia B Organizers: Karen Hales, Davidson College, NC; Cris Cheney, Pomona College, CA; Bev Clendening, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY; and Elaine Reynolds, Lafayette College, Easton, PA Summary: The workshop goals are fourfold: 1) to provide a forum in which undergraduate students give oral presentations on their research; 2) to bring together faculty from primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) for discussions and support on professional issues that differ from those at large institutions; 3) to share ideas for using Drosophila as teaching tools in the classroom and laboratory; and 4) to connect people interested in PUI jobs with people already in such positions.
MECHANISMS OF TRANSLATION Room: Maryland B Organizer: Rolando V. Rivera Pomar, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany Summary: The workshop intends to present and discuss advances in the molecular biology of protein synthesis using Drosophila as model organism. Translational control during Drosophila early embryogenesis is well studied, however the mechanisms underlying the control and the role of translation factors is still not fully understood. Several laboratories that study basic mechanisms of translation in eukaryotes have just discovered that Drosophila is an excellent model to study the function of translation factors and the basic mechanism of protein synthesis, as well as answer basic questions on the relationship between protein synthesis, cell proliferation, cell growth and cell death.
CELL CYCLE CHECKPOINTS Room: Maryland A Organizers: Tin Tin Su, University of Colorado, Boulder; and Claudio Sunkel, Universidade do Porto, Portugal Summary: The goal of the workshop is to discuss the regulation of the cell cycle by DNA damage, DNA replication and spindle checkpoints.
IMMUNITY, PATHOGENESIS AND HEMATOPOIESIS Room: Maryland C Organizer: Catherine Brennan, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY Summary: Presentations in this workshop will focus on the effector cell types and molecules as well as on the regulatory mechanisms that govern humoral and cellular immune responses in Drosophila. Topics relating to host pathogen interactions and Drosophila hematopoiesis will also be discussed.
EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX INTERACTIONS AND SIGNALING Room: Virginia A Organizers: Rolf Bodmer, The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA; Hannele Ruohola-Baker and Kathie Jordan, University of Washington, Seattle Summary: Until recently, the extracellular matrix (ECM) was thought to act only as a stabilizing scaffold. Recent findings, discussed in this workshop will bring through the point that ECM has a more active, regulatory role in processes such as cellular migration, polarity, morphogenesis, signaling and development. Presenters:
GRAVITY AND THE FLY Summary: Drosophila is emerging as the model organism of choice for studies of gravitational effects in a complex eukaryote. Ongoing work to determine the effects of gravity on fly behavior and gene expression will be discussed, along with efforts to identify the genetic determinants for gravity perception and responsiveness. Introduction - Kate Beckingham Gravity Research, Funding and NASA – Sharmila Bhattacharya
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Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 am-5:00 pm