Vilcek Science Symposium
October 19-October 20, 2022

About

The Vilcek Science Symposium brings together a cohort of outstanding scientists born outside of the United States to discuss their journeys and their scientific accomplishments. This two-day symposium will include scientific presentations by leaders from various biomedical research fields, a panel discussion about immigrants in science, and a group mentoring session.

The Vilcek Science Symposium is organized in partnership with the Vilcek Foundation and Gladstone Institutes. The symposium is hosted by the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and sponsored by Laurie Yoler and Ben Lenail, Palo Alto-based technology executives. Speakers include Vilcek Foundation Prizewinning scientists; The Vilcek Foundation Prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of immigrants to biomedical research, culture, and society in the United States.
 
The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from former Czechoslovakia. The foundation’s mission is to raise awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and to foster an appreciation for the arts and sciences. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded more than $6.4 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.8 million in grants. 

Jeanne Paz, PhD, conference chair and associate investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, received the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Sciences in 2019.

Due to ongoing pandemic precautions, in-person attendance is limited to invited guests, but the event will be open to everyone via livestream.

Details

Dates
October 19, 2022
9:00am-5:00pm

October 20, 2022
9:00am-12:30pm
Location
Mahley Auditorium, Online
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Audience
Scientific
Contact(s)






Program

Wednesday, October 19, 2022
9:00am Welcome
Lennart Mucke, MD, Director and Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND)
9:05am Introduction
Jeanne Paz, PhD, Event Host and Associate Investigator, GIND
9:10am History Overview
Jan Vilcek, MD, PhD, Co-founder, CEO and Chairman, Vilcek Foundation
Marica Vilcek, Co-founder, Vice Chairman, Vilcek Foundation
Rick Kinsel, MA, President, Vilcek Foundation
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS
9:30am Talking to Cells Deep Inside the Body with Biomolecular Ultrasound
Mikhail Shapiro, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Director, Center for Molecular and Cellular Medicine, and Professor of Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
10:00am Thalamic Regulation of Prefrontal Dynamics for Cognitive Control
Michael Halassa, MD, PhD, Associate Investigator, McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10:30am Break
10:40am The Multi-tasking TMEM16F
Lily Jan, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Jack and DeLoris Lange Professor of Molecular Physiology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
11:10am Mechano-sensitive Channels Involved in Neurological Disorders
Yuh Nung Jan, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Jack and DeLoris Lange Professor of Molecular Physiology, UCSF
11:40am The Immunology of Blood: Unlocking Drivers of Neurodegeneration
Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, Director, Gladstone-UCSF Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology and Senior Investigator, GIND
12:10pm Break
PANEL DISCUSSION
1:30pm Immigrants in Science
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS
2:30pm Getting Across Barriers: Gene Delivery Across the Blood-brain Barrier for Precise and Minimally-invasive Study and Repair of Nervous Systems
Viviana Gradinaru, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering at Caltech; Director, Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at Chen Institute at Caltech
3:00pm Phosphorylation-inducing Chimeric Small Molecules
Amit Choudhary, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Biologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
3:30pm Deconstructing Cellular and Circuit Mechanisms in Epilepsy
Jeanne Paz, PhD, Associate Investigator, GIND
4:00pm Break
GROUP MENTORING SESSIONS
4:10-5:00pm Gladstone Trainees and Symposium Speakers
Thursday, October 20, 2022
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS
9:00am Chemogenetic and Optogenetic Technologies for Probing Molecular and Cellular Networks
Alice Ting, PhD, Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and Professor of Genetics, Biology and Chemistry, Stanford University
9:30am Imaging Brain Neurochemistry with Nanomaterials
Markita del Carpio Landry, PhD, Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
10:00am From Stem Cell to Assembloids: Constructing and Deconstructing the Human Nervous System to Study Disease
Sergiu Pasca, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Uytengsu Director of Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Stanford University 
10:30am Break
10:45am Cell Atlases as Roadmaps to Understand and Treat Disease
Aviv Regev, PhD, Vice President, Genentech Research and Early Development
11:15am Genetic and Neurophysiological Approaches to Tackle Rett Syndrome and MECP2 Disorders
Huda Zoghbi, MD, Director, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Distinguished Service Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine
11:45am Building Molecular QR Codes to Store Human Cell Identity
Hani Goodarzi, PhD, Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and Assistant Professor of Biochemisty & Biophysics, and Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, UCSF    
12:15pm Closing Remarks
Deepak Srivastava, MD, President, Gladstone Institutes

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Gladstone, we are committed to providing events and professional development activities that resonate with our community’s diverse members. Our goal is to develop creative programming that encompasses a wide variety of ideas and perspectives to inspire, educate, and engage with everyone within our walls.

We want to effect positive change through our events and activities by providing a platform for discussions on important topics related to increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the sciences.