Conference program

Opening evening reception

Welcome and opening remarks by the organizers 

Virgis  Šikšnys, Vilnius University (Keynote lecture)

Exploring and harnessing the diversity of CRISPR-Cas systems 

Malcolm White, University of St. Andrews

Mechanistic Diversity of Type III CRISPR Systems

Coffee Break

Gregor Hagelueken, University of Bonn

Antiviral signaling by a cyclic nucleotide activated CRISPR protease

Asma Hatoum-Aslan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Mechanisms of Type III-A CRISPR-Cas defense and counterattack by a phage-encoded protein

Raymond Staals, Wageningen University

Type III-B CRISPR-Cas signaling-based cascade of proteolytic cleavages

Lunch
(Lunch & Learn|12:50pm - 1:20pm Arbor Biotechnologies) 

Gintautas Tamulaitis, Vilnius University

Antiviral signaling by a cyclic nucleotide activates a RelE-like ribonuclease 

Lennart Randau, University of Marburg

Functional and structural characterization of Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas-mediated CRISPR interference 

Ning Jia, Southern University of Science and Technology

Type IV-A CRISPR-Csf complex: assembly, dsDNA targeting and CasDinG recruitment 

Ryan Jackson, Utah State University

Structure and Function of Type IV CRISPR systems and their anti-CRISPRs 

Coffee Break 

Fabienne Benz, Pasteur Institute
In trans adaptation and RNA-guided silencing by a Klebsiella plasmid-encoded type IV-A3 CRISPR-Cas

Omar Abudayyeh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

New Molecular Technologies for Genome Editing and Cell Control 

Julene Madariaga-Marcos, University of Leipzig

Investigating the R-loop formation by CRISPR-dCas9 with single-molecule ultrafast twist measurements 

Coffee Break

Jack Bravo & Grace Nicole Hibshman, University of Texas at Austin

DNA interrogation by PAMless SpRY-Cas9 

Yan Zhang, University of Michigan

CRISPR RNA and tracrRNA serve as a regulatory switch for apoCas9-mediated viral memorization in Neisseria 

Yibei Xiao, China Pharmaceutical University

How Cas9-Csn2-Cas1-Cas2 supercomplex select prespacer during spacer acquisition 

Dinner 

Poster session #1

Fun Run hosted by Vivlion

Opening remarks for Day 2 

Dipali Sashital, Iowa State University

Metal-dependent specificity switching in CRISPR-Cas adaptation and interference 

Dina Grohmann, University of Regensburg

Allosteric activation of CRISPR-Cas12a requires the concerted movement of the bridge helix and helix 1 of the RuvC II domain 

Ekaterina Semenova, Rutgers University

tRNA anticodon cleavage by target-activated CRISPR-Cas13a effector 

Coffee Break 

Kira Makarova, National Institutes of Health

Comprehensive survey of novel CRISPR systems by mining the expansive genomic diversity of prokaryotic organisms 

Ailong Ke, Cornell University

Genome Editing Applications Based on the IscB-ωRNA structure 

Osamu Nureki, University of Tokyo

Minimal and most efficient genome editing Cas effector 

Chunlei Jiao, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research

TracrRNA reprogramming enables direct, PAM-free detection of RNA with diverse DNA-targeting Cas12 nucleases 

Lunch
(Lunch & Learn|1:00pm - 1:30pm Eli Lilly)

Poster session #2

Adrian M. Molina Vargas, University of Rochester
New design strategies for ultraspecific Cas13a-based RNA-diagnostic tools with single-nucleotide mismatch sensitivity

Samuel Sternberg, Columbia University

Molecular innovation at the interface between transposons and CRISPR-Cas systems 

Morayma Temoche-Diaz, Metagenomi

Genome editing using novel reverse transcriptases discovered from metagenomics 

David Schwark, Pairwise

A Novel Mechanistic Framework for Precise Sequence Replacement Using Reverse Transcriptase and Diverse CRISPR-Cas Systems 

Coffee Break 

Raul Perez-Jimenez, Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences

Evolution of CRISPR-associated endonucleases as inferred from resurrected proteins 

Lotta-Riina Sundberg, University of Jyväskylä

Mucin induces CRISPR-Cas defense in an opportunistic pathogen 

Harry Edwards, University of Nottingham

Linking the SOS response and CRISPR Cas adaptation 

Boat Trip and Dinner

Opening remarks for Day 3 

Owen Tuck, University of California Berkeley

Genome expansion by a CRISPR trimmer-integrase 

Nathaniel Burman, Montana State University

Type III CRISPR-mediated Control of a Toxin-Antitoxin System 

Stineke van Houte, University of Exeter

Understanding ecological determinants of CRISPR-phage interactions 

Hélène Chabas, ETH Zurich

CRISPR-Cas systems: a barrier for antibiotic-resistant conjugative plasmids? 

Coffee Break 

Reetta Penttinen, University of Jyväskylä

CRISPR-harboring megaphages isolated from boreal freshwater environment 

Joshua Modell, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Prophages vaccinate CRISPR-Cas populations against lytic threats

Joseph Bondy-Denomy, University of California San Francisco
Anti-CRISPR proteins as mediators of phage-host symbiosis

Lunch

Poster session #3

Kevin Forsberg, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

The mysterious origins of anti-CRISPR proteins 

Peter Fineran, University of Otago

Regulation of anti-CRISPR production 

Alexander Meeske, University of Washington

Viral cas genes antagonize CRISPR immunity 

Coffee Break 

Rotem Sorek, Weizmann Institute

Phages overcome bacterial immunity via diverse anti-defense proteins 

Giuseppina Mariano, University of Surrey 

The novel anti-phage system Shield co-opts an RmuC domain to mediate phage defense across Pseudomonas species 

David Bikard, Pasteur Institute

An anti-anti-CRISPR system: triggering cell death in response to phage counter-defenses 

Daan Swarts, Wageningen University

The diverse functions and mechanisms of prokaryotic Argonaute proteins 

Closing remarks and announcement of CRISPR2024 in New Zealand 

Conference Dinner with wine tasting in the Würzburg Residenz wine cellar 

City tour 

Kiliani Volksfest