Conference Description
The Peptide Materials GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
This second-ever Peptide Materials GRC builds on the highly successful inaugural meeting in 2023 and will include a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from research institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference will explore molecular through macroscopic design and materials creation based on peptides and their derivatives and mimics. Topics of focus in the field include both fundamental research in peptide design, synthesis, assembly, molecular conjugation, gelation, coacervation, and phase behavior as well as diverse technological applications such as functional materials for catalysis, drug delivery, imaging, regenerative medicine, adhesion, inorganic material templating, as well as structural materials such as high performance fibers, 2-D materials, and hierarchical 3D materials. Instead of focusing on the therapeutic, biological and electronic properties of individual peptides, this meeting is intended to highlight the materials properties that emerge from, and are uniquely associated with, the intermolecular self-assembly, fabrication, and organization of peptidic units in solution, in bulk, or at interfaces. Molecular designs to be discuss are inspired by natural proteins while others are de novo, computationally designed. Synthetic chemistry and biosynthesis will be fundamental to molecule syntheses discussed. Molecules will be based on natural and non-natural amino acids as well as their mimics, such as peptoids. The physical principles underlying solution assembly and material behavior will be a focus as will the characterization of nanoscale through macroscale material properties. The connection of peptide materials research to larger molecules such as polypeptides and multimeric and folded proteins will also be covered.
The topics, speakers, and discussion leaders for the conference sessions are displayed below. The conference chair is currently developing their detailed program, which will include the complete meeting schedule, as well as the talk titles for all speakers. The detailed program will be available by September 21, 2024. Please check back for updates.
Keynote Session: The Chemistry and Physics of Peptide Self-Assembly
Discussion Leaders
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Samuel Gellman (University of Wisconsin - Madison, United States)
Speakers
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Matthew Tirrell (University of Chicago, United States)
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Monica Olvera de la Cruz (Northwestern University, United States)
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Anna Mitraki (University of Crete and IESL/FORTH, Greece, Greece)
Hydrogels and Hybrids for Human Health
Discussion Leaders
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Gali Fichman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
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Lesley Chow (Lehigh University, United States)
Speakers
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Honggang Cui (Johns Hopkins University, United States)
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Alberto Saiani (The University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
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Beatriu Escuder (Universitat Jaume I, Spain)
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Phil Dawson (Scripps Research, United States)
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Pol Besenius (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany)
Synthesizing New Molecules for New Materials
Discussion Leaders
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Garry Laverty (Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom)
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Zhibin Guan (University of California, Irvine, United States)
Speakers
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John Matson (Virginia Tech, United States)
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Sara Pellegrino (University of Milano, Italy)
Molecular Design and Biomimicry for Self-Assembly
Discussion Leaders
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Herdeline Ann Ardoña (UC Irvine, United States)
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Jian Lu (University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
Speakers
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Silvia Marchesan (University of Trieste, Italy)
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Xuehai Yan (Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
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Renko De Vries (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
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Tell Tuttle (University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom)
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Ulf Olsson (Lund University, Sweden)
Natural Materials Inspiring New Synthetic Materials
Discussion Leaders
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Phillip Messersmith (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
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Danielle Mai (Stanford University, United States)
Speakers
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Matthew Harrington (McGill University, Canada)
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Sinan Keten (Northwestern University, United States)
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David Kaplan (Tufts University, United States)
New Materials Through Physical and Covalent Peptide Assembly in Solution and in Silico
Discussion Leaders
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Phanourios Tamamis (Texas A&M University, United States)
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Lihi Adler-Abramovich (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
Speakers
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Ayala Lampel (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
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Ian Hamley (University of Reading, United Kingdom)
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Chris Kloxin (University of Delaware, United States)
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Tommy Pashuck (Lehigh University, United States)
Young Investigators-Molecule Design, Self-assembly, Biomedical Applications, and More!
Discussion Leaders
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Joel Schneider (National Cancer Institute, NIH, United States)
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Sarah Perry (University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States)
Speakers
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Helen Tran (University of Toronto, Canada)
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Abigail Knight (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States)
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Fengbin Wang (University of Alabama Birmingham, United States)
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Moran Frenkel Pinter (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
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José Villegas (University of Illinois at Chicago, United States)
Peptide-Based Materials for Biomedical and Electronic Applications
Discussion Leaders
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Ronit Bitton (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)
Speakers
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Mibel Aguilar (Monash University, Australia)
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Gilles Subra (University of Montpellier, Institute of Biomolecules Max Mousseron, France)
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Charles Schroeder (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States)
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Nurit Ashkenasy (Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)
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Allon Hochbaum (University of California, Irvine, United States)
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Aline Miller (University of Manchester, United Kingdom)
Keynote Session: An Amazing Future for Peptide Materials Through Bioinspired Design
Discussion Leaders
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Vince Conticello (Emory University, United States)
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Samuel Stupp (Northwestern University, United States)
Speakers
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Ali Miserez (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
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Carole Perry (Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom)
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Dek Woolfson (University of Bristol, United Kingdom)
The GRC Power Hourâ„¢
Organizers
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Charles Schroeder (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States)