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 Time (BST)
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 16th April 2025
1000: Registration, networking and welcome coffee
1100-1730: Presentations (including refreshments and lunch)
1900: Networking dinner (on a ‘pay-as-you-eat’ basis – further information will be sent by email)
Day 2: Thursday 17th April 2025
0900-1230: Presentations (including refreshments)
1250: Discussion and close
Confirmed speakers
Professor Thomas Carell
Chair for Organic Chemistry, Department for Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), LMU München, Munich, Germany
Chemistry of RNA Therapeutics
Dr Debashis Dhara
Postdoctoral Scientist, Tom Brown Group, Nucleic Acids Research, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Synthesis and Studies on Densely Functionalised Charge Neutral LNA-Phosphothiotriester Oligonucleotides
Dr Nazarii Sabat
CNRS Research Scientist, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory for Bioorganic Chemistry of Nucleic Acids, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS Paris, France
Next-generation chemoenzymatic synthesis of chemically modified oligonucleotides
Dr Jing Li
Postdoctoral Scientist, Kath-Schorr Laboratory, Department for Chemistry, University of Köln, Köln, Germany
Chemical modifications for improved RNA therapeutics
Professor Afaf El-Sagheer
Senior Lecturer of Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Chemistry Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Professor Andrew Kellett
Professor of Inorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Dr Sylvain Ladame & Mr Marc Soler
Reader in Biosensor Development & Senior Tutor for Research, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
Improving early diagnosis and patient stratification in primary care through minimally invasive sampling and detection of nucleic acid biomarkers in bodily fluids
Dr Nina Was
Staff Scientist, Silence Therapeutics GmbH, Berlin, Germany
siRNA phosphorodithioate modifications reduce stereocomplexity, ease analysis, and can improve in vivo potency
Dr David Peeler
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Laboratories of Professors Dame Molly Stevens & Robin Shattock, Department of Materials, Bioengineering, and Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
Targeted STING agonism intersects with self-amplifying RNA immunogenicity through formulation-specific innate intermediates
Professor Simon Richardson & Ms Natalie Younes
Reader of Drug Delivery and Membrane Trafficking, Exogenix laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Greenwich University, Kent, UK
Cell specific rate limits associated with using attenuated anthrax toxin as a cytosolic delivery system
Professor Julián Valero Moreno
Assistant Professor, Aarhus University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics / Interdisciplinary Nanoscience center (iNANO), Aarhus, Region Midtjylland, Denmark
Expanding RNA Chemical Diversity: Co-transcriptional Incorporation of Modified Nucleotides for Enhanced Targeting
Dr Aadarash Zia
Scientist – Drug Delivery, Medicines Discovery Catapult, Mereside, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK
NUVEC® Silica Nanoparticles as Efficient Non-Viral Intracellular Delivery System for Nucleic acids
Professor Stefan Vogel
Associate Professor in Nanobioscience, Nucleic Acid Center, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
From DNA-Programmed Biomembrane Fusion to Oligonucleotide Delivery
Dr Edward Curtis
Group Leader, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Development and application of deoxyribozyme sensors
Dr Robert Wills
Product Specialist, Molecular Spectroscopy, Agilent Technologies UK, Cheshire, UK
Biomolecule Analysis Using Advanced UV-Vis Spectroscopy
Dr Brandon Wilbanks
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN, USA
DNA oligonucleotides that modulate biological activity of model neurons
Dr Erika Fletcher
Scientific Advisor, Immuneed AB, Kungsgatan, Uppsala, Sweden
Prediction of clinical immunotoxicity of oligonucleotide therapeutics using an ex vivo test system with circulating human whole blood
Professor Philip Johnson
Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
From SELEX to Sensor
Professor Bruce Sullenger
Joseph and Dorothy Beard Professor, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
Developing Potent and Reversible Anticoagulants, Not Sourced from Large Animals, Using Aptamer-Antidote Pairs to Create Cleaner and More Sustainable Acute Care Medicines
Dr Miguel Aller Pellitero
Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
Understanding the impact of temperature on electrochemical, aptamer-based sensors
Miss Caroline Doherty
Graduate Research Student, Medical Scientist Training Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
In vivo selection of anti-glioblastoma DNA aptamers for targeted toxin delivery using orthotopic patient-derived xenograft models
Mr Minh-Dat Nguyen
Graduate Research Student, Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
SELEX to Sensors: A Step-by-Step Guide for Translating Aptamer
