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 25 March 2026
1000: Registration
1100 – 1730: Oral presentations including lunch and refreshments
1900: Networking dinner ( further information will be sent by email)
Day 2: Thursday 26 March 2026
0900 – 1230: Oral presentations including refreshments
1250: Discussion and close
Confirmed Speakers
Professor Tom Brown (Keynote)
Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Professor Andrew Kellett
Professor of Inorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Professor Marcus Wilhelmsson
Professor and Head of Division, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
Studying RNA biology and therapeutics using fluorescent base analogues
Professor Philip Johnson
Professor of Chemistry, Dept Chemistry, York University, Keele St, Toronto, ON, Canada
Distinguishing Specific from Non-Specific Binding of Small Molecules by DNA Aptamers Using Biophysical Methods
Professor Dr Günter Mayer
Professor of Chemistry, University of Bonn, Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES), Chemical Biology, Bonn, Germany
Professor Afaf El-Sagheer
Senior Lecturer of Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Chemistry Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Dr Sylvain Ladame
Reader in Biosensor Development & Senior Tutor for Research, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
Dr Edward Curtis
Group Leader, IOCB Prague Department of Biology, Prague, Czechia
Exploring the sequence space of a fluorescent deoxyribozyme using structured libraries, selection and machine learning
Dr Jennifer Frommer
Group Leader, Paediatrics Department, Old Road Campus, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
Exploring Architecture in Antisense Oligonucleotide Design
Dr Olivier de Jong
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Aptamer-Based Loading and Release Strategies for Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated CRISPR-Cas9 Delivery
Dr Brionna McGorman
Senior Research Scientist, School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland
Click Chemistry-based Metalled Triplex-Forming Oligonucleotides
Dr Harold Fellermann
Senior Computational Scientist, Nanovery Ltd, The Biopshere, Draymans Way, Newcastle Helix, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Accurate quantification of antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNA with a simple, ready-to-use, two-step protocol
Dr Antonio Garcia-Guerra
Postdoctoral Scientist, Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Programmable miRNA-sensing guide RNAs for tissue-specific CRISPR activity in vivo
Miss Caroline Doherty
MD-PhD Graduate Research Student, Mayo Clinic, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Rochester, MN, USA
In vivo selection of anti-glioblastoma DNA aptamers for targeted intracellular toxin delivery using orthotopic patient-derived xenograft models
Mr Barney Hill
Graduate Research Student, Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Accurately modelling RNase H-mediated antisense oligonucleotide efficacy and toxicity
Miss Yunyue Wang
Graduate Research Student, University of Cambridge, MRC Toxicology Unit, Tennis Ct Rd, Cambridge, UK
Determination of off-targeting by anti-sense oligonucleotide by an unbiased high-throughput assay
