ESF Research Conferences

17:00-19:00 Registration at ESF Desk

19:00-19:30 Welcome Drink

20:00 Supper

08:30 - 08:35 Conference opening

08:35 - 08:45 Martin Röllinghoff - Erlangen-Nuremberg Universität, DE
ESF Presentation

Session 1: RNAi Mechanism and Tools

08:45 - 09:20 Troels Koch - Santaris, DK
Nucleic Acid: Efficient RNA silencing - and enables a new modality for HCV infection

09:20 - 09:55 Dirk Grimm - University of Heidelberg, DE
Synthetic AAV vectors as tools for on-target shRNA expression and miRNA regulation

09:55 - 10:30 Dennis Bamford - University of Helsinki, SF
dsRNA bacteriophage phi6 utilization in gene silencing

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:35 Goran Akusjarvi - Uppsala Biomedical Center, SE
shRNA expression vectors based on the adenovirus VA RNAs

11:35 - 12:10 Ying Poi Liu - Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), NL
Anti-HIV RNAi inducers: shRNAs, extended shRNAs, miRNAs, and their impact on lentiviral vector titer

12:30 Lunch

16.00 - 16.30 Coffee Break

16:30 - 17:05 John Rossi, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, US RNAi, aptamers and HIV

17:05 - 17:40 Jorgen Kjems - University of Aarhus, DK
Tuning siRNA for on target delivery in vivo

17.40 - 18.00 SHORT TALK Kathleen McLachlan - CSIRO, AU
Improved processing of short hairpin RNA molecules targeting H5N1 avian influenza

18:00 - 18:25 SHORT TALK Dmitry Samarsky - RXi Pharmaceuticals, US
Combination of molecule configuration and chemical modifications may provide drug-like properties to synthetic RNAi compounds

18.30 - 20.30: Dinner

20:30 - 22:00 Poster Session - Open Bar (courtesy of RXi Pharmaceuticals)

Session 2: RNA Silencing and Plant Virus Resistance

08:45 - 09:20 Thomas Hohn - University of Basel, CH
Cauliflower Mosaic Virus produces a 600 nt long aberrant RNA, giving rise to dsRNA and massive siRNA production

09:20 - 09:55 József  Burgyán - Agricultural Biotechnology Center, HU
Induction and suppression of antiviral RNAi in plant

09:55 - 10:30 Santiago Elena - CSIC-UPV, ES
Experimental evaluation of the durability of resistance to plant viruses mediated by artificial microRNAs

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break and Group Photo

11:00 - 11:20 SHORT TALK Veronique Ziegler-Graff - Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS, FR
Phloem tropism of poleroviruses does not hinge only upon Dicer-like activity

11:20 - 11:40 SHORT TALK Crystal Hornsey - University of Warwick, UK
Does Extensive RNA Structure Contribute to RNAi Evasion in Plant Viruses?

11:40 - 12:00 Andreas Voloudakis - Agricultural University of Athens, GR
Plant virus control employing RNA-based vaccines: A novel non-transgenic strategy

12.30 Lunch

14.30 -  16.30 COST meeting (closed to conference participants)

16.30 -17:00 Coffee Break

17:00 - 17:35 Juan José López-Moya - IBMB-CSIC, ES
Insect transmission and RNA silencing suppression functions in viruses of the family Potyviridae: approaches for virus control in hosts and vectors

17:35 - 17:55 SHORT TALK Michael Wassenegger - RLP AgroScience GmbH, DE
Binding of small double-stranded RNAs by a plant viral suppressor is enhanced by a member of the plant cupin superfamily

17:55 - 18:15 SHORT TALK Esther Schnettler - Wageningen University, NL
The NS3 protein of Rice Blanca virus acts as RNA silencing suppressor protein in distinct organisms

18:15 - 18:35 SHORT TALK Manfred Heinlein - Institut de Biologie Moleculaire des Plantes, FR
Interaction of Tobacco mosaic virus with RNA silencing

18:35 - 18:55 SHORT TALK Tamas Dalmay - University of East Anglia, UK
Structural and functional analysis of viral siRNAs

19:00 Dinner

20:30 - 22:00 Poster Session - Open Bar (courtesy of RXi Pharmaceuticals)

Session 3: Viruses and the Cellular RNAi Pathway

08:45-09:20 Sebastien Pfeffer - Université de Strasbourg, FR
Targets and functions of viral micro RNAs

09:20-09:55 Catherine Jopling - University of Nottingham, UK
Regulation of hepatitis C virus by liver-specific microRNA-122

09:55-10:30 Demián Cazalla - Yale University, US
Downregulation of a host microRNA by a Herpesvirus saimiri noncoding RNA in virally transformed T cells - Viral resistance in plants

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-11:35 Kuan-Teh Jeang - National Institute of Health, US
New insights into small RNAs and human retrovirus replication and function

11:35-11:55 SHORT TALK Yamina Bennasser - CNRS, Institute of Human Genetics, FR
Cross-regulations between components of RNA interference machinery and viral RNA regulate miRNA levels

11:55-12:15 SHORT TALK Anne Gatignol - McGill University, CA
Cellular distribution and interactions between proteins involved in RNA interference without and with HIV infection

12:15 - 12:35 SHORT TALK Fatah Kashanchi - George Mason University, US
Viral microRNA: implications for HIV-1 latency and treatment

12:45 Lunch

13:45: Excursion -  Walking Guided Tour of Sant Feliu

16:30-17:00 Coffee Break

Session 4: Antiviral RNAi from Plants to Mammals

17:00-17:35 Juan Antonio Garcia Alvarez - Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, ES
Inhibition of small RNA function by RNA silencing suppressors in potyviral infections

17:35-18:10 Jean-Luc Imler - CNRS-UPR, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, FR
Regulation of antiviral RNAi in the model organism drosophila

18:10-18:45 Maria-Carla Saleh - Pasteur Institute, FR
Antiviral RNAi: a key regulator for persistent vs. acute infection?

18:45-19:05 SHORT TALK Ronald van Rij - Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, NL
Defense and counter-defense in the Drosophila RNAi-based immune system

19:15 Dinner

21:00-22.00 Poster Session & Poster Awards   

Session 5: Towards Therapeutics

08:45-09:20 Marco S. Weinberg - University of Witwatersrand, ZA
Tethered RNA hairpin duplexes as an effective combinatorial antiviral strategy

09:20-09:40 SHORT TALK Lorea Blázquez - Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), ES
Synergy between RNA interference and U1 inhibition and its application for HBV infection

09:40-10:15 Scott Tyack - CSIRO Livestock Industries, AU
Working towards RNAi-based resistance to influenza in the chicken

10:15-10:45 Coffee Break

10:45-11:20 Alex Karlas - Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, DE
Global identification of host cell factors essential for influenza A virus replication

11:20-12:20 Future perspectives/General discussion

12:30 Lunch and Siesta

16:30-17:00 Coffee Break

17:00-17:35 Henry Fechner - University of Technology Berlin, DE
MicroRNA dependent regulation of transgene expression as new tool for improvement of tissue specificity of viral vectors in vivo

17:35-18:10 SHORT TALK Luc van der Laan - Erasmus MC, NL
Cell-to-cell transmission of small RNAs extends the reach of RNAi-based therapy for hepatitis C
(joint work with J.J. Morales and J-A. Weil)

19:30 Drinks Reception

20:00 Conference Dinner  

Breakfast and departure

With Support from

Oxford Journals          RNA Society
              RXi Pharmaceuticals