Detailed Schedule
Browse the schedule below for session times, speakers, presentation titles, and breaks.
Sunday, October 11 — Day 1
4:00–4:10 PM | Opening Remarks
Welcome and introduction to the meeting
4:10–5:10 PM | Session 1 — Opening Keynote Lecture
Chiara Zurzolo, PhD — Institut Pasteur
From Molecular Mechanisms to Organismal Function in Health and Disease
5:10–6:25 PM | Session 2 — TNT Formation, Structure, and Molecular Mechanisms
5:10–5:35 PM | Kanae Ando, PhD — Tokyo Metropolitan University
CCT4 Drives the Formation of Microtubule-Containing TNTs
5:35–6:00 PM | Karine Gousset, PhD — California State University, Fresno
From LCM to Multi-Omics: A Multidimensional Pipeline for High-Confidence Mapping of the Filopodia Proteome
6:00–6:25 PM | Anna Pepe, PhD — Institut Pasteur
Tunneling Nanotubes: From Ultrastructure and Actin Organization to Intercellular Transfer
7:00 PM | Welcome Dinner Reception
Monday, October 12 — Day 2
8:30–9:30 AM | Session 3 — Keynote Lecture
Thomas B. Kornberg, PhD — University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Cytonemes and the Attributes of Contact-Dependent Cell–Cell Signaling
9:30–9:50 AM | Coffee Break
9:50 AM–12:00 PM | Session 4 — Cytonemes, Airinemes, and Specialized Cellular Protrusions
9:50–10:15 AM | Dae Seok Eom, PhD — University of California, Irvine
The Biology of Airinemes as a Macrophage-Dependent Mode of Intercellular Communication
10:15–10:40 AM | Sougata Roy, PhD — University of Maryland
Emerging Principles of Cytoneme Guidance: Lessons from Drosophila FGF Signaling
10:40–11:05 AM | Stacey Ogden, PhD — St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Mechanisms of Cytoneme Elongation and Stabilization for Sonic Hedgehog Transport
11:05–11:30 AM | Han Xiao, PhD — Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
Nanotube-Mediated Intercellular Communication in Cardiac Injury and Repair
11:30–11:35 AM — Short Break
11:35–11:45 AM — Selected Abstract Talk 1
11:45–11:55 AM — Selected Abstract Talk 2
11:55 AM–12:00 PM — Sponsor Presentation
12:00–1:00 PM | Lunch
1:00–2:40 PM | Session 5 — Intercellular Cargo Transfer, Development, and Tissue Homeostasis
1:00–1:25 PM | Jeffrey Gerst, PhD — Weizmann Institute of Science
Genetic Complementation via TNT-Mediated Intercellular mRNA Exchange
1:25–1:50 PM | Mingfu Wu, PhD — University of Houston
Tunneling Nanotube-Mediated Long-Distance Cell–Cell Communication in Heart Formation
1:50–2:15 PM | Francesco Pisani, PhD — University of Bari Aldo Moro
Tunneling Nanotubes Orchestrate the Spatiotemporal Regulation of Human Neural Stem Cell Fate
2:15–2:40 PM | Hua Zhu, PhD — The Ohio State University
Mitochondrial Transfer in Skeletal Muscle Cells of Friedreich's Ataxia
2:40–3:10 PM | Coffee Break
3:10–5:20 PM | Session 6 — Nanotubular Communication in the Nervous System and Neurodegenerative Disease
3:10–3:35 PM | Dimitri Budinger, PhD — University of Luxembourg
Patient-Derived iPS Cells to Study TNT-Mediated Interaction Between Microglia and Neurons
3:35–4:00 PM | Hyung-Bae Kwon, PhD — Johns Hopkins University
Brain Communication by Dendritic Nanotube Network
4:00–4:25 PM | Sangeeta Nath, PhD — Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine
Tunneling Nanotubes Support Mechanical Resilience in Astroglia
4:25–4:50 PM | Srinivasa (Srini) Subramaniam, PhD — Florida Atlantic University
Rhes Pathway for Nanotube Formation and Huntingtin Protein Spread
4:50–4:55 PM — Short Break
4:55–5:05 PM — Selected Abstract Talk 3
5:05–5:15 PM — Selected Abstract Talk 4
5:15–5:20 PM — Sponsor Presentation
5:20–7:00 PM | Poster Session and Dinner
Tuesday, October 13 — Day 3
8:00–9:40 AM | Session 7 — TNTs in Infection, Cell Death, and Disease Progression
8:00–8:25 AM | Rafael Tomoya Michita, PhD — Penn State
Tunneling Nanotubes as a Mechanism for Viral Spread at the Placental Barrier
8:25–8:50 AM | Olena Shtanko, PhD — UTSA
Ebola Virus Replication Transforms Migratory Properties of Macrophages to Promote Virus Replication and Spread Through Tunneling Nanotubes
8:50–9:15 AM | Jin Ye, PhD — UT Southwestern Medical Center
The Deadly Network: How TNTs Drive Ferroptosis Progression
9:15–9:40 AM | Karine Gousset, PhD — California State University, Fresno
Myosin-X Acts Upstream of L-Plastin to Drive Stress-Induced Tunneling Nanotubes
9:40–10:10 AM | Coffee Break
10:10–11:50 AM | Session 8 — Nanotubular Communication in Cancer and the Tumor Microenvironment
10:10–10:35 AM | Dionysios (Dennis) C. Watson, PhD — University of Miami
Glioblastoma Takes Control of Astrocyte Biology via Microtube-Dependent Mitochondria Transfer
10:35–11:00 AM | Shiladitya Sengupta, PhD — Harvard Medical School / Mass General Brigham
Nanotubular Communication in the Cancer Immune Context
11:00–11:25 AM | Francesco Di Palma, PhD — University of Bari Aldo Moro
Tunneling Nanotube-Mediated Transmitophagy Promotes Apoptosis Resistance in Multiple Myeloma
11:25–11:50 AM | Inés Sáenz de Santa María, PhD — CIBERONC / Prince Felipe Research Center (CIPF), Valencia, Spain
Tunneling Nanotubes Mediate Mitochondrial Homeostasis in Cancer
11:50 AM–12:00 PM | Closing Remarks
Meeting summary, acknowledgments, and future directions.

