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DBSUMI XXVIII: April 2-5, 2025
Wednesday, April 2
Thursday, April 3
Friday, April 4
Saturday, April 5
Pre-Meeting Trainee Workshop (Loeb G70)
Genetic Approaches in Lytechinus pictus
Moderators: Amro Hamdoun (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
14:30 – 15:30
Coffee Break
Methods in Image Analysis
Moderators: Brad Shuster (NMSU) and Vanessa Barone (Stanford)
16:00 – 17:00
Workshop attendance is limited.
17:00 – 19:00
Dinner Break
Plenary Session 1: Introduction & Welcome to DBSUMI XXVIII
Chair: Zak Swartz
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
19:00 - 19:10
Introduction & Welcome from the MBL
Yaniv Elkouby, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, EMBO Young Investigator Lecture:
Illuminating unpredicted cellular machineries in germ cell production, gonad development, and reproduction.
Cat Schrankel, San Diego State University, Early Investigator Lecture:
A novel role for host defense peptides in transducing bacterial cues for marine invertebrate metamorphosis via TLR signaling
19:10 - 20:10
20:10 - 21:10
Social Mixer
Meigs Room, Swope Center
20:10 - 23:00
Plenary Session 2: Evolution and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurogenesis
Chair: Smadar Ben Tabou de Leon
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Shunsuke Yaguchi, University of Tsukuba: Developmental single-cell transcriptomics illuminates molecular pathways involved in sea urchin neurogenesis
Ina Arnone, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn : Development and evolution of nervous system from a cell type perspective
Amro Hamdoun, Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Genetics, automation and the juvenile nervous system of Lytechinus pictus
The Company of Biologists (Zoom)
08:30 – 08:55
08:55 – 09:20
09:20 – 09:45
09:45 – 10:00
Coffee Break
10:00 – 10:30
12:00 – 13:30
Plenary Session 3: Developmental Signaling
Chair: Yi-Hsien Su
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Theirry Lepage, University of Nice: What makes Panda an antagonist of Nodal signalling: Structural basis for a functional antagonist in the TGF-beta superfamily. (Zoom)
Jennifer Fenner, Auburn University: Wnt inhibitory factor-1 fine-tunes early Wnt-mediated endomesoderm and neuroectoderm patterning in sea urchin embryos.
Athula Wikramanayake, University of Miami: Functional analysis of the Nematostella Wnt/β-catenin destruction complex provides insight into the evolution of a critical regulatory module in a major metazoan signal transduction pathway.
Ryan Range, Auburn University: Extracellular control of the anterior-posterior Wnt signaling network in sea urchin embryos.
10:30 – 10:55
10:55 – 11:20
11:20 – 11:45
11:45 – 12:00
Lunch Break
Plenary Session 4: Innovations in Education: talks and panel discussion
Chair: David Burgess
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
13:30 – 15:00
David Burgess, Boston College
Beverly Naigles, MBL
Brittania Moodie, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Julia Morales, Sorbonne Université
Coffee Break
15:00 – 15:30
15:30 – 17:00
Concurrent Session 1A
Chair: Periklis Paganos
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Each 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions (15 minutes total)
Macie Chess, Carnegie Mellon University, Horizontal transfer of msp130 genes and the evolution of metazoan biocalcification
Prashant Tewari, University of Haifa, p21 Activated Kinases Expression, Regulation, and their Roles in Sea Urchin Development and Skeletogenesis
Xiantong Xin, Carnegie Mellon University, Skeletogenic potential in non-skeletal lineages : Single-cell insights into VEGF3-mediated transdifferentiation in sea urchins
William Douglas, Carnegie Mellon University, Differential gene expression within a multinucleated cell: dorsal-specific expression of genes in the skeletogenic syncytium of the sea urchin embryo
Sydney Roman, Brown University, Lysyl Oxidase is Essential for Germ Layer Formation
Concurrent Session 1B
Chair: Jennifer Fenner
Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building
15:30 – 17:00
Each 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions (15 minutes total)
Lucas Guttieres, University of Florida, The evolution of the Cadherin-Catenin-Complex in the ctenophore species Mnemiopsis leidyi
Lauren Lubeck, Hopkins Marine Station, Modulations depending on life history: Wnt signaling in posterior patterning of hemichordate embryos
Qianzi Zhou, Duke University, Nodal is expressed and regulates axis formation much earlier during embryogenesis in Heliocidaris erythrogramma
Alejandro Berrio, Duke University, Gene enrichment in the anterior half of Heliocidaris erythrogramma larvae: Why is it so neural?
Julienn Torres-Rodriguez, University of Puerto Rico, Elucidating the role of Notch signaling in radial nerve cord and intestinal regeneration in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima
Alexandra Lion, Boston University, The P-body component LvDDX6 is necessary for normal morphogenesis in sea urchin embryos
17:00 – 19:00
Dinner Break
Plenary Session 5: ISDB-C&D Lecture in Memory of Eric Davidson
Chair: Ina Arnone
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
19:00 – 20:00
Ellen Rothenberg, California Institute of Technology
Poster Session I and Social Mixer
Swope Center
20:00 – 23:00
Plenary Session 6: Morphogenesis and Metamorphosis
Chair: Jia Song
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
David McClay, Duke University: Building a gut.
Greg Wray, Duke University: Turbo-devo: reaching metamorphosis ASAP
Vanessa Barone, Stanford University: Echinoderm embryos to model epithelial morphogenesis: from cell biology to evo-devo
Andreas Heyland, University of Guelph: Thyroid hormones reversibly inhibit metamorphic development in ophiuroid larvae
08:30 – 08:55
08:55 – 09:20
09:20 – 09:45
09:45 – 10:00
Coffee Break
10:00 – 10:30
Plenary Session 7: Genome Evolution
Chair: Veronica Hinman
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Yi-Hsien Su, Academia Sinica: Comparative genomics and the evolution of deuterostomes
Yi-Jyun Luo, Academia Sinica: Exploring animal evolution through chromosome-level comparative genomics.
Billie Swalla, University of Washington: Deuterostome Ancestors and Chordate Origins
Veronica Hinman, Whitney Marine Laboratory: Echinobase Town Hall
10:30 – 10:55
10:55 – 11:20
11:20 – 11:45
11:45 – 12:00
Lunch Break
12:00 – 13:30
Plenary Session 8: Immunology
Chair: Elaine Seaver
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Rossella Annunziata, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn: Fluorescent pigmented cells in sea cucumbers: from development to function and beyond
Kate Buckley, Auburn University: Refining functional capacities of immune cell populations in sea urchin larvae
Sebastien Fugmann, Chang Gung University: The evolutionary conservation of inflammation
Jonathan Rast, Emory University: Development of the sea lamprey adaptive immune system
13:30 – 13:55
13:55 – 14:20
14:20 – 14:45
14:45 – 15:00
Coffee Break
15:00 – 15:30
Concurrent Session 2A
Chair: Beverly Naigles
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
15:30 – 16:45
Each 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions (15 minutes total)
Nicholas Christodoulides, Carnegie Mellon University, Enhancing Orthology with ECOP: A Pipeline for Echinoderm Comparative Genomics
Akshay Kane, Marine Biological Laboratory, VitelloTag: a tool for high throughput cargo delivery into oocytes and other ovarian cell types
Carl Manner, Duke University, Transfection and transduction in urchin embryos and urchin derived cell lines
Cesar Arenas-Mena, City University of New York, Transcriptional potency in sea urchin embryos
Talia Marc, Marine Biological Laboratory, Leptosynpata tenuis in the lab: a clear, tiny, and portable sea cucumber from Cape Cod.
Concurrent Session 2B
Chair: Rossella Annunziata
Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building
15:30 – 16:45
Each 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions (15 minutes total)
Jenks Hehmeyer, University of Chicago, A hemichordate single cell atlas reveals the extensive lineage-specific turnover and diversification in neuron type selector and effector programs
Lorenza Rusciano, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Exploring the pancreatic-like cell composition of a sea urchin at a single-cell resolution
Periklis Paganos, Marine Biological Laboratory, Single cell transcriptomics reveals the pre-chordate origins of conserved ovarian cell types and regulatory systems
Michael Testa, University of Delaware, A novel regulatory paradigm: microRNA induced translational-dependent mRNA decay
Malcolm Arnott, University of Delaware, Investigating conserved mechanisms of RNA transport to the mitotic spindle
17:00 – 19:00
Dinner Break
Plenary Session 9: Keynote Lecture
Chair: Zak Swartz
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
19:00 – 20:00
Ed Munro, University of Chicago: How self-pulled zippers and self-driven shuttles shape epithelial tubes during ascidian development
Poster Session II and Social Mixer
Swope Center
20:00 – 23:00
Plenary Session 10: Reproduction and Early Development
Chair: Jr-Kai Sky Yu
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Karen Chan, University of Washington: Fertilization kinetics after marine heatwave exposure
Brad Shuster, New Mexico State University: Defining the cleavage plane stimulus-response system at the nanoscale level in sea urchin embryos
Jia Song, University of Delaware: Post-transcriptional regulation during early development
Titus Brown, UC Davis: Technological upgrades to the MBL GERN course, and thoughts on the future of community-wide network models.
08:30 – 08:55
08:55 – 09:20
09:20 – 09:45
09:45 – 10:00
Coffee Break
10:00 – 10:30
Plenary Session 11: Skeletogenesis
Chair: Paola Oliveri
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Chuck Ettensohn, Carnegie Mellon University: Gene regulatory network dynamics: a developmental transition in the control of the sea urchin skeletogenic network
Smadar Ben Tabou de Leon, University of Haifa: From transcription to deposition – genetic and cellular regulation of sea urchin skeletal growth
Cyndi Bradham, Boston University: Alizarin Red Perturbs Skeletal Patterning and Biomineralization via Catalase Inhibition
Gary Wessel, Brown University: The Spikes of Spikey Skinned Animals.
10:30 – 10:55
10:55 – 11:20
11:20 – 11:45
11:45 – 12:00
Lunch Break
12:00 – 13:30
Plenary Session 12: Regeneration
Chair: Kate Buckley
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
Veronica Hinman, Whitney Marine Laboratory: Building to Regrow: The Sea Star Blastema and Larval Regeneration
Vivek Prakash, University of Miami: Leveraging quantitative physics-based approaches to investigate fluid flows in marine invertebrate larvae
Paola Oliveri, University College London: TBD
Kate Rawlinson, Marine Biological Laboratory: How do the eyeless larvae of the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni detect light?
13:30 – 13:55
13:55 – 14:20
14:20 – 14:45
Coffee Break
15:00 – 15:30
14:45 – 15:00
Concurrent Session 3A
Chair: Vivek Prakash
Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building
15:30 – 16:45
Each 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions (15 minutes total)
Beverly Naigles, Marine Biological Laboratory, Oocyte-derived Microtubule Projections: a Novel Putative Signaling Organelle in Oocyte Development
Nathalie Oulhen, Brown University, The ECM is really cool
Madison Silvia, Brown University, Go Nads - Puberty in the sea urchin and development of the unique transcriptional profile of gonads
Gerardo Reyes, Brown University, A collagenous extracellular matrix regulates germline gene expression in the sea star embryo
Katrina Kulesh, Brown University, Molecular and structural signatures of the oviduct in Lytechinus variegatus
Concurrent Session 3B
Chair: Cat Schrankel
Speck Auditorium, Rowe Building
15:30 – 17:00
Each 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions (15 minutes total)
Tosuke Sakagami, Academia Sinica, Immune regulation and metabolic exchange between the acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis and its photosymbiont
Tanya Alessandro, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Adapting to a rotating world: the molecular regulation of circadian rhythms in echinoderm larvae
Jamie MacKinnon, Marine Biological Laboratory, Plasticity of Invertebrate Cell Division in a Warming Ocean
Erin Horkan, San Diego State University, Host microbe interactions Between Lytechinus pictus Larvae and Black Spot Disease Associated Bacteria, Vibrio cylcitrophicus, and Shewanella electrodiphila.
Tina Nguyen, University of Southern California, Single-Larva RNA Sequencing Reveals That Red Sea Urchin Larvae Are Vulnerable to Co-Occurring Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia
Tyler Smith, Auburn University, Extending the gene regulatory network underlying immune cell development in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
Business Meeting
17:00 – 17:30
Closing Banquet & Awards (Swope Cafeteria)
18:00 - 22:00
FINAL PROGRAM
Keynote Speakers
Ed Munro
University of Chicago
Friday Keynote Lecture
Cat Schrankel
San Diego State University
Young Investigator Keynote
Yaniv Elkouby
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
EMBO Young Investigator Lecture
Ellen Rothenberg
Caltech
ISDB-C&D Lecture in Memory of Eric Davidson
Meet the Organizers of DBSUMI XXVIII
Jr-Kai Sky Yu
Academia Sinica
Smadar Ben Tabou de Leon
University of Haifa
Elaine Seaver
Whitney Marine Laboratory
Zak Swartz
Marine Biological Laboratory
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