Preliminary
Program
Friday, May 2, 2025
4:00-5:00 pm
Registration & Poster Setup for Poster Session 1
Informal pre-meeting mixer
There will not be on-site registration.
5:00-5:15 pm
Welcome & Opening Remarks
5:15-7:00 pm Session 1
Chair: Lomeli Shull, Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
5:15-6:00 pm Keynote:
Irene Salinas, Professor, University of New Mexico
Defense molecules, skin remodeling and the molecular basis for water-land transitions in vertebrates
6:00-6:15 pm
Si Cave, Graduate Student, Harris Lab, Arizona State University
The regeneration-specific protein Asperous directs Wg-mediated growth and tissue repatterning post-injury
6:15-6:30 pm
Franchesca Ortega, Research Assistant, Unguez Lab, New Mexico State University
Alternative splicing (AS) and the maintenance of a non-contractile myogenically-derived cell functioning with an early developmental muscle program
6:30-7:00 pm
Jennifer Fang, Assistant Professor, Tulane University
Evidence for a Novel Partial Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Signaling Axis in Developmental and Pathological Sprouting Angiogenesis
7:00-7:30 pm
Lightning Talks for Poster Session 1
7:30-9:30 pm
Poster Session 1
with light snacks & refreshments
Saturday, May 3, 2025
8:30-10:00 am Session 2
Chair: Marycruz Flores Flores, Postdoc, University of Colorado Anschutz
8:30-9:00 am
Rosa Navarro Gonzalez, Professor, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
TBD
9:00-9:15 am
Noah Castro, Undergraduate, Milligan Lab, University of New Mexico HSC
Intrathecal Dexpramipexole as a Potential Therapeutic for Neuropathic Pain and its Effects on Cytokine Modulation
9:15-9:30 am
Krystal Goyins, Graduate Student, Barton Lab, University of Texas at San Antonio
Too much of a good thing: Juvenile hormone degradation is required for male and female fertility in Drosophila
9:30-10:00 am
Kazue Hashimoto-Torii, Associate Professor, Children’s National Research Institute
Physiochemical Descriptor-Based Modeling Identifies Unique Hypoxia-Protective Proteins in the Extremotolerant Water Bears (Tardigrades)
10:00-10:30 am
Break & Teardown of Posters from Poster Session 1
10:30-12:15 am Session 3
Chair: Christian Mosimann, Associate Professor, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Chair for the Cardiac Research Director, University of Colorado Anschutz
10:30-11:15 am Keynote:
Keiko Torii, Professor, HHMI Investigator, Johnson & Johnson Centennial Chair in Plant Cell Biology, University of Texas at Austin
Unlocking the secret of development through the lens of plant stomata
11:15-11:30 pm
Leisha Martin, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Persistent Immunotoxicity and Metabolic Reprogramming Following PFAS Exposure During Thymic Maturation in Marine Medaka
11:30-11:45 pm
Berenyce Gonzalez Marin, Postdoc, Recillas Lab, National Autonomous University of Mexico
CTCF Loss Disrupts Developmental Timing and Neural Organization in Drosophila melanogaster
11:45-12:15 pm
Keren Hilgendorf, Assistant Professor, University of Utah
The primary cilium regulates adipocyte stem cell fate during adipose tissue expansion
12:15-1:45 pm
Lunch & Poster Setup for Poster Session 2
1:45-3:15 pm Session 4: Education Session
Chair: Syed, Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
1:45-1:50 pm Introduction
1:50-2:35 pm Short talks from Education Session Invited Speakers
Christa Merzdorf, Montana State University
Jocelyn Lee, Fort Lewis College
Shazia Tabassum, Dine College
Kim Eichorst, UNM Biology BEMP program
Kim Scheerer, NM MESA
Fernando Valenzuela, NM Alcohol Research Center
2:35-3:15 pm Panel Discussion
3:15-3:45 pm Break
3:45-5:15 pm Session 5
Chair: Tou Yia Vue, Associate Professor, University of New Mexico HSC
3:45-4:15 pm
Jennifer Hill, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
Mapping host-microbe interactions that impact postnatal islet development and health
4:15-4:45 pm
Jeff Jones, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
TBD
4:45-5:00 pm
Priscilla Figueroa, Graduate Student, Dorsky Lab, University of Utah
otpb functions in a Lef1-dependent transcriptional network to generate crhbp+ neurons in the hypothalamus posterior recess to modulate stressful stimuli in larval zebrafish
5:00-5:15 pm
Adil Wani, Graduate Student, Syed Lab, University of New Mexico
Ecdysone Signaling and E93 Direct the Development and function of Sleep-Regulating dFB Neurons
5:15-5:45 pm
Lightning Talks for Poster Session 2
5:45-7:45 pm
Poster Session 2
with Dinner
Sunday, May 4, 2025
8:30-10:00 am Session 6
Chair: Syed, Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
8:30-9:00 am
Jacob Jaszczak, Assistant Professor, New Mexico State University
Dissection of multi-sensory development through sensory switches in Drosophila
9:00-9:15 am
Harrison Wells, Graduate Student, Mosimann Lab, University of Colorado Anschutz
An auto-regulatory feedback loop governs endoderm and ventro-lateral cell fate induction in zebrafish
9:15-9:30 am
Md Golam Azom, Graduate Student, Masly Lab, University of Oklahoma
A novel gene encodes a secreted protein that specifies variation in a rapidly evolving male reproductive structure
9:30-10:00 am
Andrea McQuate, Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
Spaghetti and Beans: Mitochondrial architecture in zebrafish lateral line hair cells
10:00-10:30 am
Break & Tear Down of Posters from Poster Session 2
10:30-12:00 pm Session 7
Chair: Alexa Burger, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz
10:30-11:00 am
Rowan Karvas, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz
Blastoids as a window into human trophoblast development from pre- to post-implantation stages
11:00-11:15 am
Haojie Chen, Graduate Student, Vue Lab, University of New Mexico
Contactin-1 Regulates Oligodendrocyte Maturation and Myelination in the Developing Forebrain
11:15-11:30 pm
Andrea Iturralde Carrillo, Postdoc, Valenzuela Lab, University of New Mexico HSC
Acute Effects of Alcohol on GABAergic Neurotransmission in Golgi Cells of the Developing Cerebellum
11:30-12:00 pm
Margot Williams, Assistant Professor, Baylor College Medicine
Conservation of fold-and-fuse neurulation in zebrafish
12:00-12:30 pm
Award Ceremony & Closing Remarks