Program and Abstract Book - 19th International C. elegans Meeting

PLENARY, PARALLEL AND WORKSHOP LISTINGSSaturday, June 29 1:30 PM–3:00 PMGSA Plenary Session and Workshop for UndergraduateResearchersRoom: SouthbayOrganizer: Elizabeth Ruedi, Genetics Society of AmericaUndergraduate conference attendees are invited to an “UndergraduatePlenary Session”, with talks presented at a level appropriate for anundergraduate audience. Undergraduates will have a chance to talk toa panel of graduate students about graduate school, after whichstudents will have a chance to break into small groups and participatein a discussion about a specific topic relevant to graduate schoolapplications, admission, CV preparation and funding.Speakers:Morris Maduro, Probing Gene Regulatory Networks in the EarlyC. elegans Embryo.Diana Chu, Using Worm Sperm to Understand the Fundamentalsof Fertility.Saturday, June 29 1:30 PM–6:15 PMBridging the Divide between the C. elegans and ParasiticNematode CommunitiesRoom: Northwest AuditoriumOrganizer: Martin Chalfie, Columbia UniversityOrganizing Committee:Barton Slatko, New England BiolabsSusan Strome, University of California, Santa CruzWilliam Sullivan, University of California, Santa CruzCollege of Medicine, Urgent needs for R&D on human helminthinfectionsDr. Frederic Landmann, Dept of MCD Biology, UC Santa Cruz, The cellbiology of Wolbachia-Filarial nematode symbiosisDr. Conor Caffrey, Center for Discovery and Innovation in ParasiticDiseases, Dept. of Pathology University of California San Francisco,Schistosomics:developing a discovery tool kit for the global flatwormdisease, schistosomiasisDr. Mark Blaxter, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University ofEdinburgh, More than just one "worm": nematode diversity revealed bythe first fruits of the 959 nematode genomes initiative.Saturday, June 29 2:30 PM–4:30 PMTeaching Workshop III - Educating Scientists for the 21stCentury: Focus on High-Impact Learning StrategiesRoom: Sunset Village Study LoungeOrganizers: Jennifer Miskowski, Univ. of WI, La Crosse, andJonathan Karpel, Southern Utah Univ.This workshop should be of interest to educators at all levels and typesof institutions who have a dedicated commitment to teaching. Thepresenters at this workshop will share innovative teaching materialsand techniques, with an emphasis on those that are used in, or can beadapted to, smaller class sizes. The presentations will include, but arenot limited to, C. elegans-based approaches, interdisciplinarycourses/programs related to developmental biology, active learningexercises, and high-tech applications that have been used effectively inthe classroom.Each year infections of animals and plants by parasitic nematodes causemany billions of dollars of agricultural damage. Over a billion peopleworldwide, particularly in developing nations, are infected bynematodes and suffer from the resulting debilitating diseases.Currently, only a few investigators address problems of parasiticnematodes using C. elegans. We would like to encourage and facilitatemore C. elegans researchers to do so. In this workshop, expertsstudying parasitic nematodes and their control will talk about theproblems faced by their field and indicate areas where the C. eleganscommunity may help. The workshop will provide information aboutparasitic nematodes and efforts to combat them as well asampleopportunity for discussions.Speakers:Dr. Heidi Goodrich-Blair, Dept. of Bacteriology, Madison, WI, Atripartite association:Steinernema nematodes, Xenorhabdusbacteria,and insectsDr. David Bird, Dept. of Plant Pathology, North Carolina StateUniversity, Omic-empowered genetics of the root-knot nematode,Meloidogyne hapla:Mendelian and QT loci defining parasitism traitsDr. Peter Jay Hotez, National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor24