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Past Retreats: 2016 Agenda

Friday, April 22, 2016
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Registration & Coffee
9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Welcome (Rasmuson Theater)
Alex Szatmary, PhD, Chair, Annual Meeting Steering Committee
Constantine A. Stratakis, M.D. D(med)Sci., Scientific Director, NICHD
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Morning Keynote Address
Moderator: Alex Szatmary, PhD
Dr. Eric Betzig
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2014 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
“Imaging Life at High Spatiotemporal Resolution”
10:15 – 11:00 a.m. Fellow Presentations
Moderator: Afrouz Anderson, PhD
“Altered trafficking of V0a1 of V-ATPase disrupts lysosomal acidification in an INCL mouse model”
Maria Bagh, PhD
Mukherjee Lab

“Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase type IIIα (PI4KA) is required for proper myelination of peripheral nerves in mice”
Alejandro Alvarez-Prats, PhD
Balla Lab

“Cell Fusion Stage in Osteoclast Formation”
Santosh Verma, PhD
Chernomordik Lab
11:00 – 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Career Focus: Round Tables (Room 4018/19)
Moderator: Shakib Omari, PhD
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. Introductions & Overview
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 4 Rotations, 15 minutes each, from:
  1. Research/Teaching, Academe
    • Ramona Neunuebel, PhD, University of Delaware (Machner Lab)
  2. Research/Teaching, Academe
    • Preethi Chandran, PhD, Howard University (Basser Lab)
  3. Clinical, Academe
    • Mihail Zilbermint, MD, Johns Hopkins, Suburban Hospital (Nieman Lab)
  4. Industry
    • Margarito Rojas, PhD, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Dever Lab)
  5. Industry
    • Thomas Miller, PhD, Meso Scale Diagnostics (Shi Lab)
  6. Science Policy
    • Elizabeth Barksdale, PhD, FASEB (McBain Lab)
  7. Government Administration
    • Raul Rojas, PhD, NIH Center for Scientific Review (Bonifacino Lab)
  8. Grants Management
    • Melissa Cunningham, PhD, CDMRP (Kassis Lab)
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch & Continued career round-table discussions
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. Fellow Presentations (Rasmuson Theater)
Moderator: Courtney Kurtyka, PhD
“Development of a zebrafish model for ATP7A-related distal motor neuron disease”
Diego Martinelli, MD, PhD
Kaler Lab

“Loss of La protein from cortical brain neurons results in innate immune activation and chronic astrogliosis”
Nathan Blewett, PhD
Maraia Lab

“Lateralization and cerebral hemodynamics at rest in toddlers at risk for language delay”
Elizabeth Smith, PhD
Gandjbakhche Lab
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. Break
2:30 – 3:45 p.m. Afternoon Keynote Address
Moderator: Jeremy Weaver, PhD
Dr. Jorge Cham
“The Power of Procrastination”
Creator of PhD Comics, co-founder of PhDtv
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Poster Sessions with Refreshments (Patrons Lounge)
Numbers 1-36: 4:00 – 4:45 p.m.
Numbers 37-73: 4:45 – 5:30 p.m.