Download the meeting program: sgp_2026_annual_meeting_program.pdf
PROGRAM
Wednesday, 2 September
2:00 pm–10:00 pm Registration and room assignments (Swope Center, 1st Floor)
5:30 pm–7:00 pm Dinner (Swope Center, Hall, 2nd Floor)
7:15 pm–7:30 pm Opening remarks (Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building)
Sarah England, Polina Lishko, and Celia Santi, Meeting Organizers
Gregory Malar, Executive Director, Society of General Physiologists
7:30 pm–8:45 pm Friends of Physiology Keynote Lecture
Mariana Wolfner (Cornell University)
And so it begins: Channels, ions, and protein-phosphorylation changes that transition eggs to embryos
Thursday, 3 September
7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast (Swope Center, Dining Room)
All Sessions (1–3) will be held in the Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building. Poster Session A will be held in Swope, 2nd Fl.
8:30 am–10:15 am Session 1: Membrane Excitability in Female Gametes
Chair: Jean-Ju Chung
8:30 am–9:00 am Carmen Williams (NIH/NIEHS)
Ion channel regulated calcium signals at the intersection of metabolism and embryo development
9:00 am–9:30 am Rafael Fissore (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Ionic complexity: How multiple channels regulate the initiation of early mammalian development
9:30 am–9:45 am Jada Nix (University of Missouri)
Altered zinc and calcium dynamics contribute to premature oocyte activation during vitrification in a porcine model
(Poster #24)
9:45 am–10:00 am Maureen Tam (WashU Medicine)
The role of Kir6.1 in ovarian vascular contractility and its relationship to female fertility
(Poster #9)
10:00 am–10:15 am Lama Alqusairi (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
Distal nephron ROMK underlies female advantage in K⁺ homeostasis
(Poster #31)
10:15 am–10:45 am Break
10:45 am–12:30 pm Session 2: Membrane Excitability in Male Gametes
Chair: Jada Nix
10:45 am-11:15 am Jean-Ju Chung (Yale University)
Targeting the “undruggable" CatSper for reproductive medicine
11:15 am-11:45 am Ziao Fu (WashU Medicine)
Native membrane protein discovery and structural biology in the age of AI
11:45 am-12:15 pm Anne Carlson (University of Pittsburgh)
Mammalian sperm take up physiologically relevant zinc from seminal fluid via ZIP transporters
12:15 pm-12:30 pm Shweta Bhagwat (WashU Medicine)
Bacterial endotoxin LPS dysregulates sperm function via TRPV4-mediated calcium signaling
(Poster #14)
12:30 pm-1:30 pm Lunch (Swope Center)
3:30 pm-4:30 pm Panel Discussion (Meigs Room, Swope Center)
From Trainee to Tenure: Navigating the Academic Lifecycle in Reproductive Biology
Moderated by Shweta Bhagwat (WashU Medicine)
Farners Amargant i Riera (WashU Medicine), Ripla Arora (Michigan State University),
Will Skinner (Male Contraceptive Initiative), Carmen Williams (NIH/NIEHS)
4:30 pm–6:00 pm Poster Session A and visits with exhibitors (Swope 2nd Floor). Even numbered abstracts.
6:00 pm–7:00 pm Dinner (Swope Center, Dining Hall)
7:15 pm–8:45 pm Session 3: Mechanosensation in Reproduction
Chair: Juan Ferreira
7:15 pm-7:45 pm Farners Amargant i Riera (WashU Medicine)
Feeling the force: Piezo ion channels as key regulators of ovarian follicle mechanosensing
7:45 pm-8:15 pm Scott Barnett (University of Nevada, Reno)
The role of stretch-activated channels, Piezo1 and TREK-1, in the uterus during pregnancy and parturition
8:15 pm-8:45 pm Seham Ebrahim (University of Virginia)
Emerging mechanosensors: TMC ion channels in reproduction
9:00 pm–11:00 pm Evening at the Captain Kidd (77 Water Street, Woods Hole)
Friday, 4 September
7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast (Swope Center, Dining Hall)
All Sessions (4–6) will be held in the Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building. The Panel Discussion and Poster Session B will be held in Swope, 2nd Fl.
8:30 am-10:15 am Session 4: Drug Discovery for Fertility Preservation and Contraception
Chair: Scott Barnett
8:30 am-9:00 am Jerod Denton (Vanderbilt University)
Promising targets for fertility preservation and contraception and their pharmacology
9:00 am-9:30 am Aminata Touré (INSERM)
Focus on members of the SoLute Carriers superfamily as contraceptive targets
9:30 am-10:00 am Alberto Darszon (UNAM)
Starvation, contraception, and mammalian sperm ion channels
10:00 am-10:15 am Juan Ferreira (WashU Medicine)
Medium-/high-throughput screening of membrane potential and Ca²⁺ signaling in human sperm for target-aware drug discovery
(Poster #19)
10:15 am–10:45 am Break
10:45 am–12:15 pm Session 5: Emerging Topics
Chair: Patricia Cuasnicú
10:45 am-11:00 am Yunxiao Zhang (Westlake University)
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
(Poster #1)
11:00 am-11:15 am Sally Xiao (Harvard University)
Maturation of the tactile sensation in the genitalia through hormonal regulation of Krause corpuscle development
(Poster #28)
11:15 am-11:30 am Claire Truongdang (University of Washington)
Glutamine uptake of placental immune cells varies across gestation
(Poster #3)
11:30 am-11:45 am Parker Mixon (Columbia University)
A multiscale computational electrophysiology modeling framework with application to myometrial activation in late pregnancy
(Poster #32)
11:45 am-12:15 pm Helena Parkington (Monash University)
A new method for simultaneous recording of the uterine bioelectric and contractile activities in vivo in pregnant ewes
12:15 pm-12:30 pm Qingwei Niu (WashU Medicine)
Structural basis of steroid and phosphoinositide regulation of human Kir7.1
(Poster #11)
12:30 pm-12:40 pm Group Photo (Lillie Building Front Steps)
12:45 pm-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm-2:30 pm Workshop on Science Publishing: Careers, the Publication Process, and Trends in the Field (Meigs Room, Swope)
Workshop Leader: Tim Fessenden, Executive Editor, Life Science Alliance
2:30 pm-3:30 pm "It's Different for Girls" documentary screening (Meigs Room, Swope)
With an introduction by the film's director, Billie JD Porter
3:30 pm-4:30 pm Roundtable Discussion: Building and Supporting Productive and Well-Funded Research Teams (Meigs Room, Swope)
Moderated by Sarah England (WashU Medicine)
Rafael Fissore (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Colin Nichols (WashU Medicine), Joris Vriens (KU Leuven)
4:30 pm-6:00 pm Poster Session B and visits with exhibitors (2nd Fl, Swope Center)
6:00 pm-7:00 pm Dinner (Dining Hall, Swope Center)
7:15 pm-8:30 pm Session 6: Ion Channels and Receptors of the Male Reproductive Tract
Chair: Yunxiao Zhang
7:15 pm-7:45 pm Patricia Cuasnicú (IBYME-CONICET)
Contribution of epididymal calcium homeostasis to early embryo development
7:45 pm-8:15 pm Marc Spehr (Aachen University)
Cell type-specific Ca2+ signals govern mouse seminiferous tubule physiology
8:15 pm-8:30 pm Daniel Ocampo (UNAM)
Lysine acetylation as a modulator of HV1 proton channel
(Poster #8)
8:30 pm-9:00 pm SGP Excelsior Lecture
Bernardo Pinto (University of California San Francisco), 2026 SGP Excelsior Awardee
Revealing the structural basis of activation and 4-aminopyridine inhibition in voltage-gated potassium channels
9:00 pm-11:00 pm Evening at the Captain Kidd (77 Water Street, Woods Hole)
Saturday, 5 September
7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast (Swope Center, Dining Hall)
8:30 am-10:15 am Session 7: Ion Channels and Transporters of the Female Reproductive Tract
Chair: Pablo Villar
8:30 am-9:00 am Ramón Lorca (University of Colorado, Denver)
Optogenetic regulation of uterine blood flow: a novel model for FGR
9:00 am-9:30 am Ripla Arora (Michigan State University)
Uterine contractions as a morphogenetic force in early pregnancy
9:30 am-9:45 am Katryna Morgan (University of Nevada, Reno)
Anoctamin-1 antagonist impairs contractile responses of pregnant human uterine tissues
(Poster #26)
9:45 am-10:00 am Pilar Irigoyen (UDELAR)
Intramitochondrial calcium increase: A conserved mechanism of mitochondrial activation in human and mouse sperm during capacitation
(Poster #23)
10:00 am-10:15 am Sri Karthika Shanmugam (Columbia University)
A channel-specific ubiquitin code regulates CaV1.2 trafficking and function
(Poster #29)
10:15 am-10:45 am Break
10:45 am–12:30 pm Session 8: Ion Channels and Transporters of the Female Reproductive Tract, Part II, and Emerging Fields
Chair: Ramón Lorca
10:45 am-11:15 am Andy Blanks (University of Warwick)
Bioelectrical control of contractility: how ion channel composition and anatomy coordinate uterine contractions
11:15 am-11:45 am Huanghe Yang (Duke University)
Bioelectricity of the placenta
11:45 am-12:15 pm Joris Vriens (KU Leuven)
TRP-ing through reproduction: Uncovering the essential role of TRPV2 in placental development
12:15 am-12:30 pm Xiaoqin Ye (University of Georgia)
Targeting uterine fluid movement for contraception
12:30 pm-4:30 pm Lunch (12:30 pm to 1:30 pm) and Free Time
1:30 pm-3:00 pm 1st Boat Trip (Optional) Meet in the Swope Lobby at 1:15 pm sharp
3:00 pm-4:30 pm 2nd Boat Trip (Optional) Meet in the Swope Lobby at 2:45 pm sharp
4:45 pm-6:30 pm Session 9: Emerging Fields in Reproductive Biology
Chair: Ripla Arora
4:45 pm-5:15 pm David Combs (Harvard University)
The mesometrium is a functionally and molecularly distinct origin site for uterine contractions in pregnant mice
5:15 pm-5:45 pm Pablo Villar (Harvard University)
A sensory system for mating in octopus
(Poster #16)
5:45 pm-6:15 pm Shaogeng Tang (Yale University)
Structure and inhibition of the sperm TMEM95–FIMP complex in mammalian fertilization
(Poster #7)
6:15 pm-6:30 pm Deirdre Scully (Case Western Reserve University)
Mapping oviductal electrical activity
(Poster #30)
6:30 pm-8:00 pm Lobster Banquet and Poster Award Presentations (Swope Terrace)
8:00 pm-10:00 pm Closing Mixer (Swope Terrace)
Sunday, 6 September
7:30 am-8:30 am Breakfast (Dining Hall, Swope Center)
10:00 am Swope Checkout Deadline
2:00 pm–10:00 pm Registration and room assignments (Swope Center, 1st Floor)
5:30 pm–7:00 pm Dinner (Swope Center, Hall, 2nd Floor)
7:15 pm–7:30 pm Opening remarks (Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building)
Sarah England, Polina Lishko, and Celia Santi, Meeting Organizers
Gregory Malar, Executive Director, Society of General Physiologists
7:30 pm–8:45 pm Friends of Physiology Keynote Lecture
Mariana Wolfner (Cornell University)
And so it begins: Channels, ions, and protein-phosphorylation changes that transition eggs to embryos
Thursday, 3 September
7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast (Swope Center, Dining Room)
All Sessions (1–3) will be held in the Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building. Poster Session A will be held in Swope, 2nd Fl.
8:30 am–10:15 am Session 1: Membrane Excitability in Female Gametes
Chair: Jean-Ju Chung
8:30 am–9:00 am Carmen Williams (NIH/NIEHS)
Ion channel regulated calcium signals at the intersection of metabolism and embryo development
9:00 am–9:30 am Rafael Fissore (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Ionic complexity: How multiple channels regulate the initiation of early mammalian development
9:30 am–9:45 am Jada Nix (University of Missouri)
Altered zinc and calcium dynamics contribute to premature oocyte activation during vitrification in a porcine model
(Poster #24)
9:45 am–10:00 am Maureen Tam (WashU Medicine)
The role of Kir6.1 in ovarian vascular contractility and its relationship to female fertility
(Poster #9)
10:00 am–10:15 am Lama Alqusairi (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
Distal nephron ROMK underlies female advantage in K⁺ homeostasis
(Poster #31)
10:15 am–10:45 am Break
10:45 am–12:30 pm Session 2: Membrane Excitability in Male Gametes
Chair: Jada Nix
10:45 am-11:15 am Jean-Ju Chung (Yale University)
Targeting the “undruggable" CatSper for reproductive medicine
11:15 am-11:45 am Ziao Fu (WashU Medicine)
Native membrane protein discovery and structural biology in the age of AI
11:45 am-12:15 pm Anne Carlson (University of Pittsburgh)
Mammalian sperm take up physiologically relevant zinc from seminal fluid via ZIP transporters
12:15 pm-12:30 pm Shweta Bhagwat (WashU Medicine)
Bacterial endotoxin LPS dysregulates sperm function via TRPV4-mediated calcium signaling
(Poster #14)
12:30 pm-1:30 pm Lunch (Swope Center)
3:30 pm-4:30 pm Panel Discussion (Meigs Room, Swope Center)
From Trainee to Tenure: Navigating the Academic Lifecycle in Reproductive Biology
Moderated by Shweta Bhagwat (WashU Medicine)
Farners Amargant i Riera (WashU Medicine), Ripla Arora (Michigan State University),
Will Skinner (Male Contraceptive Initiative), Carmen Williams (NIH/NIEHS)
4:30 pm–6:00 pm Poster Session A and visits with exhibitors (Swope 2nd Floor). Even numbered abstracts.
6:00 pm–7:00 pm Dinner (Swope Center, Dining Hall)
7:15 pm–8:45 pm Session 3: Mechanosensation in Reproduction
Chair: Juan Ferreira
7:15 pm-7:45 pm Farners Amargant i Riera (WashU Medicine)
Feeling the force: Piezo ion channels as key regulators of ovarian follicle mechanosensing
7:45 pm-8:15 pm Scott Barnett (University of Nevada, Reno)
The role of stretch-activated channels, Piezo1 and TREK-1, in the uterus during pregnancy and parturition
8:15 pm-8:45 pm Seham Ebrahim (University of Virginia)
Emerging mechanosensors: TMC ion channels in reproduction
9:00 pm–11:00 pm Evening at the Captain Kidd (77 Water Street, Woods Hole)
Friday, 4 September
7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast (Swope Center, Dining Hall)
All Sessions (4–6) will be held in the Clapp Auditorium, Lillie Building. The Panel Discussion and Poster Session B will be held in Swope, 2nd Fl.
8:30 am-10:15 am Session 4: Drug Discovery for Fertility Preservation and Contraception
Chair: Scott Barnett
8:30 am-9:00 am Jerod Denton (Vanderbilt University)
Promising targets for fertility preservation and contraception and their pharmacology
9:00 am-9:30 am Aminata Touré (INSERM)
Focus on members of the SoLute Carriers superfamily as contraceptive targets
9:30 am-10:00 am Alberto Darszon (UNAM)
Starvation, contraception, and mammalian sperm ion channels
10:00 am-10:15 am Juan Ferreira (WashU Medicine)
Medium-/high-throughput screening of membrane potential and Ca²⁺ signaling in human sperm for target-aware drug discovery
(Poster #19)
10:15 am–10:45 am Break
10:45 am–12:15 pm Session 5: Emerging Topics
Chair: Patricia Cuasnicú
10:45 am-11:00 am Yunxiao Zhang (Westlake University)
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
(Poster #1)
11:00 am-11:15 am Sally Xiao (Harvard University)
Maturation of the tactile sensation in the genitalia through hormonal regulation of Krause corpuscle development
(Poster #28)
11:15 am-11:30 am Claire Truongdang (University of Washington)
Glutamine uptake of placental immune cells varies across gestation
(Poster #3)
11:30 am-11:45 am Parker Mixon (Columbia University)
A multiscale computational electrophysiology modeling framework with application to myometrial activation in late pregnancy
(Poster #32)
11:45 am-12:15 pm Helena Parkington (Monash University)
A new method for simultaneous recording of the uterine bioelectric and contractile activities in vivo in pregnant ewes
12:15 pm-12:30 pm Qingwei Niu (WashU Medicine)
Structural basis of steroid and phosphoinositide regulation of human Kir7.1
(Poster #11)
12:30 pm-12:40 pm Group Photo (Lillie Building Front Steps)
12:45 pm-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm-2:30 pm Workshop on Science Publishing: Careers, the Publication Process, and Trends in the Field (Meigs Room, Swope)
Workshop Leader: Tim Fessenden, Executive Editor, Life Science Alliance
2:30 pm-3:30 pm "It's Different for Girls" documentary screening (Meigs Room, Swope)
With an introduction by the film's director, Billie JD Porter
3:30 pm-4:30 pm Roundtable Discussion: Building and Supporting Productive and Well-Funded Research Teams (Meigs Room, Swope)
Moderated by Sarah England (WashU Medicine)
Rafael Fissore (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Colin Nichols (WashU Medicine), Joris Vriens (KU Leuven)
4:30 pm-6:00 pm Poster Session B and visits with exhibitors (2nd Fl, Swope Center)
6:00 pm-7:00 pm Dinner (Dining Hall, Swope Center)
7:15 pm-8:30 pm Session 6: Ion Channels and Receptors of the Male Reproductive Tract
Chair: Yunxiao Zhang
7:15 pm-7:45 pm Patricia Cuasnicú (IBYME-CONICET)
Contribution of epididymal calcium homeostasis to early embryo development
7:45 pm-8:15 pm Marc Spehr (Aachen University)
Cell type-specific Ca2+ signals govern mouse seminiferous tubule physiology
8:15 pm-8:30 pm Daniel Ocampo (UNAM)
Lysine acetylation as a modulator of HV1 proton channel
(Poster #8)
8:30 pm-9:00 pm SGP Excelsior Lecture
Bernardo Pinto (University of California San Francisco), 2026 SGP Excelsior Awardee
Revealing the structural basis of activation and 4-aminopyridine inhibition in voltage-gated potassium channels
9:00 pm-11:00 pm Evening at the Captain Kidd (77 Water Street, Woods Hole)
Saturday, 5 September
7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast (Swope Center, Dining Hall)
8:30 am-10:15 am Session 7: Ion Channels and Transporters of the Female Reproductive Tract
Chair: Pablo Villar
8:30 am-9:00 am Ramón Lorca (University of Colorado, Denver)
Optogenetic regulation of uterine blood flow: a novel model for FGR
9:00 am-9:30 am Ripla Arora (Michigan State University)
Uterine contractions as a morphogenetic force in early pregnancy
9:30 am-9:45 am Katryna Morgan (University of Nevada, Reno)
Anoctamin-1 antagonist impairs contractile responses of pregnant human uterine tissues
(Poster #26)
9:45 am-10:00 am Pilar Irigoyen (UDELAR)
Intramitochondrial calcium increase: A conserved mechanism of mitochondrial activation in human and mouse sperm during capacitation
(Poster #23)
10:00 am-10:15 am Sri Karthika Shanmugam (Columbia University)
A channel-specific ubiquitin code regulates CaV1.2 trafficking and function
(Poster #29)
10:15 am-10:45 am Break
10:45 am–12:30 pm Session 8: Ion Channels and Transporters of the Female Reproductive Tract, Part II, and Emerging Fields
Chair: Ramón Lorca
10:45 am-11:15 am Andy Blanks (University of Warwick)
Bioelectrical control of contractility: how ion channel composition and anatomy coordinate uterine contractions
11:15 am-11:45 am Huanghe Yang (Duke University)
Bioelectricity of the placenta
11:45 am-12:15 pm Joris Vriens (KU Leuven)
TRP-ing through reproduction: Uncovering the essential role of TRPV2 in placental development
12:15 am-12:30 pm Xiaoqin Ye (University of Georgia)
Targeting uterine fluid movement for contraception
12:30 pm-4:30 pm Lunch (12:30 pm to 1:30 pm) and Free Time
1:30 pm-3:00 pm 1st Boat Trip (Optional) Meet in the Swope Lobby at 1:15 pm sharp
3:00 pm-4:30 pm 2nd Boat Trip (Optional) Meet in the Swope Lobby at 2:45 pm sharp
4:45 pm-6:30 pm Session 9: Emerging Fields in Reproductive Biology
Chair: Ripla Arora
4:45 pm-5:15 pm David Combs (Harvard University)
The mesometrium is a functionally and molecularly distinct origin site for uterine contractions in pregnant mice
5:15 pm-5:45 pm Pablo Villar (Harvard University)
A sensory system for mating in octopus
(Poster #16)
5:45 pm-6:15 pm Shaogeng Tang (Yale University)
Structure and inhibition of the sperm TMEM95–FIMP complex in mammalian fertilization
(Poster #7)
6:15 pm-6:30 pm Deirdre Scully (Case Western Reserve University)
Mapping oviductal electrical activity
(Poster #30)
6:30 pm-8:00 pm Lobster Banquet and Poster Award Presentations (Swope Terrace)
8:00 pm-10:00 pm Closing Mixer (Swope Terrace)
Sunday, 6 September
7:30 am-8:30 am Breakfast (Dining Hall, Swope Center)
10:00 am Swope Checkout Deadline