2023 Serpins International Meeting

Connecting serpin researchers from across the globe to highlight new developments and encourage cross area collaborations.

Organized by Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics this meeting seeks to bring together active researchers in serpin biology from multiple research arenas together in beautiful St. Louis, MO, USA. The organizing committee comprises of international serpin researchers Cliff Luke, Lakshmi Wijeyewickrema, Charaf Benarafa, James Whisstock, Stephen Pak, Stephanie Markovina and Gary Silverman. We hope to highlight the many exciting areas of research currently going on and connect serpin researchers from across the globe.

Registration deadline: August 31, 2023

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Pricing

Conference only$600*
Conference + lodging: Tuesday – Thursday night$1200*
Conference + lodging: Tuesday – Friday night$1400*
* Meals included.

Lodging

The Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza Hotel is an iconic and historic hotel, residences and meeting venue in St. Louis, MO USA. This beautiful hotel boasts three restaurants, a fitness center, a pool and spa, a barber shop and a cinema. It is located in the exciting Central West End district of St. Louis and is close to the many attractions St. Louis has to offer, including the Gateway Arch, Downtown St. Louis, the World Chess Hall of Fame and of course, Forest Park, consisting of 1,300 acres of forests, parks, sports areas, nature reserves, lakes and the major cultural institutions of the area: the St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Science Center and the world famous St. Louis Zoo, all of which are free and open to the public.

The meeting will take place in the Starlight and Zodiac rooms on the top floor of the Chase featuring floor to ceiling windows that offer panoramic views of the city of St. Louis and beyond.

Abstract submissions

Abstract deadline: August 31st, 2023

Keynote speakers

Robin Carrell, PhD

Robin Carrell, PhD

Emeritus Professor of Haematology
Trinity College, University of Cambridge
Cambridge, England

Dr. Robin Carrell is a medical researcher from New Zealand whose studies, defined and named the serpins, a family of proteins that control key functions in life. With colleagues, he elucidated the structure of more than 20 serpins and demonstrated how their ability to change their shape modifies their function. He showed how this enables serpins to modulate cellular functions, most notably in the blood, including control of coagulation, carriage of hormones and regulation of blood pressure. He also demonstrated how mutations in serpins that affect their ability to change shape predispose humans to a range of diseases, including emphysema, thrombosis, and hypertension. The demonstration that the same mutations in a brain-specific serpin caused neurodegeneration has opened new insights into the molecular pathology of the late-onset dementias. Robin’s earlier work in Christchurch, New Zealand, on the stabilization of the haemoglobin molecule led to the cofounding in 1985 of biotechnology company Canterbury Scientific. A year later, he won the Hector Medal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, having been elected a Fellow (FRSNZ) in 1980.

James A. Huntington, PhD

James A. Huntington, PhD

Professor of Molecular Haemostasis
Cambridge Institute for Medical Research
Cambridge, England

Jim Huntington, Professor of Molecular Haemostasis at the University of Cambridge, is internationally recognized for elucidating the basic structural mechanisms of proteins that control blood coagulation and for applying this knowledge to develop potential therapeutics. His group have solved crystal structures of serpin polymers, revealing the mechanism of misfolding that can lead to thrombosis, emphysema, cirrhosis and dementia, and suggesting how ‘chemical chaperones’ might rescue folding. Professor Huntington’s group has also made significant discoveries on proteins and protein complexes that regulate the formation of blood clots, including prothrombinase and thrombin.

James Whisstock, PhD

James Whisstock, PhD

Deputy Dean Research
Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences
Monash University

Professor James Whisstock studied for his degree and PhD at Cambridge University. He moved to Monash in 1997. Currently, James is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging.His research interests include structural biology and drug development around immune-related complexes; these include proteases and protease inhibitors and pore forming proteins such as perforin. From a molecular perceptive his focus includes understanding embryonic patterning in Drosophila and how the perforin-like protein Torsolike controls activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase Torso.

Questions

Please contact us with any questions you may have.

Laura Klein
Events Specialist
Email: serpins2023@wustl.edu