Conference Agenda

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Nicholson Tower Auditorium, OU Health Campus

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. - Conference Registration & Breakfast

SESSION I: Welcome Addresses from University of Oklahoma Administration

8:00 a.m. – 8:10 a.m. - Robert Mannel, M.D., Director, OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center

8:10 a.m. – 8:20 a.m. - Matt Hulver, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Partnerships, University of Oklahoma

8:20 a.m. – 8:35 a.m. - Gary Raskob, Ph.D., Vice President and Provost, University of Oklahoma Health Campus

8:35 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. - Joseph Harroz, Jr., JD, President, University of Oklahoma

Break (9:00 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.)

SESSION II: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Jed Friedman, Ph.D., and Leonidas Tsiokas, Ph.D.

9:10 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

9:15 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. - KEYNOTE: James P. Allison, Ph.D,
Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cancer Immunotherapy: Mechanistic Insights Provide New Therapeutic Opportunities

9:50 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. - Sabrina Diano, Ph.D.
Brain-body Crosstalk: Nutrient Signals Shaping Metabolism

10:20 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. - Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Clinic to the Lab: Investigating Mechanisms of Response and Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Therapy

10:50 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. - Celeste Simon, Ph.D.
Exploiting Metabolism to Treat Primary and Metastatic Kidney Cancer

Break (11:20 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)

SESSION III: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Ann West, Ph.D., and Kelly Standifer, Ph.D.

Faculty Short Talks

11:30 a.m. – 11:35 a.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

11:35 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. - Binukumar B.K., Ph.D.
Cdk5 as a Molecular Link Between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease

11:45 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. - Dipanjan Pan, Ph.D.
Let There Be Blood: Pursuing the Holy Grail of Transfusion Medicine Through Nanotechnology

11:55 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. - Julie Craft Van De Weghe, Ph.D.
From Genetic Heterogeneity to a Unified Mechanism: Cross-genetic Ciliary Proteomics Identifies Dysregulated Wnt and Hedgehog Signaling as a Convergent Pathomechanism in Joubert Syndrome

12:05 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Karen Jonscher, Ph.D.
Investigating the Translational Potential of PQQ to Ameliorate Maternal Metaboinflammation in a Baboon Model of Diet-Induced Obesity

12:15 p.m. – 12:25 p.m. - Qinggong Tang, Ph.D.
A Non-Invasive, Whole-Organ Imaging Strategy for Assessing Human Donor Liver Viability

12:25 p.m. – 12:35 p.m. - Sarah Ocañas, Ph.D.
Ovarian Aging as a Potential Driver of Female-Biased Neuroinflammation

Lunch and Networking: Round Table Discussions (12:35 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.)

SESSION IV: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Julia Busik, Ph.D., and Greg Blakey, M.D.

1:20 p.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

1:25 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. - KEYNOTE: Kristi Anseth, Ph.D.
Adaptable and Responsive Hydrogels to Develop Tissue Models for Drug Screening

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Ronald DePinho, Ph.D.
Aging: Insights and Interceptions

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Natalie Artzi, Ph.D.
Supercharging Immunotherapy Through Nanotechnology: Chemical Structure Matters

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. - Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D.
Rewiring Oncogenic Transcriptional Complexes with Domain-ALTeration Chimeras (DALTACs) in Prostate Cancer

Break (3:30 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.)

SESSION V : Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., and Karl Hansen, M.D., Ph.D.

3:40 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

3:45 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. - KEYNOTE: Randy Schekman, Ph.D.
Extracellular Vesicle Biogenesis and Plasma Membrane Repair

4:20 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. - Shana Kelley, Ph.D.
Continuous Monitoring of Protein Biomarkers Using Modular Molecular Frameworks

4:50 p.m. – 5:20 p.m. - Philip Scherer, Ph.D.
Lean and Connected: How Losing Weight Makes Fat Cells Talk Smarter

RECEPTION

(Space was limited to the first 200 who registered for the event)

Location: First Americans Museum
Catering: Thirty-Nine Restaurant

5:30 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. - Transportation for Speakers to the Reception

6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. - Reception including passed hors d’oeuvres, viewing of the museum

6:45 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. - Performance by the Oklahoma Pow Wow Dance Club

7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. - Dinner

9:00 p.m. - Transportation for Speakers to the Colcord Hotel

Friday, April 17, 2026

Nicholson Tower Auditorium, OU Health Campus

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. - Conference Registration & Breakfast

SESSION VI: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Matt Hulver, Ph.D., and Courtney Griffin, Ph.D.

8:00 a.m. – 8:05 a.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

8:05 a.m. – 8:40 a.m. - KEYNOTE: Dafna Bar-Sagi, Ph.D.

8:40 a.m. – 9:10 a.m. - Jeremy Reiter, Ph.D.
A Variant Cell Cycle Coordinates Multiciliation

9:10 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. - Carl June, M.D.
Updates in CAR T Cells

9:40 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. - Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D.
Chromatin and Transcriptional Elongation in the Regulation of Development Gene Expression, Aging, and Disease

Break (10:10 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.)

Session VII: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Ian Dunn, M.D., and Jun Li, Ph.D.

10:20 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

10:25 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. - KEYNOTE: William G. Kaelin, M.D.
The von Hippel-Lindau Hereditary Cancer Syndrome: Insights into Cancer, Oxygen Sensing, and Drugging the Undruggable

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. - Chad Mirkin, Ph.D.
The Emerging Era of Structural Nanomedicine

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. - Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D., Ph.D.
Selective Autophagy: Ensuring Healthy Aging One Protein at a Time

LUNCH: Trainee Flash Talks (12:10 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.)

Chairs: Geeta Rao, Ph.D., and Surendra Shukla, Ph.D.

12:00 p.m. - 12:25 p.m. - Lunch & Networking

12:25 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

12:30 p.m. – 12:35 p.m. - Brian Thomas, Ph.D.
DUSP11: An Intracellular RNA Phosphatase as a New Immuno-Oncologic Target

12:35 p.m. – 12:40 p.m. - Chao Jiang
Hepatocyte MLKL drives senescence and mitochondrial dysfunction in aging mouse liver

12:40 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. - Eric Moore
Untangling Relationships Between Metabolism and Microbiome, In Aging Outcomes of Maternal Obesity Offspring

12:45 p.m. – 12:50 p.m. - Poorvi Subramanian
Functional Collapse of T-cells Under Tumor Pressure: An Insight into Nutrient Allocation from Diagnosis to Progressive Disease

12:50 p.m. – 12:55 p.m. - Joshua Seaberg, Ph.D., MS
Enhancing mRNA Therapy Through Iterative Delivery

12:55 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Panini Patankar, MBBS, M.D.
Sex- And Stress-Dependent Relationships Between Cerebral Blood Flow and BDNF Signaling After Traumatic Brain Injury

1:00 p.m. – 1:05 p.m. - Paulo H. C. Mesquita, Ph.D.
Diaphragm Collagen Proteostasis Declines with Age and is Rescued by mTOR Inhibition

1:05 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. - Rhitajit Sarkar, Ph.D.
Differential Tumor-Immune Microenvironment Underlies Metastatic Potential in Thyroid Microcarcinoma

Break (1:10 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.)

Session VIII: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Mary Beth Humphrey, M.D., Ph.D., and Isabella Grumbach, M.D., Ph.D.

1:20 p.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

1:25 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. - KEYNOTE: Rodney Tweten, Ph.D.
The Cholesterol-Dependent Cytolysins: From Pathogens to Immune Defense Proteins and the Microbiome

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Milan Mrksich, Ph.D.
Next Generation Class of NanoMedicines with MegaMolecules

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Clay Semenkovich, M.D.
Diabetes, Lipids, and the Best of All Possible Worlds

Break (3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.)

Session IX: Connecting the Dots

Chairs: Jimmy Ballard, Ph.D., and Barish Edil, M.D.

3:30 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. - Session Introduction by Chairs

3:35 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. - KEYNOTE: Drew Weissman, M.D., Ph.D.
Nucleoside-Modified mRNA-LNP Therapeutics

4:10 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. - Jonathan Long, Ph.D.
Exercise, Lac-Phe, and the Chemical Control of Energy Metabolism

4:40 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. - Resham Bhattacharya, Ph.D., Web of Life Co-Chair
Vote of Thanks

RECEPTION

(Space was limited to the first 150 who registered for the event)

Location: Oklahoma History Center Museum
Catering: Rococo

5:20 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. - Transportation for Speakers to the Reception

5:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. - Reception including passed hors d’oeuvres, and viewing of the museum

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. - Performance of North Indian Classical Music with Flute and Tabla

8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. - Dinner

9:00 p.m. - Transportation for Speakers to the Colcord Hotel