ÌÇÐÄTV

Electrical Cell Biology Workshop

28/29 March 2019
Radcliffe Conference Centre, University of ÌÇÐÄTV, Coventry, UK

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The theoretical and experimental inquiry within biological sciences has never fully embraced an electrical viewpoint. While important studies of bioelectrical processes have and are being conducted, such as the Nobel-winning chemiosmotic mechanism of energy generation on membranes and the chemical basis of neuronal electrical processes, these are commonly considered as confined processes not relating to other cellular functions or being specific to certain cell types only (e.g. neurons). Fragmented individual studies on a diverse range of biological systems, conducted over the last decade, however, show that electrical forces and electrochemical gradients are fundamental in maintaining all kinds of cellular functions and organising them across space/time.

We are at an exciting nexus, to develop a new theoretical and experimental framework that links electrical forces to the cell biological mechanisms that generate, sense, and use them. The goal of this international workshop is to facilitate this process through interdisciplinary scientific exchange.

Sponsored by:

*This meeting is sponsored by the EPSRC NetworkPlus "Physics out of Equilibrium" and is therefore subsidised for the members of that network (https://emneq.org/)

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FINAL PROGRAMME - click on the links to view the presentations!

28 March 2018:

9:30 – 10:20 Registration

10:20 – 10:30 Introduction and workshop motivationLink opens in a new window (O. Soyer)

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10:30 – 12:00 Session 1: Electrochemistry meets biology

Shelley Minteer (U of Utah): ‘Mechanisms of Extracellular Electron Transfer: From Methods of Evaluation to Materials for Promotion’

Pat Unwin (U of ÌÇÐÄTV): ‘Lab-on-a-Tip: Multifunctional Nanoscale Electrochemical Probes for Single Cell Measurements’

Andrew Marsh (U of ÌÇÐÄTV): ‘Bacterial adhesion and molecular interactionsLink opens in a new window’ 

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12:00 – 13:30 Lunch

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13:30 – 15:00 Session 2: Mammalian cell bioelectricity

Mustafa Djamgoz (Imperial College London): ‘Bioelectricity of cancer’

Sonia Antoranz Contera (U of Oxford): ‘Electromechanical coupling in neurons, collagen and the extracellular matrix’

Roland Knorr (Max Planck Institute): ‘Membranes in electric fields’

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15:00 – 15:30 Coffee

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15:30 – 17:00 Session 3: Bacterial electrical signaling

Minsu Kim (Emory University): ‘Tight regulation of electrically-charged substrate transportLink opens in a new window’

Arthur Prindle (Northwestern University): ‘Emergent metabolic dynamics in microbial communitiesLink opens in a new window’

Munehiro Asally (U of ÌÇÐÄTV): ‘Electrically induced bacterial membrane potential dynamicsLink opens in a new window’

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17:00 – 18:00 Coffee and Open discussion

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18:00 – 19:00 Poster Session and Drinks

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19:00 – Late Dinner

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29 March 2019:

9:30 – 11:00 Session 4: Electro-biophysics and bioengineering

Robert Bradley (Imperial College London): 'Engineering electroactivity for signalling, energy, and electrosynthesisLink opens in a new window'

Dr Paulo Rocha (U of Bath): ‘Detecting minuscule electrical activity of cell populationsLink opens in a new window’

Teuta Pilizota (U of Edinburgh): ‘Single-cell bacterial electrophysiologyLink opens in a new window’

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11:00 – 11:30 Coffee

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11:30 – 13:00 Session 5: Metabolism as an electron-flow system

Orkun Soyer (U of ÌÇÐÄTV): ‘Understanding metabolism as an electrical processLink opens in a new window’

Matthias Heinemann (U of Groningen): ‘An upper limit on Gibbs energy dissipation governs cellular metabolism’

Joff Silberg (Rice University): ‘Using synthetic protein electron carriers to control bacterial metabolism’

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13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

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14:00 – 15:30 Session 6: Plant bioelectricity

Murray Grant (U of ÌÇÐÄTV): ‘Do variation potentials underpin systemic plant immunityLink opens in a new window’

George Bassel (U of Birmingham): ‘Information processing and distributed computing in plant organs’

Giovanni Sena (Imperial College London): ‘Feel the force: root electrotropism in Arabidopsis’

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15:30 – 17:00 Coffee/Cake and Open discussion

 

Event documents for download:

Event Programme

FAQ - ÌÇÐÄTV ConferencesLink opens in a new window

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If you have any queries, please contact mary.coates@warwick.ac.uk

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Notes:

The workshop will be taking place in RAD space 12

Speakers: Talks to be no longer than 25min to allow plenty of discussion time.

Posters: These can be A0 (Portrait) or A1 (Landscape or Portrait).

Parking: There is ample free parking at Radcliffe Conference CentreLink opens in a new window

Directions: Use postcode CV4 7SH