Spring 2025 PMI Symposium

April 17, 2025
8:15AM-5:45PM
BRB Gaulton Auditorium & Lobby, Biomedical Research Building (BRB II/III) - 421 Curie Blvd., Philadelphia 19104

[Registration is now closed. Feel free to come by to CHECK day-of AVAILABILITY.]

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Spring 2025 PMI Symposium

"From Molecules to Movement: Cytoskeletal Insights into Muscle Function and Neuronal Health"

 

Thursday, April 17, 2025

BRB Gaulton Auditorium & Lobby,

Biomedical Research Building (BRB II/III)

421 Curie Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104 (map)

 

Sponsored by the Physiological Society of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute.

Organized by Kaya Matson, Linda Pang, and Erika Holzbaur

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Symposium Schedule 4/17/2025

8:15am - 9:00am: Breakfast, Registration Check-in, Posters Setup

9:00am – 9:15am: Welcome 

  • Erika Holzbaur, PhD, Director, Pennsylvania Muscle Institute
  • E. Michael Ostap, PhD, Senior Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer, Perelman School of Medicine

9:15am - 10:15am: Session 1 - Tracks and Traffic: Microtubules in Polarity, Transport, and Cellular Function

  • Introduction: Andrew P. Somlyo Honorary Lecture -  Jayne Aiken, PhD
  • Andrew P. Somlyo Honorary Lecture: Lukas Kapitein, PhD (Utrecht University) - "Navigating microtubule diversity in neurons"
  • Emily Scarborough, PhD (Prosser Lab) - "Microtubule dynamics control directional growth in the heart"

10:15am – 11:00am:    Poster Session (Odd #s), Coffee Break

11:00am - 12:15pm: Session 2 – Clinical Connections: Mechanisms of Disease

  • Introduction: Andrew P. Somlyo Honorary Lecture -  Nick Marotta
  • Andrew P. Somlyo Honorary Lecture: Charlotte Sumner, MD (Johns Hopkins University) - "The role of the mechanosensitive TRPV4 channel in motor neuron disease"
  • Carris Borland (Holzbaur Lab) - "Investigating the novel role of KIF1A trafficking in autophagy"
  • Libby Nunn (Titchenell/Baur Labs) - "Skeletal muscle and adipose tissue-specific roles of ActRIIA/B in regulating body composition and metabolic homeostasis during obesity"

12:15pm – 1:30pm:       Lunch, Networking, Poster Session

1:30pm - 2:30pm: Session 3 - New Perspectives

  • Introduction: New Perspectives Session -  Nick Palmer
  • New Perspectives Lecture: Ewa Bomba-Warczak, PhD (Penn) - "Long-lived mitochondrial cristae proteins in mammalian brains and hearts"
  • Elana Baltrusaitis (Dominguez Lab) - "Structural-functional characterization of the MIRO1-TRAK1 complex"
  • Mengqi Xu, PhD (Ostap Lab) - "Myosin-I Synergizes with Arp2/3 Complex to Enhance Pushing Forces of Branched Actin Networks"

2:30pm – 3:15pm:       Poster Session (Even #s), Coffee Break

3:15pm - 4:30pm: Session 4 – Muscle Physiology in Aging and Disease

  • Ronan Lordan, PhD (Fitzgerald Lab) - "Endurance exercise training partially rescues aged metabolic phenotypes and improves healthspan in mice lacking a functional circadian clock"
  • Introduction: Joseph and Jean Sanger Honorary Lecture in Muscle Biology -  Kaya Matson, PhD
  • Joseph and Jean Sanger Honorary Lecture in Muscle Biology: Rachelle Crosbie, PhD (University of California, Los Angeles) - "Targeting Cell-Matrix Interactions for the Muscular Dystrophies"
  • Closing Remarks and Awards - Erika Holzbaur, PhD

4:30pm – 5:45pm:       Poster Session, Reception

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