THURSDAY, 24 AUGUST 2023

08:30 Mikael Lindfelt, Rector, Åbo Akademi University
Opening words and presentation of the Elias Tillandz prize for the best publication
in BioCity Turku 2022
KEYNOTE LECTURE
09:00 Fiona Watt, EMBO director, Directors’ Research Unit, EMBL-Heidelberg, Germany
Exploring stem cell dynamics in human skin
09:35 Q&A
SESSION I Chairs: Guillaume Jaquemet and Ana Popović
09:45 Alexandra Naba, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Proteomic exploration of the ECM in health and disease
10:20 Q&A
10:30 POSTER SESSION A with coffee and tea
11:30 Erik Sahai, The Francis Crick Institute, UK
Cell migration and stromal cells sculpt evolutionary trajectories
12:05 Q&A
12:15 Cassie Clarke, CRUK Beatson Institute, UK
Pyrimidine metabolism shapes the metastatic microenvironment
12:30 LUNCH and exhibitions
SESSION II Chairs: Cecilia Sahlgren and Marjaana Parikainen
13:45 EMBO Young Investigator Lecture
Edouard Hannezo, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Austria
Mechanochemical bistability of intestinal organoids
14:20 Q&A
14:30 Miki Ebisuya, Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Germany
The stem cell zoo to study species-specific developmental time
15:05 Q&A
15:15 POSTER SESSION B with coffee and tea
16:15 Marjaana Ojalill, Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, USA
Ovarian tumor-intrinsic FAK-mediated regulation of the matrisome
16:30 Christopher Chen, The Biological Design Center; Boston University; Harvard University, USA
Building tissues: Harnessing forces of nature
17:05 Q&A
17:15 First symposium day ends

FRIDAY, 25 AUGUST 2023

SESSION III Chairs: Veli-Matti Kähäri and Pilvi Riihilä
09:00 Michael Sixt, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Austria
Locomotion and navigation of immune cells in complex environments09:35 Q&A
09:45 Peter Friedl, Radboud University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
Deciphering cancer invasion, metastasis and resistance programs
10:20 Q&A
10:30 POSTERS with coffee and tea
SESSION IV Chairs: Johanna Ivaska and Mathilde Mathieu
11:30 Victoria Sanz-Moreno, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Cytoskeletal remodelling as a hallmark of cancer
12:05 Q&A
12:15 Mina Tayyab, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Intestinal keratin 8 in colon tumor suppression: Lessons from murine models
12:30 Cecilia Sahlgren, Åbo Akademi University, Finland; Eindhoven University of Technology,
The Netherlands
Forces and signals in vascular homeostasis
13:05 Q&A
13:15 Ruth Fair-Mäkelä, University of Turku, Finland
Fibroblastic reticular cells regulate lymph node structure and function
13:30 LUNCH and exhibitions
SESSION V Chairs: Emilia Peuhu and Oona Paavolainen
14:45 Johanna Englund, University of Helsinki, Finland
Tumor-derived Laminin a5 is essential for luminal breast cancer initiation and identity
15:00 Vesa Hytönen, Tampere University, Finland
Talin – integrin adapter protein associated with multiple disease
15:15 Rachel Lennon, Wellcome Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, The University of Manchester, UK
Defining basement membranes: Parts, diversity and disease
15:50 Q&A
16:00 Daniel Krueger, Hubrecht Institute, The Netherlands
Beyond the barrier: Investigating immune cell migration and epithelial shedding
16:35 Q&A
16:45 Klaus Elenius, BioCity Turku Scientific Director
Closing remarks