Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 (pas de Zoom)

Speaker: Weronika SPALENIAK, Pr. Charna DIBNER laboratory

Summary: The day and night alternation influences many physiological processes through internal clocks that anticipate these alternations. Weronika SPALENIAK in collaboration with other researchers from Charna DIBNER laboratory is exploring the role that a disruption in this circadian regulation may play in the development of lung cancer, with the aim of discovering new therapeutic targets.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 (pas de Zoom)

Speaker: Imen AYADI, Pr. Pierre COSSON laboratory

Summary: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium known for its antibiotic resistance and responsible of severe infections. Understanding the exact mechanisms by which it can avoid being killed might help to develop new therapeutic strategies. Imen AYADI in collaboration with other researchers from Pierre COSSON laboratory is using Dictyostelium discoideum as a model to explore the mechanisms by which Pseudomonas aeruginosa resists intracellular and extracellular killing.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 & Zoom

Speaker: Stéphane KOENIG, Pr. Maud FRIEDEN laboratory

Summary: -

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 & Zoom

Speaker: Cédric BOUDOU, Pr. Vladimir KATANAEV laboratory

Summary: The Wnt signaling pathway is dysregulated in many cancers but has key role in physiological processes. The group of Prof. Vladimir KATANAEV has discovered small molecules that selectively target the upstream part of this pathway, thereby potentially limiting side effects. Dr. Cédric BOUDOU presented how design and synthesis of novel compounds resulted in more potent and selective compounds. In a second part, he showed that in vitro activity could translate into in vivo efficacy in a cancer model.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526 & Zoom

Speaker: Thomas VERISSIMO, Pr. Sophie DE SEIGNEUX laboratory

Summary: Chronic kidney disease affects about 10% of the adult population. New therapeutic strategies are needed as this disease is a leading cause of death. Thomas VERISSIMO in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Sophie DE SEIGNEUX’s laboratory studies the role of the PCK1 protein in kidney function and metabolism with the aim of finding new ways to reverse the progression of chronic kidney disease.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526 & Zoom

Speaker: Sana KOUBA, Pr. Nicolas DEMAUREX laboratory

Summary: Calcium is essential to the contraction and regeneration of skeletal muscle. One of the mechanisms of regulation is the store operated calcium entry (SOCE) pathway and its associated proteins (ORAI and STIM). Sana KOUBA in collaboration with the other researchers from Prof. Nicolas DEMAUREX’s laboratory is investigating the role of a lipid postranslational modification, S-acylation, on STIM1 function in muscle physiology. The findings would help propose S-Acylation as a new therapeutic targeting approach for patients suffering from Tubular Aggregate myopathy.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526 & Zoom

Speaker: Melis ULGEN , Pr. Mirko TRAJKOVSKI laboratory

Summary: Osteoporosis, a prevalent metabolic bone disease, is characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration. Prof. Mirko TRAJKOVSKI's research team has recently provided evidence of the protective role of warm exposure (34°C) against bone loss by modulating the gut microbiota. Melis ULGEN, in collaboration with other researchers in the laboratory, aims to identify specific bacterial candidates that contribute to the improvement of bone strength and glucose metabolism.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526 & Zoom

Speaker: Yi LI, Pr. Monica GOTTA laboratory

Summary: Cell polarity is important for many cellular functions and it is required for asymmetric cell division. The PAR proteins are the main actors involved in cell polarity and they become asymmetrically localized during the first cell division of Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. The formation of cell asymmetry is a complex process still poorly understood. Yi LI in collaboration with other researchers from Monica GOTTA’s laboratory studies how the interplay between different proteins can contribute to the formation of asymmetries in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, with a particular focus on PP1 phosphatases and PAR proteins.

Room: room A04.2906

Speaker:Pr Alexander DAMMERMANN, Max Perutz Labs, Vienna, Austria, invited by Pre Monica GOTTA & Pr Patrick MERALDI

Summary: -

Room: room B04.2222 & Zoom

Speaker: Pr. Sascha Hoogendoorn, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, invited by Pr. Miriam STOEBER

Summary: -

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 & Zoom

Speaker: Felix RENAUDIN, Pr. Didier HANNOUCHE laboratory

Summary: Osteoarthritis is a disease with a high prevalence, which affects joint cartilage. Oxidative stress might play a role in the progression of the disease, enhancing cartilage degradation and joint inflammation. Félix RENAUDIN in collaboration with other researchers from Didier HANNOUCHE’s laboratory is investigating the role played by a particular enzyme involved in oxidative stress, NADPH oxidase 4 or NOX4, in osteoarthritis. Their recent experiments suggest that NOX4 can prevent cartilage degradation by inhibiting both oxidative stress and inflammation.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 & Zoom

Speaker: Monika GJORGJIEVA, Pr. Michelangelo FOTI laboratory

Summary: -

Room: room B04.2222 & Zoom

Speaker: Pr. Claudio Hetz Buck Institute for Research on Aging, USA, invited by Dr. Amado CARRERAS SUREDA & Pr. Nicolas DEMAUREX

Summary: -

Room: auditorium Alex‐F. Müller (ex A250) & Zoom

Speaker: Angela RAMOS LOBO, Pr. Pierre MAECHLER laboratory

Summary: -

Room: auditorium Alex‐F. Müller (ex A250) & Zoom

Speaker: Jérémy KESSLER, Pr. Bernhard WEHRLE-HALLER laboratory

Summary: Transforming growth factors β (TGFβ) are dimeric proteins involved in the development of tissues and their steady-state. Two isoforms, TGFβ2 and TGFβ3, are of particular importance for muscle regeneration, but their exact role and mechanism of action are not fully understood. Jérémy Kessler in collaboration with other researchers from Bernhard WEHRLE-HALLER’s laboratory is exploring the role of a specific structural configuration of TGFβ2 and TGFβ3 in muscle regeneration processes.  

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 & Zoom

Speaker: Lorraine RUFFIEUX, Pr. Mirko TRAJKOVSKI laboratory

Summary: Adipose tissue browning is a rising therapeutic strategy in the context of obesity. Lorraine RUFFIEUX in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Mirko TRAJKOVSKI’s laboratory is exploring the opportunity to target visceral white fat to reduce adiposity and induce browning. Their recent experiments revealed the role of peroxisomes, small organelles involved in a wide range of chemical reactions, highlighting new pathways involved in adipose tissue browning.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226 & Zoom

Speaker: Elena DORIA, Pr. Patrick MERALDI laboratory

Summary: The faithful segregation of chromosomes in two daughter cells relies on a network of microtubules that bind the chromosomes and pull them apart. Elena DORIA in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Patrick MERALDI’s group is exploring the consequences of changes in the speed at which microtubules pull apart chromosomes, with the aim of understanding how such small defects can affect brain size and cause microcephaly.

Room: room B04.2222 & Zoom

Speaker: Gloria URSINO, Pr. Roberto COPPARI laboratory

Summary: After decades of research on diabetes, treatments of insulin deficiency (e.g. type 1 diabetes) remain unsatisfactory. Gloria URSINO in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Roberto COPPARI laboratory is exploring the potential of the protein S100A9 to alleviate insulin deficiency. Their experiments have established that S100A9 represents an effective adjuvant to better control blood sugar in animal model of type 1 diabetes, thus opening new therapeutic avenues for better anti-diabetic therapy.

Room: room B04.2222 & Zoom

Speaker: David LEGOUIS, APSI Dept / Pr S. DE SEIGNEUX & Pr E. FERAILLE laboratory

Summary: -

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526 & Zoom

Speaker: Pr. Ivan DE CURTIS, Cell adhesion Unit, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Italy, invited by Pr. Bernhard WEHRLE-HALLER & Pr. Monica GOTTA

Summary: -

Room: auditorium Adolphe Franceschetti (ex C150) & Zoom

Speaker: Adriano PIZZELLA, Pr. Monica GOTTA laboratory

Summary: Some of the drivers of cell division and the cellular response to stress remain poorly understood, despite the key importance of these processes. Adriano PIZZELLA together with the other researchers from Monica GOTTA’s laboratory is investigating, using C. elegans as a model, the function of the PQN-59 protein in the assembly of stress granules and the regulation of cell division.

Room: auditorium Adolphe Franceschetti (ex C150) & Zoom

Speaker: Ali SASSI, Pr. Eric FERAILLE laboratory

Summary: Control of the reabsorption of filtered water and minerals, such as sodium and potassium is essential to maintain an adequate balance of body liquids. The fine-tuning of this balance is performed in the kidneys along nephron segments, through transcellular transport (across cells) and paracellular transport (between cells through tight junctions). While the transcellular mechanisms have been extensively studied, the paracellular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Ali SASSI in collaboration with other researchers from Pr. Eric FERAILLE’s laboratory is exploring the role played by claudins, key components of tight junctions, in the paracellular permeability of a specific segment of the nephron, the renal collecting duct.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526

Speaker: Daria IVANOVA, Pr. Patrick MERALDI laboratory

Summary: Understanding cell division is a key issue in overcoming primary microcephaly, a genetic disorder caused by the absence of the protein WDR62 and resulting in impaired brain development. Daria IVANOVA in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Patrick MERALDI’s group is investigating how WDR62 mutations can lead to microcephaly, with a particular focus their impact on chromosome segregation during cell division.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526

Speaker: Etienne DELANGRE, Pr. Michelangelo FOTI laboratory

Summary: -

Room: auditorium Adolphe Franceschetti (ex C150), building CD, CMU half-floor between 1st and 2nd floor

Speaker: Pr. Dorothee Günzel, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Charité Campus Benjamin Franklin, Germany, invited by Pr. Eric FERAILLE

Summary: -

Room: room B04.2222

Speaker: Loann LAUBRY, Pr. Maud FRIEDEN laboratory

Summary: Calcium is a key element involved in many cellular processes. Despite the importance of calcium regulation in muscle cells, many unknowns remain. Loann LAUBRY in collaboration with other researchers from Maud FRIEDEN’s laboratory is exploring the role of two different isoforms of a protein, STIM1 and STIM1L, known to regulate calcium entry. His work proposes that these proteins are also regulating calcium clearance during muscle formation.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Alexandre PROLA, Pr. Perrine CASTETS laboratory

Summary: Muscles are affected in many pathological conditions and during aging. The progressive loss of muscle innervation is a key element in muscle decline that remains not fully understood. Alexandra PROLA, in the laboratory of Prof. Perrine CASTETS, investigates the role of calcium fluxes in the maintenance of the synapse connecting neurons to muscles and the contribution of calcium-associated signaling pathways in sensing the loss of muscle innervation.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Volodymyr PETRENKO, Pr. Charna DIBNER laboratory

Summary: The day and night alternation influences many physiological processes through internal clocks that anticipate these alternations. These internal clocks orchestrate the functioning of pancreatic islets where the rhythmic secretion of insulin and glucagon is essential to control blood glucose levels. Volodymyr PETRENKO from Charna DIBNER laboratory in collaboration with other researchers is exploring the circadian regulation of small non-coding RNAs, called miRNAs, in the alpha and beta cells from pancreatic islets, and the role this regulation plays in their function.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526

Speaker: Yonika LARASATI, Pr. Vladimir KATANAEV laboratory

Summary: Pediatric encephalopathies are rare, but severe diseases that still lack treatments. The alteration of signal transmission by G proteins plays a role in the progression and severity of these pathologies. Yonika LARASATI in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Vladimir KATANAEV laboratory is testing hundreds of compounds to discoversmall molecules that can potentially restore the activity of G proteins in pediatric encephalopathies.

Room:  auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526

Speaker: Mikhail KRYUCHKOV, Pr. Vladimir KATANAEV laboratory

Summary: Insects build microscopic structures on their surface, called nanocoatings. Understanding how there are built may have many applications, including new therapeutic avenues. Mikhail KRYUCHKOV in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Vladimir KATANAEV’s laboratory has developed a process for producing nanocoatings in vitro. They are now, together with Prof Marc Jobin from the Hepia, exploring how to create nanopatterns of functional proteins using laser interference and holography.

Room: auditorium J-L. Reverdin B02.2526

Speaker: Pr. Rami AQEILAN, Immunology and Cancer Research, Hebrew University, Israel, invited by Pr. Vladimir KATANAEV

Summary: -

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Zoé VALBRET, Pr. Miriam STOEBER laboratory

Summary: The involvement of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in many physiological processes calls for a better understanding of their functioning. Zoé VALBRET in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Miriam STOEBER’s laboratory is working on the engineering of new nanobodies, i.e. small antibody fragments, capable of modulating the activity of GPCRs with the ultimate objective to better understand GPCR signalling.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Lucie OBERHAUSER, Pr. Miriam STOEBER laboratory

Summary: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play ubiquitous roles in physiological processes, yet several aspects that regulate GPCR function remain unknown. Studying signalling at different subcellular locations, in particular, could provide essential new insights into the effects of endogenous ligands and exogenous GPCR-targeting drugs. Lucie OBERHAUSER, in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Miriam STOEBER’s laboratory, is investigating the impact of location on the GPCR downstream response, with a particular emphasis on signalling of GPCRs in endosomes.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Alexandra BONDAZ, Pr. Bernhard WEHRLE-HALLER laboratory

Summary: Glioblastoma is one of the most common and aggressive forms of brain cancer. Finding new therapeutic approaches is essential, as the chances of survival for patients are very low. Alexandra BONDAZ in collaboration with other researchers from the laboratory of Prof. Bernhard WEHRLE-HALLER and Prof. Denis MIGLIORINI is exploring the possibility of hindering the development of an adequate tumor microenvironment to limit the growth of the cancer.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Victoria VON GLASENAPP, Pr. Monica GOTTA laboratory

Summary: The human body produces 330billion new cells per day through cell division. This essential process is tightly regulated by, among others, the kinase PLK-1.Victoria VON GLASENAPP from Prof. Monica GOTTA’s laboratory in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Nicolas WINSSINGER is developing a new tool to control the activity of PLK-1 with light. Their innovative approach allows them to have a better temporal control over the activity of PLK-1 to study the cell cycle and it should lead to a better global understanding of cell division.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Mehdi BADAOUI, Pr. Marc CHANSON laboratory

Summary: Chronic lung infections by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the leading cause of respiratory failure in people with cystic fibrosis. Mehdi BADAOUI in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Marc CHANSON’s laboratory discovered that overexpression of the protein Vav3 promotes these infections by creating bacterial docking stations on airways’ surface. They identified the role played by the RNA-binding protein HuR in Vav3 overexpression, opening up new potential therapeutic options.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Amado CARRERAS SUREDA, Pr. Nicolas DEMAUREX laboratory

Summary: -

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Giulia LUCIBELLO, Pr. Roberto COPPARI laboratory

Summary: After decades of research on diabetes, treatments of insulin deficiency remain unsatisfactory and sometimes lead to an overproduction of ketone bodies that are toxic to patients. Giulia LUCIBELLO in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Roberto COPPARI laboratory is trying to determine how the protein S100A9 can reduce ketone body levels using different diabetic mouse models.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Alexandre THOMAS, Pr. Patrick MERALDI laboratory

Summary: During cell division, chromosomes are duplicated and equally distributed between two new cells. Their segregation relies on centrosomes which must also be duplicated to organize a spindle of microtubules that pull apart chromosomes. Alexandre THOMAS in collaboration with other researchers from Patrick MERALDI laboratory is carrying out microscopy experiments to determine the role of both the spindle poles and the centrosome age in the regulation of spindle (a)symmetry.

Room: auditorium P. Boymond B02.2226

Speaker: Pr. Henriette UHLENHAUT, Technical University of Munich and Helmholz Centre, Germany, invited by Pr. Charna DIBNER

Summary: -

Room: auditorium A. Renold B01.2426

Speaker: Devashish DWIVEDI, Pr. Patrick MERALDI laboratory

Summary: Centrioles are cellular structures that help separate the chromosomes into the daughter cells during cell division. Under mild replication stress, they desynchronize from the rest of the process, a mismatch that can lead to cancer. Devashish DWIVEDI in collaboration with other researchers from Patrick MERALDI’s laboratory conducts several cell experiments to determine the exact molecular mechanisms involved in centrosome desynchronization.

Room: auditorium A. Renold B01.2426

Speaker: Sofia BARBIERI, Pr. Monica GOTTA laboratory

Summary: Molecular gradients are crucial to transmit spatial information within cells, but their formation is a complex process still poorly understood. Sofia BARBIERI in collaboration with other researchers from Monica GOTTA’s laboratory studies the formation of protein gradients in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. Combining innovative mathematical modelling tools with cell experiments, they are uncovering the mechanisms involved in the formation of the MEX-6 protein gradient.

Room: salle de séminaire SI/SII, 2e étage, bâtiment C

Speaker: Arthur RADOUX, laboratoire de la Pr Miriam STOEBER

Summary: Opioid receptors are important in pain regulation and are important targets for pain relief medication. On the cellular level, opioid drugs and endogenous opioid peptides show different opioid receptor activation patterns. In order to better understand the molecular mechanisms of opioid drug action, Arthur RADOUX, in collaboration with other researchers from Prof. Miriam STOEBER’s laboratory, is investigating how opioid receptor activation depends on their subcellular location.