2021 ASBMB Annual Meeting

April 27–30

Virtual

The 2021 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, offers unmatched opportunities to showcase your work, learn from other scientists about their latest findings and expand your professional circle.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with scientists from around the globe!

Virtual meeting highlights

In addition to taking in all of the science, at the virtual ASBMB Annual Meeting you'll be able to:

Interact with colleagues — Participate in real-time moderated Q&A sessions, virtual meetups and interest group networking events with researchers who share your interests, and engage through one-on-one live video chat with friends and colleagues.
Establish new connections — Search for fellow attendees by name to send them questions or comments about their research by text or request a video chat for a live discussion.
Share your poster — Your prerecorded poster presentation will be viewable for the duration of the meeting. You'll be able to engage with and respond to attendees during scheduled poster Q&A sessions and continue to answer any questions that have been left for you after your session.
Visit the exhibit hall — Learn about equipment and products with live booth hours and on-demand presentations from exhibitors.
Catch up on missed sessions — Recordings of presentations will be available on demand so you can catch up on any sessions you may have missed.

Important dates

April 12	Early registration deadline

Program planning committee co-chairs

Robert S. Haltiwanger
University of Georgia

Carla Koehler
University of California, Los Angeles

See full list of organizers >

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What you need to know

Schedule

Deepen your knowledge of research trends at sessions curated by pioneers and innovators.

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ASBMB Award lectures

Twelve outstanding professionals recognized by their peers for contributions to their fields, education and diversity.

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Career Central

Step up to Experimental Biology Career Central and take the next step in your career.

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Undergraduate Poster Competition

Volunteer to be a judge for the Undergraduate Poster Competition.

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Abstracts

Submit your abstract to an ASBMB topic category for a chance to feature in a spotlight session or present a poster during the 2021 ASBMB Annual Meeting.

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Interest group networking events

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Annual meeting awards

The ASBMB will offer over 400 awards to assist first authors presenting research at the annual meeting.

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Exhibits and sponsorships

Information for exhibitors and sponsors.

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Featured award lectures

Manajit Hayer-Hartl

Jeremy Baskin

Celia Schiffer

Yang Zhang

Cellular machineries devoted to rubisco — the most abundant enzyme

Manajit Hayer-Hartl

Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

ASBMB–Merck Award

Manajit Hayer–Hartl, a group leader at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry, won the ASBMB–Merck Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to research in biochemistry and molecular biology. Hayer-Hartl has led a research group focused on chaperonin-assisted protein folding research since 2006.

Shedding light on phosphatidic acid signaling with chemical tools

Jeremy Baskin

Cornell University

Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipids

Jeremy Baskin, an assistant professor at Cornell University, won the Walter Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipids, which was established by ASBMB’s Lipid Research Division and recognizes outstanding research contributions in the area of lipids by young investigators who are assistant professors (or equivalent) with no more than 10 years of experience since receiving their degrees.

Constraining evolution → avoiding drug resistance: Lessons from viruses

Celia Schiffer

University of Massachusetts Medical School,

William C. Rose Award

Celia Schiffer, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, won the William C. Rose Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research and a demonstrated commitment to the training of younger scientists. Schiffer directs the Institute for Drug Resistance at the University of Massachusetts medical school.

Towards the solution of the protein structure prediction problem

Yang Zhang

University of Michigan

DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences

Yang Zhang, a professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, won the DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences, established to honor the legacy of Warren L. DeLano, creator of the PyMOL open-source molecular viewer and given to a scientist for advances in computer technology to enhance research in the life sciences at the molecular level. Zhang’s lab is recognized for its algorithms for predicting the 3D structures of proteins.

Registration

Registration fees include access to scientific sessions, poster sessions, exhibits, Career Central, mobile app and much more!

Students, trainees and teachers will be required to present credentials during registration. See requirements

Not a member? Join the ASBMB and save!

Registration type	Early registration (on/before April 12)		Full-price registration (on/after April 13)
Registration type	Members	Nonmembers	Members	Nonmembers
Regular	$325	$425	$350	$450
Postdoctoral trainee	$250	$350	$285	$385
Graduate student	$70	$115	$80	$125
Undergraduate student	$20	$45	$25	$50
Retired	$115	$215	$135	$235

Eligibility requirements

Graduate students

To be eligible for the Graduate Student rate, you must be enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program and have not yet earned a doctoral degree. You must have a department head or research advisor certify your student eligibility. If registering online, enter the name and email address of your department head. Postdoctoral fellows, hospital residents, interns and laboratory technicians do not qualify as students.

Undergraduate students

To be eligible for the Undergraduate Student rate, you must be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program and have not yet earned a baccalaureate degree. You must certify your student eligibility. If registering online, enter the name and email address of your department head.

Postdoctoral trainee

Trainees have obtained their doctoral degree within the last five years and are currently enrolled in a postdoctoral trainee program.

Program schedule

More sessions to be announced.

Tuesday April 27

Wednesday April 28

Thursday April 29

Friday April 30

Tuesday agenda

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

ASBMB business meeting

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Herbert Tabor Research Award lecture

Structural basis of dystroglycan function and the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy

Kevin Campbell,

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

ASBMB–Merck Award lecture

Cellular machineries devoted to rubisco — the most abundant enzyme

Manajit Hayer-Hartl, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Cell decision making

Lifelong analysis of key aging genes as determinants of lifespan in C. elegans

Adriana San Miguel, North Carolina State University

Nuclear mechanics in migrating cells

Tanmay Lele, University of Florida Chair

Clocks, hourglasses and history-dependent clocks

Arvind Murugan, University of Chicago

11:15 AM - 1:30 PM

Glycosylation and extracellular matrix in development, repair and cancer

TGF-beta regulation by the matricellular protein thrombospondin 1

Joanne Murphy-Ullrich, University of Alabama at Birmingham Chair

Role of O-linked fucose-glucose disaccharide modification of thrombospondin type I repeats during protein folding and embryo development

Bernadette Holdener, Stony Brook University

Are fibrillin–notch interactions important in development and disease?

Lynn Sakai, Oregon Health and Science University

A genetic approach to display and dissect the cancer-associated O-glycoepitome

Henrik Clausen, University of Copenhagen

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Mechanosignaling

Piezo1 activation gains traction

Medha Pathak, University of California, Irvine

Mechanotransduction in vascular health and disease

Martin Schwartz, Yale University

Mechanical force and notch signaling

Wendy Gordon, University of Minnesota Chair

Mechanisms linking mechanotransduction and cell metabolism

Kris DeMali, University of Iowa

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Molecular machines: New paradigms in structure, function and engineering

Chair: Stefanie Redemann, University of Virginia

Activation of the exocyst tethering complex for SNARE complex regulation and membrane fusion

Mary Munson, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Sugary coats: Synthesis and secretion of extracellular polysaccharides

Jochen Zimmer, University of Virginia School of Medicine

The ESCRT membrane scission machine

James Hurley, University of California, Berkeley

HiFi molecular transmission via crisscross cooperativity

William Shih, Harvard University

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

NAD synthesis, salvage and sirtuins in tissue health

Chair: Anne Murphy, Cytokinetics, Inc.

Viral infection-mediated control of NAD metabolism

Charles Brenner, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Mitochondrial NAD transport

Joseph A. Baur, University of Pennsylvania

Chromatin regulation and genome maintenance by mammalian SIRT6 and SIRT7

Katrin F. Chua, Stanford University and VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Systemic NAD+ deficiency in mitochondrial muscle disease is treatable by niacin

Anu Suomalainen Wartiovaara, University of Helsinki

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Noncoding RNAs and disease

tRNA: Splicing and subcellular dynamics

Anita Hopper, Ohio State University Chair

The role of tRNA derived small RNAs in gene regulation in normal tissues and cancer

Mark Kay, Stanford University

The Piwi-piRNA pathway: A new paradigm in gene regulation

Haifan Lin, Yale University

piRNA biogenesis and function in drosophila

Mikiko Siomi, University of Tokyo

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Novel roles of lipids in health and disease

Chair: Steven Claypool, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

BSCL2/Seipin in lipid catabolism and lipodystrophy

Weiqin Chen, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

The role of organelle contact during chlamydia developmental cycle

Chia-Hsueh Lee, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Tissue-specific roles of cardiolipin in the control of systemic energy homeostasis

Zachary Gerhart-Hines, University of Copenhagen

SPTLC1 mutations associated with early onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Teresa Dunn–Giroux, Uniformed Services University

11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Who we are: Creating a culture of wellness in science

Chair: Daniel Dries, Juniata College

Preventing and overcoming harassment

Alex Helman, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

An asset-based approach to advancing Latina students in STEM; increasing resilience, participation and success

Elsa Gonzalez, University of Houston

Promoting mental well-being

Nathan Vanderford, University of Kentucky

Mentorship best practices

Joanne Kamens, Addgene

1:15 PM - 1:45 PM

Meet the experts

Continue the conversation with leading experts from today's symposia and award lectures.

1:45 PM - 3:00 PM

JBC Herbert Tabor Early Career Investigator Awards

The Journal of Biological Chemistry honors first authors

Chair: George DeMartino, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

A low-potential terminal oxidase associated with the iron-only nitrogenase from the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii

Febin Varghese, Imperial College London

Phosphorylation of HSP90 by protein kinase A is essential for the nuclear translocation of androgen receptor

Manisha Dagar, Amity Institute of Biotechnology

Ribosome profiling of selenoproteins in vivo reveals consequences of pathogenic Secisbp2 missense mutations

Wenchao Zhao, University of Bonn

Dihydronicotinamide riboside is a potent NAD⁺ concentration enhancer in vitro and in vivo

Yue Yang, Weill Cornell Medicine

The roses can stop and smell you too: Transcriptional regulators involved in responses to volatile organic compounds in plants

Ayumi Nagashima-Kasahara, Tokyo Institute of Technology

1:45 PM - 3:00 PM

Spotlight Sessions

Oral presentations selected from volunteer abstracts.

3:15 PM - 5:00 PM

Virtual poster presentations

4:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Happy hour

Poster topics and interest group networking events.

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Women in BMB event — Painful and important lessons about resilience and wellness for scientists

Sharon Milgram, Director of Intramural Training & Education, National Institutes of Health

Wednesday agenda

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

William C. Rose Award lecture

Constraining evolution → avoiding drug resistance: Lessons from viruses

Celia Schiffer, University of Massachusetts Medical School,

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Mildred Cohn Award in Biological Chemistry lecture

Toolbox to evaluate biological function of histone deacetylases

Carol Fierke,

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Earl and Thressa Stadtman Young Scholar Award lecture

Wiring the powerhouse: Systems-to-structure approaches for defining mitochondrial protein function

David Pagliarini,

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Computational approaches to regulation of gene expression

Leveraging microfluidics for high-throughput studies of transcription factor/DNA binding

Polly Fordyce, Stanford University Chair

Synthetic NF-kB: A building approach to study complex signaling behaviors

Ping Wei, Peking University Center for Quantitative Biology

Neal Devaraj, University of California, San Diego

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Control of cell fate by metabolic intermediates

Chair: Carla Koehler, University of California, Los Angeles

Microbiome catabolites as novel modulators of cellular glucose and energy metabolism

Gary Williamson, Monash University

Metabolic modulation of cardiac health: The role of glucose and amino acids

Rong Tian, University of Washington

Control of macrophage activation by coenzyme A

Ajit Divakaruni, University of California, Los Angeles

A quantitative tissue-specific landscape of protein redox regulation during aging

Edward Chouchani, Harvard University

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Glycosylation and extracellular matrix in immunologic, inflammatory and infectious disease

Decoding inflammatory signals from the extracellular matrix for the development of new immunotherapies

Kim S. Midwood, University of Oxford Chair

Glycosylation in a common mechanism of colitis and sepsis

Jamey Marth, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Genome wide analysis of heparan sulfate assembly

Jeffrey D. Esko, University of California, San Diego

PAMPs, DAMPs and SAMPs: Host glycans are self-associated molecular patterns, but subject to microbial molecular mimicry

Ajit Varki, University of California, San Diego

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

How lipids impact the structure and function of membrane proteins

Cardiolipin-dependent carriers

Steven Claypool, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Chair

Membrane proteins — the lipid connection

Carol Robinson, University of Oxford

Structural basis of lipid scrambling and ion conduction by TMEM16 scramblases

Alessio Accardi, Weill Cornell Medical College

Structural insights into TRPV channel gating

Vera Moiseenkova-Bell, University of Pennsylvania

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Molecular motors

Chair: Jochen Zimmer, University of Virginia

Integrated 3D tomography and computational modeling to study forces in metaphase spindles

Stefanie Redemann, University of Virginia School of Medicine

Single molecule biophysics

Carlos Bustamante, University of California, Berkeley

Myosin: Structure, function, regulation and disease

Michelle Peckham, University of Leeds

Watching a fine-tuned molecular machine at work: Structural and functional studies of the 26S proteasome

Andreas Martin, University of California, Berkeley

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Post-translational modifications/signaling

Getting hedgehogs where they need to go: Cleavage activates dispatched for sonic hedgehog release

Stacey Ogden, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Rhomboid proteins in cell signaling

Matthew Freeman, University of Oxford

Lipids and hedgehogs

Adrian Salic, Harvard University Medical School Chair

Role of notch glycoslation in signaling

Pamela Stanley, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

RNA modifications and disease

RNA modification in cancer

Jianjun Chen, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope

RNA modifications in health and disease

Tsutomu Suzuki, University of Tokyo

mRNA and tRNA dance to the beat of methylations

Kathy Liu, University of Pennsylvania

tRNA quality control: Mechanisms, evolution and implications for human disease

Eric Phizicky, University of Rochester Medical Center Chair

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

What we do: Choosing pedagogy over content

Chair: Nathan Vanderford, University of Kentucky

Grand challenges: building interdisciplinary communities to tackle complex global issues

Jodi Schwarz, Vassar College

Teaching biochemistry in context

Daniel Dries, Juniata College

Using narrative in STEM education

Reneta Lansiquot, New York City College of Technology

Reimagining STEM education to help underrepresented students thrive in the classroom

Shannon Z. Jones, University of Richmond

1:45 PM - 2:45 PM

Meet the experts

Continue the conversation with leading experts from today's symposia and award lectures.

2:15 PM - 4:00 PM

Alice and C.C. Wang Award in Molecular Parasitology symposium

Host parasite interactions between the sexually-transmitted parasite trichomonas vaginalis and its human host

Patricia Johnson,

Native structure of the Plasmodium falciparum RhopH complex determined using an endogenous structural proteomics approach

Chi-Min Ho, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Interaction of the microbiome, the mucosal immune system and the parasite

William Petri, University of Virginia

“Trapped" persistent RNA viruses as virulence factors in protozoan parasites

Stephen Beverley, Washington University in St. Louis

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Exciting biological insights revealed by proteomics: A Molecular & Cellular Proteomics presentation

Chair: Anne-Claude Gingras, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Reserch Institute

Turbo-charging proximity labeling: Directed evolution of promiscuous biotin ligase for efficient proteomic mapping in vivo

Tess Branon, University of California, Berkeley

Proximity-dependent sensors reveal new mechanisms of mTOR activation by amino acids

Geoffrey Hesketh, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

Proteomics of protein trafficking by in vivo tissue-specific labeling

Ilia Droujinine, Scripps Research Institute

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Spotlight Sessions

Oral presentations selected from volunteer abstracts.

3:45 PM - 5:30 PM

Virtual poster presentations

4:45 PM - 5:45 PM

Happy hour

Poster topics and interest group networking events.

Thursday agenda

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Bert and Natalie Vallee Award in Biomedical Science lecture

Enzyme hydrophobic sites and allosteric membrane interactions regulate signaling and mediators of inflammation

Edward Dennis,

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences lecture

Towards the solution of the protein structure prediction problem

Yang Zhang, University of Michigan

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Avanti Award in Lipids lecture

Death by lipids: Role of non-coding RNAs in metabolic stress

Jean Schaffer,

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Best practices for preventing/managing incidences of harassment in the workplace

Suzanne Barbour, University of Georgia

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Emerging mechanisms of signaling

Chairs: Wendy Gordon, University of Minnesota, and Adrian Salic, Harvard Medical School

Tuning receptor signaling through ligand engineering

Chris Garcia, Stanford University

Cellular communication via adhesion

Demet Arac, University of Chicago

Mechanisms of Wnt5a-Ror signaling in development and disease

Henry Ho, University of California, Davis

Genetic and acquired heterotopic ossification are driven by a self-amplifying positive feedback loop of Hedgehog signaling

Yingzi Yang, Harvard University Dental School

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Glycosylation and extracellular matrix in neurologic and metabolic diseases

Chair: Jamey Marth, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Protective roles of O-GlcNAc in neurodegenerative diseases

David Vocadlo, Simon Fraser University

The role of the O-GlcNAc transferase interactome in X-linked intellectual disability

Lance Wells, University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Center

Role of ECM in the brain-gut connection

Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, University of California, Los Angeles Brain Injury Research Center

The role of metabolism in modulating radiation fibrosis

Fei-Fei Liu, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Membrane biogenesis and trafficking

Chair: Teresa Dunn-Giroux, Uniformed Services University

Lipid droplet proteome dynamics and lipotoxicity

James Olzmann, University of California, Berkeley

Mechanistic approaches towards understanding physicochemical membrane homeostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum

Robert Ernst, Saarland University

The role of VPS13 and related proteins in glycerolipid transport at membrane contact sites

Karin Reinisch, Yale University School of Medicine

Cold-induced lipid dynamics in thermogenic fat

Yu-Hua Tseng, Harvard University Medical School

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

Molecular motors in transport, biosynthesis and energy transduction

Functional assembly of the mitochondrial protein transport machinery

Nathan Alder, University of Connecticut Chair

Structure of the alternative complex III from flavobacterium johnsoniae in a supercomplex with cytochrome c oxidase

Robert Gennis, University of Illinois

An AAA-ATPase using an airlock-like translocation mechanism for folded proteins

Roland Beckmann, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Nascent protein selection and triage at the ribosome exit site

Shu-ou Shan, California Institute of Technology

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

RNA binding proteins and control of RNA biogenesis in disease

Reprogramming cell fates by RNA binding proteins in stem cells and cancer

Takahiro Ito, University of Georgia Chair

The RNA exosome and genetic disease

Anita Corbett, Emory University

Reconstitution of human tRNA intron cleavage leads to an updated model of tRNA splicing

Cassandra Haynes, National Institutes of Health

Connections between mRNP composition and mRNA fate

Guramrit Singh, Ohio State University

11:45 AM - 1:30 PM

New insights into control of metabolism by transporters

Glutamine transporter as a target of mTOR signaling modulating longevity

John M. Sedivy, Brown University

Eric Taylor, University of Iowa

Role of mitochondrial calcium in the maintenance of skeletal muscle homeostasis

Anna Raffaello, University of Padova

1:45 PM - 2:15 PM

Meet the experts

Continue the conversation with leading experts from today's symposia and award lectures.

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Lipid Diversity and Disease: Spotlight on Journal of Lipid Research Junior Associate Editors

Raymond Blind, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Rotonya Carr, University of Pennsylvania

Brandon Davies, University of Iowa

Gissette Soffer, Columbia University

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Spotlight Sessions

Oral presentations selected from volunteer abstracts.

3:45 PM - 5:30 PM

Virtual poster presentations

4:45 PM - 5:45 PM

Happy hour

Poster topics and interest group networking events.

Friday agenda

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award lecture

Getting there: Thyroid hormone receptor intracellular trafficking

Lizabeth Allison,

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research lecture

Shedding light on phosphatidic acid signaling with chemical tools

Jeremy Baskin, Cornell University

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

JBC Herbert Tabor Early Career Investigator Awards

The Journal of Biological Chemistry honors first authors

Chair: George DeMartino, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor is an ER-resident chaperone that protects against reductive stress in the heart

Adrian Arrieta, San Diego State University

RNase L promotes the formation of unique ribonucleoprotein granules distinct from stress granules

James Burke, University of Colorado, Boulder

MtcB, a member of the MttB superfamily from the human gut acetogen Eubacterium limosum, is a cobalamin-dependent carnitine demethylase

Duncan Kountz, Harvard University

A search for influenza A and B virus hemagglutinin-activating host cell proteases with trypsin-like activity in the murine airways

Anne Harbig, Philipps-University Marburg

Gαs directly drives PDZ-RhoGEF signaling to Cdc42

Alejandro Castillo-Kauil, CINVESTAV–IPN

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Interest group networking events

12:45 PM - 1:15 PM

Meet the experts

Continue the conversation with leading experts from today's symposia and award lectures.

1:45 PM - 3:15 PM

Workshops

3:30 PM - 5:15 PM

Virtual poster presentations

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Happy hour

Poster topics and interest group networking events.

Held in conjunction with Experimental Biology 2021