Provisional Timetable
(Subject to change: The conference may finish slightly earlier or later than the advertised time)
Event type: Virtual/in-person hybrid
Presentation language: English
Venue: The Jarvis Doctorow Hall, St Edmund Hall, Queen’s Lane, Oxford, UK
Time zone: All times mentioned refer to British Standard
Password and links: Registered conference delegates will be sent joining information and conference access links a few days before the conference.
World Time Converter: https://greenwichmeantime.com and https://www.worldtimebuddy.com
NB: Due to the hybrid nature of the agenda and the wide geographical locations of our speakers, it may not have always been possible to group together related presentations.
Day 1: Wednesday 20th March 2024
1000: Registration, networking and welcome coffee
1055: Housekeeping
Session 1: Chemistry
1100: Professor Thomas Carroll
Chair for Organic Chemistry, Department for Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), LMU München, Munich, Germany
The prebiotic origin of the RNA nucleosides and translation
1130: Professor Andrew Kellett
Professor of Inorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Click Chemistry-Based Artificial Metallo-Nucleases
1200: Dr Michael Booth
Royal Society University Research Fellow and Assistant Professor in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University College London, UK
Remote-controlled nucleic acids for biology and medicine
1230: Professor Afaf El-Sagheer
Senior Lecturer of Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Chemistry Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
mRNA adventures from modifying to destroying
1300: Lunch, networking and posters
1400: Professor Michal Hocek
Professor and Group Head, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry of Nucleic Acids, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Enzymatic Synthesis of Base-Modified RNA with Engineered DNA Polymerases
Session 2: Aptamers
1430: Professor Bruce Sullenger
Joseph and Dorothy Beard Professor, Department of Surgery, Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Hirudin inspired aptamer-small molecule conjugates: engineering potent, selective, and reversible EXosite-ACTive site (EXACT) inhibitors
1500: Professor Philip Johnson
Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
From SELEX to Sensor
1530: Dr Nabojsa Janjic & Dr Xiaotang Lu (Harvard University)
Chief Science Officer, SomaLogic Inc, Boulder, CO, USA
Aptamers as Histochemical Probes
1600: Refreshments, networking and posters
Session 3: Young Researchers’ Forum
1620: Miss Mareike De Pascali
Doctoral Research Student, Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Department of Bioscience, Garching, Germany
Development of a nucleic acid small molecule screening platform using the switchSENSE technology
1640: Miss Megan CRM Taylor
Doctoral Research Student, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, UK
Selective Knock-Down of Proinflammatory microRNA for the Treatment of Neurodegeneration and Cognitive Decline: Myth or Reality?
1700: Miss Walaa S Aburayan
Doctoral Research Student, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, UK
Development of new approaches for anti-cancer therapy: smart, responsive therapeutics against highly oncogenic microRNAs
1720: Mr Martin Volek
Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
A fluorescent deoxyribozyme for high-throughput screening
1740: Dr Brian J Thomas (V)
Dept Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA
Anti-EGFR aptamer induces direct anti-cancer effects in NSCLC cells harboring EGFR L858R mutations
1800: Close of Day 1
1900: Networking dinner (on a ‘pay-as-you-eat’ basis – further information will be given by email and at the start of the conference)
Day 2: Thursday 21st March 2024
Session 4: Therapeutics-I
0900: Professor Stephanie Kath-Schorr
Department of Chemistry, Institute for Organic Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Two are not enough: Extra base pairs in nucleic acids and their applications
0930: Dr Richard A Campbell (V)
Senior Lecturer, Division of Pharmacy & Optometry, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Application of Reflectometry Techniques to resolve Interactions of Nucleic Acid-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticle with Model Endosomal Membranes
1000: Professor John Tregoning
Professor in Vaccine Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
The benefits of inflammation in the T cell response to RNA vaccines
1030: Refreshments, networking and posters
Session 5: Therapeutics-II
1050: Dr David Fischer
Chief Technology Officer (Early Discovery), Discovery, Charles River, Chesterford Research Park, Saffron Walden, UK
The drug discovery journey for a patient with Dup15q Syndrome
1120: Dr Ngoc Lu-Nguyen
Senior Research Fellow in Gene Therapy, Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London Egham Hill, London, UK
Antisense therapeutics for Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy
1150: Dr Rachele Rossi
Research Fellow, The Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
Correlation between DMD transcript imbalance and mutations: novel perspectives on DMD mRNA dynamics and therapeutic implications
1210: Dr Sara Aguti
Senior Research Fellow, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, UK
Exploring fibroblast-homing peptides to enhance the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides in Collagen VI-related congenital muscular dystrophies
1230: Dr Bríonna McGorman
School of Chemical Sciences and Life Sciences Institute, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland
Click Chemistry-based Gene Targeted Therapeutics
1250: Discussion and close
