DISEASE MODELING AND THERAPEUTICS

Theme: Stem Cell-Based Disease Models and Therapeutic Insights

Registration and Morning Coffee

Welcome Remarks

Opening Keynote: Dr. Matthias Hebrok – Optimizing Stem Cell Derived Beta Cells for Cell Therapy

Session 1: Stem Cells in Disease Modeling and Cell Therapy

Chairs: TBD

Dr. Shuibing Chen – Human Pluripotent Stem Cell, Organoids, Disease Models and Drug Screen

Dr. Sonja Schrepfer – Protecting Allogeneic Transplants from Immune Rejection is the Key to Bringing Cell-based Therapies to Patients

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

Dr. Hao Yin – Endoderm Stem Cell-Derived Islet Therapy for Diabetic Patients with Impaired Islet Function

Dr. Chiara Cugno – Advancing Cell-Based Therapies: Clinical Applications and GMP Manufacturing

Dr. Essam Abdelalim – Modeling Monogenic Diabetes Using iPSC technology

Short oral talk

Lunch & Poster Viewing

Session 2: Cellular Models in Neurological and Metabolic Disorders

Chairs: Dr. Younes Mokrab & TBD

Dr. Rickie Patani – Decoding Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Human ALS

Dr. Hilal Lashuel – TBD

Dr. Mohammed Shaker – Dissecting Molecular and Cellular Heterogeneity in HBSL Pathogenesis

Short oral talk

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

Dr. David Lawrence Silver – A New Lysosomal Storage Disease Reveals Critical Functions of Lysosomal Phospholipid Transport

Short oral talk

Panel Discussion

Translating Stem Cell Research into Clinical Applications for Diabetes

Moderators: Dr. Essam Abdelalim & TBD

Panelists: Dr. Matthias Hebrok , Dr. Sonja Schrepfer, Dr. Hao Yin, and Shuibing Chen

Closing Remarks by Conference Chairs

Theme: Organoids and Animal Models in Mechanistic Discovery and Therapeutics

Keynote Address
Dr. Erwan Bezard – Non-Human Primates in Synucleinopathy Research: A De-Risking Must Have

Session 3: Organoids in Disease Modeling and Functional Analysis

Chairs: TBD

Dr. Joep Beumer – Modeling Intestinal Maturation and Function in Engineered Human Organoids

Dr. Amber Alhadeff – Hindbrain Mediation of GLP1-Based Weight Loss Drugs

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

Dr. M. Maya Kaelberer – Decoding Our Gut Language to Shape the Future of Nutrition

Dr. Khaled Machaca – Patient-specific cellular models to inform personalized clinical treatment for monogenic disorders

Dr. Bernice Lo – Investigating the pathogenesis of immunologic disorders by dissecting their molecular and cellular defects in vitro

Short oral talk

Lunch & Poster Viewing

Session 4: Animal Models in Understanding Disease and Advancing Therapies

Chairs: Dr. Markus Wenk & TBD

Dr. Marcelo Dietrich – Using Animal Models to Uncover the Neurobiology of Child Health and Disease

Dr. Mohammad Farhan – Genes, Atoms, and Bytes: Decoding Disease Through Drosophila Models

Dr. Luis Saraiva – Using Zebrafish to Model Rare Disorders

Dr. Sahar Da’as – Zebrafish Models: Advancing Diagnosis and Therapeutics at Sidra Medicine

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

Dr. Ehsan Pourkarimi – Tryptophanyl-tRNA Synthetase 1 (WARS-1) Depletion and High Tryptophan Concentration Induce Genomic Instability and p53-Dependent Apoptosis in C. elegans

Dr. Matteo Avella – Molecular Basis of Infertility: Insights from Genomics and Animal Models

Dr. Margret Shirinian – Drosophila Tet deregulation in Glia Disrupts ECM Integrity and Drives VNC Elongation in Larval Brains

Panel Discussion

Future of Disease Modeling and Therapeutics

Moderators: Dr. Luis Saraiva & Dr. Sonia Davila

Panelists: Dr. Hilal Lashuel, Dr. Rickie Patani, Dr. Erwan Bezard, and Dr. Amber Alhadeff

Closing Remarks and Awards