2024 Lakeside Conference on Protein Toxins and Effectors - R13 Application, PI: BLANKE, Steven R.
SUMMARY
Protein toxins and effectors are important virulence factors for many pathogenic bacteria, contributing to
disease progression by modulating or disrupting essential functions in target cells. Historically, research has
focused on several toxins associated with important human diseases, which in some cases provided the
framework for eradicating the disease associated with the toxin. However, recent advances in microbial
genomics and discovery-based screening techniques have dramatically increased the number of toxins and
effector systems under investigation. Advances in high-resolution microscopy, structural biology, cryo-electron
microscopy, proteomics, and CRISPR have provided new tools to study the structure and function of toxins
and effectors, as well as the mechanisms by which they contribute to interactions and modulation of target
cells. This R13 application derives, in part, from the realization that, although the field of protein toxins and
effectors is rapidly expanding, important activities, such as the dissemination of research findings and
establishment of interdisciplinary collaborations, have been challenging because of a relative dearth of
scientific conferences/meetings in North America specifically centered on protein toxin/effector
structure/function and mechanism. To address this gap, we conceived, designed and launched several years
ago an "in-person-virtual" hybrid conference, the "Lakeside Conference on Protein Toxins and Effectors"
(#LakesidePTE), in October 2020, and which was followed up with a hybrid in person-online meeting in
October 2022. Based on the excitement and positive feedback resulting from these two meetings, we now
propose to follow up with the 2024 Lakeside Conference on Protein Toxins and Effectors October 6-9, at the
Abbey Conference Center located on Lake Geneva WI. The 2024 hybrid conference will concentrate on the
cellular, structural, and biochemical mechanisms of protein toxin and effector action, along with exploring the
translational potential of these proteins for treating human diseases. The conference will be organized by Chair
Dr. Steven Blanke at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Vice Chair Dr. Min Dong from Harvard
Medical School. A six-member scientific advisory board will assist in selection of speakers and abstract review.
There will be 5 sessions and a keynote address Ten additional invited speakers will anchor five scientific
sessions that will be filled out with talks selected from abstracts. Here we are seeking NIAID funds 1) to
support registration fees and travel for keynote and invited speakers, (2) to offer registration scholarship
awards for underrepresented minority post-docs and graduate students and (3) for audiovisual support for a
hybrid meeting that will be simultaneously live streamed. This support from NIAID will bring together
microbiologists, biochemists, structural biologists, and biophysicists to encourage new collaborations across
disease and phylogenetic boundaries and test an innovative model for the future of this conference as a hybrid
conference that will reach a global audience.
