We are pleased to announce the 6th European Meeting on Planarian Biology that is going to take place from October 13th to 15th, 2024, at Hotel Cap Roig in Platja d’Aro, Catalonia. In line with previous editions, such as EMPB2022, the aim of the meeting is to bring together the European planarian research community to discuss recent advances in flatworm biology, to exchange tips and tricks and to strengthen the links and collaborations between all labs. Talks by postdocs and graduate students will be an integral part of the program (see below), as well as plenty of time for discussion, poster sessions, round-table sessions and simply time for socializing by the sea.
If some attendant is coming by train,
please contact the organizers (tadellc at ub.edu),
as they will enjoy some benefits.
please contact the organizers (tadellc at ub.edu),
as they will enjoy some benefits.
X/Tweet #EMPB2024 We hope to see you all there!!!
Registration
As always, we have tried to keep the registration fee as low as possible in order to maximize the number of participants. The registration fee covers meeting participation, all meals and accommodation. It will be 150€ x roommate in a shared room and 220€ in a single room, per day and person. All conference activities will take place at the hotel Cap Roig and the hotel has sufficient capacity to house all participants. We apologize, but single rooms are booking up fast. We would appreciate it if you check in double rooms. If you don’t have a partner to share, one will be suggested to you. Sorry for the inconvenience. See you soon!
The hotel registration and abstracts submission forms for EMPB2024
are already closed since September 21st.
are already closed since September 21st.
Early registrations are a great help to us, thanks for demonstrating your support!!!
Venue Information
[+]Registration to the Hotel
[+]Abstract Submission
[+]News
Junior Scientist Communication Awards
- Best Junior Scientist Talk:
Gaurav Vaidya [EMBL-Heidelberg]
Let’s talk about sex: Mechanisms of reproductive switching in planarian flatworms.
- Best Junior Scientist Short Talk:
Alberto Perez-Posada [University of Exeter]
The regulatory logic of Planarian stem cell differentiation.
- Best Poster Presentation – session A:
Fabienne Dreier [Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences]
Poster #A04 – In-situ Hybridization Chain Reaction (HCR) optimization in S. mediterranea – simplifying multi color FISH in planaria.
- Best Poster Presentation – session B:
Casey Leung [University of Toronto]
Poster #B06 – Reconstruction of positional information during homeostasis and regeneration from the spatial transcriptomics of Schmidtea mediterranea.
You can find the corresponding abstracts in the PDF of the book of abstracts for this meeting.
All attendees to #EMPB2024 gathering for the official group photo at the Hotel Cap Roig.
Information for poster presenters:
[+]
Information for regular session speakers:
[+]Conference Program
You can also find below a detailed schedule of the talks, as well as the list of posters assigned to each poster session (A or B).
SUNDAY, October 13th
| 13:00 – 15:30 | Registration at Hotel Cap Roig |
| 16:00 – 16:15 | Welcome and Opening Session |
| 16:15 – 17:15 | Keynote Invited Talk by Bo Wang Stanford University, CA, USA Learning the super power of animal diversity onecell type at a time |
| 17:15 – 19:15 | Session I – Stem cells and Regeneration Chair: Omri Wurtzel |
| 17:15 – 17:45 | Adriaan Meiborg EMBL-Heidelberg A single-cell view of growth dynamics in S. mediterranea |
| 17:45 – 18:15 | Daniel Moreno-Blass Universitat de Barcelona Cellular senescence in planarian regeneration |
| 18:15 – 18:45 | Kai Lei Westlake University The role of mitochondria in planarian neoblast pluripotency and regeneration |
| 18:45 – 19:00 | Alberto Perez-Posada [Short Talk] University of Exeter The regulatory logic of Planarian stem cell differentiation |
| 19:00 – 19:15 | Sophie Peron [Short Talk] University of Exeter Deciphering clonal lineages using natural somatic mutations in an entire adult organism |
| 19:30 – 20:00 | Welcome Cocktail |
| 20:00 – 21:30 | Dinner |
| 21:30 – | Official Conference Opening Surprise (dressed for a walk on the beach) |
MONDAY, October 14th
| 09:00 – 11:00 | Session II – Immune and Toxin Responses Chair: Karen Smeets |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Omri Wurtzel Tel Aviv University Elucidating the role of the immune system in Planarian regeneration |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Prasad Abnave NCCS Pune The Role of PGRPs in Planarian Immune Resilience to Bacterial Infection |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Leonard Drees Max Plank Institute - NAT Innate immunity limits transgene expression in S. mediterranea |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Guillaume Reho & Hervé Cadiou [Short Talk] Université de Strasbourg The need for nociception: planarians are no exception |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Karolien Bijnens [Short Talk] Hasselt University Planarians as an alternative in vivo model to study micro- and nanoparticle-induced neurodevelopmental toxicity |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | “Explain your Poster” Session A |
| 11:15 – 13:00 | Coffee Break / Poster Session A |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Lunch |
| 14:30 – 16:30 | Session III – Regeneration and Stem Cells Chair: Hanh Vu |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Virginia Vanni University of Exeter Single-cell characterization of planarian regeneration |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Martijn Heleven Hasselt University From Amputation to Axis formation: The role of early MAPK/ERK activation and redox signals during regeneration |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Ying Yang China National Center for Bioinformation RNA modification regulates planarian regeneration |
| 16:00 – 16:15 | Daniel Font [Short Talk] Universitat de Barcelona MFN2 is Necessary for Stem Cell Proliferation During Growth but Dispensable During Starvation |
| 16:15 – 16:30 | Bret Pearson [Short Talk] Oregon Health & Science University Investigating the Origins and Function of Planarian Glia |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Coffee break |
| 17:00 – 19:00 | Session IV – Beyond S. mediterranea Chair: Claus Kuhn |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Helena García-Castro University of Exeter Intra- and Inter-Species Cell Type Comparisons in Planarians by Single-Cell Transcriptomics |
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Jochen Rink Max Plank Institute - NAT Towards planarian comparative genomics |
| 18:00 – 18:30 | Gaurav Vaidya EMBL-Heidelberg Let’s talk about sex: Mechanisms of reproductive switching in planarian flatworms |
| 18:30 – 18:45 | Animan Tripathi [Short Talk] Max Plank Institute - NAT Understanding molecular mechanisms of head and tail regeneration in Stenostomum brevipharyngium |
| 18:45 – 19:00 | Jason Pellettieri [Short Talk] Keene State College Flatworm transcriptomes reveal widespread parasitism by histophagous ciliates |
| 19:00 – 19:15 | “Explain your Poster” Session B |
| 20:00 – 21:30 | Dinner |
| 21:30 – 23:00 | Poster Session B |
TUESDAY, October 15th
| 09:00 – 10:00 | Session V – Planarian Cell Biology Chair: Prasad Abnave |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Andreas Pittroff University of Bayreuth Definition of m6A sites in the planarian transcriptome with single-nucleotide precision and characterization of their effects on mRNA fate |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Nikhil Kumar Institute for Stem Cell Science & Regenerative Medicine (INSTEM) Sneak peek into mechanisms regulating neoblast maintenance and differentiation |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Keynote Invited Talk (Virtual) by Prof. Oded Rechavi Tel-Aviv University, IL Transgenerational Small RNA Memories |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Coffee Break |
| 12:00 – 12:45 | Session VI – Cool tools Round Table Open Discussion - New Technologies |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Nelson Hall Stowers Institute for Medical Research Manipulating and monitoring wound-healing and regeneration in Macrostomum lignano |
| 12:45 – 13:00 | Future Directions and Concluding Remarks |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 – | Departure |
POSTERS
| Poster Session A | ||
| A01 | Balaji, Kalyani | A comparative analysis of RNA interference mechanisms in planarian flatworms. |
| A02 | Bian, Zhengyue | Gene regulatory basis of the Wnt/β-Catenin switch in planarian head/tail regeneration. |
| A03 | Cuadrado, Daniel | Impact of EGR2 and RERE in Anteroposterior Regeneration in Planarians. |
| A04 | Dreier, Fabienne | In-situ Hybridization Chain Reaction (HCR) optimization in S. mediterranea – simplifying multi color FISH in planaria. |
| A05 | Hall, Nelson | A genetic and microscopy toolkit for manipulating and monitoring regeneration in Macrostomum lignano. |
| A06 | Höhn, Constantin | Examining the Impact of m6A loss on the Planarian Transcriptome. |
| A07 | Lorenzo, Marina | Investigating the relation between regeneration and sexual strategy in two planarian species: Dugesia subtentaculata and Dugesia vilafarrei. |
| A08 | Mautner, Melinda | GTSF1 boosts the catalytic activity of PIWI proteins: Does planarian GTSF1 do the same? |
| A09 | Mirkes, Kristina | Investigating the Role of the ECM in Regulating Size-Dependent Growth. |
| A10 | Naskar, Somdatta | Functional analysis of a Z-DNA Binding Protein in Planaria. |
| A11 | Plšková, Karolina | First record of the land planarian species Rhynchodemus sylvaticus in a nature of Czechia. |
| A12 | Segnana, Charlotte | Wired for Healing: exploring neuronal control of intestial regeneration in planaria. |
| A13 | Shomrat, Tal | Searching for efficient anesthetic substances for electrophysiological studies in planaria. |
| A14 | Stranges, Mattia | Establishing a minimal promoter sequence required for proliferation-specific expression in the flatworm Macrostomum lignano. |
| A15 | Weiss, Philipp | Establishing Camerata robusta as a model organism for regeneration and embryogenesis. |
| Poster Session B | ||
| B01 | Bavafaye Haghighi, Elham | Towards a three dimensional Gene Regulatory Network to Integrate Multi-Omics Time Series of Regeneration Dynamics. |
| B02 | Bormann, Eric | The role of the ECM in controlling the growth of Schmidtea mediterranea. |
| B03 | Dutta, Annasha | Identification and characterization of planarian multinucleated cells. |
| B04 | Guixeras Fontana, Anna | Smed-cbp-3 is essential for progenitor cells lineage progression and parenchymal cells gene regulation in planarians. |
| B05 | Heleven, Martijn | Autofluorescence, more than a challenge: The role of riboflavin in planarian sensing. |
| B06 | Leung, Casey | Reconstruction of positional information during homeostasis and regeneration from the spatial transcriptomics of Schmidtea mediterranea. |
| B07 | Mandal, Arkadeep | Investigating the Role of Activin Signaling in the Reproductive System of Sexual Schmidtea mediterranea. |
| B08 | Mellado Fuentes, Ana | Establishment of an ultra-scalable multiplexed single-cell RNA sequencing protocol for planarian flatworms. |
| B09 | Moroni, Maria Lina | Size-dependence of neoblast abundance and activity in S. mediterranea. |
| B10 | Palavalli, Amrutha | Inference of planarian life history strategies from organismal-scale single-cell transcriptomics. |
| B11 | Rabiasz, Alicja | Smed-spag1 is required for motile cilia function, while Smed-polr2k is essential for planarian regeneration and maintaining body homeostasis. |
| B12 | Reho, Guillaume | TRPA1 agonists-induced nociceptive responses in planarians. |
| B13 | Spagnoletti, Luca | Deciphering the evolutionary conservation of Planarian neural regeneration: A Genetic Screening Approach in Mammalian Cells. |
| B14 | Vlachonikolou, Maria | How do planarian flatworms colonise the land? |
| B15 | Zaremba, Anastasiia | A comprehensive pipeline for genome annotation: a case study on Schmidtea mediterranea. |
Organization
- Teresa Adell, University of Barcelona, Catalunya.
- Jordi Solana, LSI, University of Exeter.
- Jochen Rink, MPI-NAT, Goettingen, Germany.
- Web and proceedings manager: Josep F Abril, University of Barcelona, Catalunya.
Sponsors
We are grateful to the EMPB2024 sponsors: