2019 RiboClub Program RNA: 20 Years of Discoveries In Association with the Gairdner Foundation September 22-27 - Hotel Chéribourg, Orford, Québec, Canada Organizing Committee: Allan Jacobson, Robert Singer, Adrian Krainer, Françoise Stutz, Yukihide Tomari, Sandra Wolin, Nehalkumar Thakor (ARRTI co-organizer for western Canada) and the RiboClub. Sunday, September 22, 2019 (Day1) 15:00 – 20:00 Registration / Coffee and cake 17:00 – 17:10 Welcome notes and Announcements Sherif Abou Elela RiboClub organizer and co-founder, Member of the Université de Sherbrooke RNA Group 17:15 – 17:45 Opening Lecture I: RNA Biology: Origins and Reflections Joan Steitz Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University First speakers of the RiboClub 1998 17:45 – 18:15 Opening Lecture II: RNA Biology: History of Discoveries Witold Filipowicz Professor of Biochemistry, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research 18:15 – 18:45 Special presentation by the recipient of the RiboClub 2009 life achievement award: Initiating the study of Initiation: Initiating translation initiation: a short history and perspective Nahum Sonenberg, Member of the RiboClub, Gilman Cheney Chair in Biochemistry, McGill University 18:45 – 19:45 Cocktail and social time 19:45 – 19:50 Introduction of members of the community and dignitaries Raymund Wellinger Master of ceremonies, Co-founder of the Université de Sherbrooke RNA group, 19:50 – 19:50 Welcome note Pierre Cossette President, Université de Sherbrooke 19:50 – 20:45 Networking Dinner 20:45 – 20:55 Student Recognition and Travel Awards Eric Masse RiboClub Member, Université de Sherbrooke. 20:45 – 20:50 RNA studies at the Université de Sherbrooke Nathalie Rivard Vice Dean Research, Graduate Studies and Innovation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke 20:50 – 21:00 RNA Biology in Canada and the Training of Future Professionals Hans-Joachim Wieden Director, Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute University of Lethbridge 21:00 – 23:30 Get Together Monday, September 23, 2019 (Day2) Public session: Introduction 9:00 – 9:10 Highlights of the RiboClub 2019 Sherif Abou Elela RiboClub organizer and co-founder, Member of the Université de Sherbrooke RNA Group 9:10 –9:15. Gairdner Foundation Supporting Excellence in RNA Biology Janet Rossant President and Scientific Director, Gairdner Foundation Public session: The RiboClub and the Societal Impact of RNA Research Host: Michelle Scott, Member of the Université de Sherbrooke RNA group 9:15 – 9:25 Riboclub: Building an RNA Community to Trigger Discoveries Benoit Chabot Co-founder of the Université de Sherbrooke RNA group 9:25 –9:30 The RiboClub: A Training Playground for Future Researchers Jonathan Perreault Former students’ representative, 2017 Alumnus of the year, member of the RiboClub, Professor at INRS-Institute Armand-Frappier 9:30 –9:35 Role of Institutions in Supporting and Developing RNA Based Research Jean-Pierre Perreault Vice-President Research and Graduated Studies, co-founder of the Université de Sherbrooke RNA group 9:35 –9:40 Funding RNA Research to Improve Healthcare Michael Strong President, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) 9:40 –9:45 The Outlook for Basic Research in Canada Mona Nemer Chief Science Advisor of the Government of Canada 9:45 - 10:00 Open Questions and Panel Discussion Moderators: Martin Simard, 2004 Alumnus of the year, Université Laval and Thomas Duchaine, 2012 Alumnus of the year, McGill University Participants: Sherif Abou Elela, Benoit Chabot, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Janet Rossant, Michael Strong, Mona Nemer, Jonathan Perreault 10:00 – 10:30 Coffee break and social time Public Session: RNA Based Discoveries and Impact Presenter: Stephen Rader RiboClub member, University of Northern British Columbia 10:30 –10:50 Re-Writing Genomes with CRISPR RNAs Erik Sontheimer The RNA Therapeutic Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Founder of Intellia Therapeutics Inc. Developer of CRISPR-based therapy. 10:50 - 11:10 Genetic Nonsense: From Bench to Bedside and Back to the Bench Allan Jacobson Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Professor of Pathology and Cell biology, Founder of Applied biotechnology Inc and Founder and Director of PTC Therapeutics Inc. Developer of Translarna as treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy 11:10 - 11:30 RNA Splicing: From Discovery to Treatment Adrian Krainer St. Giles Foundation Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Laureate of Life Sciences Breakthrough Prize 2019, Founder and Director of Stoke Therapeutics Inc., Inventor of Spinraza, the first approved drug for spinal muscular atrophy 11:30 –12:00 Panel Discussion and Questions Moderator: Katherine Borden Canada Research Chair, Professor of Pathology and Cell biology, Université de Montréal Panel Participants: Adrian Krainer, Erik Sontheimer, Allan Jacobson End of public session and departure of unregistered guests Scientific Meeting 13:00 - 14:00 Lunch for registered guests Session 1: RNA Silencing Chair: Victor Ambros 14:00 - 14:15 Victor Ambros Introduction and history 14:15 - 14:30 Michael McManus 14:30 - 14:45 Yukihide Tomari 14:45 - 15:00 Lin He 15:00 - 15:15 Olivia Rissland 15:15 - 15:25 Selection from abstract 15:25 - 15:35 Selection from abstract 15:35 – 16:05 Questions and panel discussions Moderator: Muthiah Manoharan, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals 16:05 - 16:25 Coffee Break Session 2: RNA editing, modification and transcriptomics Session Chair: Brenda Bass 16:25 - 16:40 Brenda Bass Introduction and history 16:40 - 16:55 Tsutomu Suzuki 16:55 - 17:10 Wendy Gilbert 17:10 - 17:25 Pierre Close 17:25 - 17:40 Chuan He 17:40 - 17:50 Selection from abstract 17:50 – 18:00 Selection from abstract 18:00 – 18:30 Questions and panel discussion Moderator: Valerie A. De Crecy-Lagard 18:30 – 21:00 Dinner 21:00 – 22:00 Get Together Tuesday September 24, 2019 (Day 3) 07:00 - 08:00 Breakfast Session 3: Bacterial RNA Chair: Susan Gottesman 08:00 - 08:15 Susan Gottesman Introduction and history 08:15 - 08:30 Jörg Vogel 08:30 - 08:45 Eric Masse 08:45 - 09:00 Lydia Contreras 09:00 - 09:15 Cynthia Sharma 09:15 - 09:25 Selection from abstract 09:25 - 09:35 Selection from abstract 09:35 - 10:05 Questions and panel discussion Moderator: Sarah Woodson 10:05 – 10:35 Coffee Break Session 4A: Non-coding RNA Chair: David Bartel 10:35 - 10:50 David Bartel Introduction and history 10:50 - 11:05 Wade Winkler 11:05 - 11:20 Sherif Abou Elela 11:20 - 11:35 Alena Shkumatava 11:35 - 11:50 Lingling Chen 11:50 - 12:00 Selection from abstract 12:00 - 12:10 Selection from abstract 12:10– 12:40 Questions and panel discussion Moderator: TBD 12:40 - 14:00 Mentor mentee Lunch Session 4B: Non-coding RNA Chair: Kathy Collins 14:00 - 14:15 Introduction and history Kathy Collins 14:15 - 14:30 Claus Azzalin 14:30 - 14:45 Jorgen Kjems 14:45 - 15:00 Howard Chang 15:00 - 15:15 Anton Petrov 15:15 - 15:25 Selection from abstract 15:25 - 15:35 Selection from abstract 15:35 – 16:05 Questions and panel discussion Moderator: Raymund Wellinger 16:05 – 16:35 Coffee break Session 5: Ribosome structure and function Chair: Joachim Frank 16:35 - 16:50 Introduction and history Joachim Frank 16:50 - 17:05 Marat Yusupov 17:05 - 17:20 Andrei Korostelev 17:20 - 17:35 Jamie Williamson 17:35 - 17:45 Selection from abstract 17:45 - 17:55 Selection from abstract 17:55 – 18:25 Questions and panel discussion Moderator: Gloria Culver 18:25 - 18:45 Students’ Poster Promotion Micro talks (2 minutes talks by students) Host: Daniel Lafontaine 18:45 - 19:45 Dinner 19:45 - 21:45 Poster Session I 21:45 - 23:00 Get Together Wednesday September 25, 2019 (Day 4) 07:00 - 08:00 Breakfast Session 6: Spliceosome structure and dynamics Chair: Reinhardt Lührmann 08:00 - 08:15 Reinhardt Lührmann: Introduction and history 08:15 - 08:30 Dan Larson 08:30 - 08:45 Kiyoshi Nagai 08:45 - 09:00 Doug Black 09:00- 09:15 Manny Ares 09:15 - 09:25 Selection from abstract 09:25 - 09:35 Selection from abstract 09:35 - 10:05 Questions and panel discussions Moderator: Chris Trotta 10:05 - 10:35 Coffee Break Session 7: RNA decay and surveillance 10:35 - 10:50 Introduction and history Allan Jacobson 10:50 - 11:05 Lori Passmore 11:05 - 11:20 Torben Heick Jensen 11:20 - 11:35 Lynne Maquat 11:35- 11:50 Jianjun Chen 11:50 - 12:00 Selection from abstract 12:00 - 12:10 Selection from abstract 12:10 - 12:40 Questions and panel discussion (applications and future) Moderator: Kristian Baker 12:40 – 12:55 Group photo 12:55 – 14:40 Lunch 14:40 – 16:40 Poster session II 16:40 – 19:00 Free afternoon 19:00 - 20:30 Dinner 20:30 - 20:40 The blue jacket awardees. Martin Bisaillon 20:40 - 20:50 Poster awards presentation by Michelle Scott 20:50 - 21:10 RNA biology: the early days Marvin Wickens Max Perutz Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin Introduction by Mark Schmitt, SUNY Upstate Medical University 21:30 - 23:00 Get together Thursday September 26, 2019 (Day 5) 07:00 - 08:00 Breakfast Session 8: RNA and Immunity Session Chair: Sandra Wolin 8:00 - 8:15 Sandra Wolin Introduction and history 8:15 - 8:30 Daniel Stetson 8:30 - 8:45 Uttiya Basu 8:45 -9:00 Karla Kirkegaard 9:00 - 9:15 Selection from abstract 9:15 - 9:25 Selection from abstract 9:25 - 9:35 Selection from abstract 9:35 - 10:05 Questions and panel discussion Moderator: Jonathan Yingling, 10:05 - 10:35 Coffee Break Session 9: Alternative splicing mechanisms and regulation Chair: John Mattick 10:35 - 10:50 John Mattick: Introduction and history 10:50 - 11:05 Benoit Chabot 11:05 - 11:20 Ben Blencowe 11:20 - 11:35 Kristen Lynch 11:35 - 11:50 Karla Neugebauer 11:50 - 12:00 Selection from abstract 12:00 - 12:10 Selection from abstract 12:10 - 12:40 Questions and Panel discussion (applications and future) Moderator: TBD 12:40 - 14:40 Lunch Session 10: RNA granules and droplets Chair: Roy Parker 14:40 - 14:55 Roy Parker 14:55 - 15:10 Mark Ashe 15:10 - 15:25 Graciela L.