On Friday July 4th 2025, come and join us for a full day of science and celebration at CECAD!
Starting from Wednesday June 11th, you can purchase the wristbands for food and drinks at the CECAD entrance during working hours. You will need to be there in person, as registration occurs by signing up on the participation list.
The total number of wristbands is limited and they can be bought ONLY until June 26th! No exceptions can be made after that date.
Wristbands (5 € adults, 3€ children) are the pre-requirement to get food & drinks.
Together with the wristbands, you will receive vouchers which you need to pick up food and drinks.
You will receive:
Children do only get the meal vouchers. Non-alcoholic drinks are available for everyone who has a ribbon, no voucher is needed.
Prof. Dr. Eunjung (Alice) Lee is an Associate Professor in the Division of Genetics and Genomics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. She holds a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from KAIST and previously trained in systems biology at UC San Diego. Her research explores the landscape and mechanisms of somatic genomic alterations in human neurons, with a focus on how DNA damage, particularly from oxidative stress and topoisomerase-mediated processes, contributes to neurodegenerative disorders. Lee’s team applies cutting‑edge approaches including single‑neuron whole‑genome sequencing, duplex sequencing, computational retrotransposon analysis, and splice‑switching oligonucleotide frameworks across multiple disease models. Their recent work reveals recurrent somatic single‑nucleotide variants and insertions/deletions across ALS, FTD, CTE, and Alzheimer’s disease, implicating TOP1-associated mutagenesis as a potential convergent driver of neuronal genomic instability.
More information is available at her lab website: compgen.hms.harvard.edu.
Dr. Sandra M. Scharaw leads a research group at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, where her team investigates the cell biology of tissue renewal and how it changes with age. With a background in Cell and Molecular Biology, she earned her Ph.D. at EMBL Heidelberg studying membrane trafficking using imaging-based assays. During her postdoctoral work at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, she transitioned to tissue-level systems, developing organoid models to explore secretory pathway organisation in adult stem cells. Her current research focuses on how secretory organelles, particularly the Golgi complex, are spatially arranged in intestinal stem cells and how these arrangements shift over time. Using cross-scale approaches such as 3D intestinal organoids, live-cell imaging, and volume electron microscopy, her group aims to uncover the principles that govern organelle function in stem cell-mediated tissue renewal across the lifespan.
More information is available at: https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/research-groups/current-groups/scharaw
| 12:10–12:15 | Welcome | |
|---|---|---|
| SESSION I | CHAIR: Andreas Beyer | |
| 12:15–13:00 | KEYNOTE: Alice Eunjung Lee | "Recurrent patterns of widespread neuronal genomic damage shared by major neurodegenerative disorders" (UoC Global Faculty, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA) |
| 13:00–13:45 | Lukas Steuernagel | "Defining the cellular architecture of the hypothalamus and hindbrain across species" (University of Cologne, Germany) |
| 13:45–14:15 | M. Cristina Polidori | "Time and Medicine: From Biomolecules to Well-being?" (University Hospital Cologne, Germany) |
| 14:15–14:45 | Gabriele Zaffagnini | "Protein homeostasis during mammalian female reproduction" (University of Cologne, Germany) |
| 14:45–15:00 | Coffee/Tea Break | |
| 15:00–15:30 | General Assembly | "Looking back at CECAD in 2025 so far" |
| SESSION II | CHAIR: Elisa Motori | |
| 15:30–16:00 | Costas Demetriades | "Cell Biological Principles of Nutrient Signaling to mTORC1" (University of Cologne, Germany) |
| 16:00–16:30 | Aleksandra Trifunovic | "Mitochondrial stress signals and unexpected cellular adaptations" (University of Cologne, Germany) |
| 16:30–17:00 | Gilles Storelli | "A developmental switch in gut function supports growth and maturation in Drosophila" (University of Cologne, Germany) |
| 17:00–17:05 | Short Break | |
| 17:05–17:50 | KEYNOTE: Sandra Scharaw | "Cell biology of tissue renewal and the changes with age" (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany) |
| From 18:00 | Get-Together | With music, human-table-soccer, karaoke and food |
Feel free to add anything you would like to share... from a song from your home country to your favorite summer hit!
Want to participate to this year's human tabel soccer games? Then gather the following information for your team:
And send an email with the info to Gülsum and Kim at opgenoorth[at]uni-koeln.de AND gersoy[at]uni-koeln.de by Tuesday, July 1st.
After the talks, from 18:00, we will meet to celebrate with food, drinks, music, and community games (human-table-soccer and karaoke).
The traditional Bratwurst will be served together with fresh drinks, alcohol-free drinks as well as poultry, vegan meal options. A limited amount of gluten-free bread will be available for the Bratwurst for those who requested it - ask for it at the grill stand.
Let’s avoid FOOD WASTE!
* Whether team #Piggy #Chicky #Vegan or #GlutenFree...
Vote on the provided doodle by June 26th and tell us your choice!
Vote using the QR-Code or following this LINK.
Website, Graphics and Info Material
by Dr. Tanio Calabrese (Gaetano)