56th Annual Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB) Conference
Re-Inventing Ourselves: Hope for the Future
November 4, 2023 | 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
University of Bridgeport, CT
Winners Conference Program
Keynote Speakers
Aris N. Economides, Ph.D.
Bone Regeneration
Vice President of Research Connective Tissue Diseases TFA; Synthetic Biology & Cell Engineering, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Co-founder, Regeneron Genetics Center
Keynote Speaker: Bone Regeneration
Aris Economides, Ph.D.
Vice President, Genome Engineering Technologies and Skeletal Diseases Therapeutic Focus Area, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Aris N. Economides received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Michigan State University in 1992, and promptly joined Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He currently holds the position of Vice President, leading two groups: Genome Engineering Technologies, and Skeletal Diseases Therapeutic Focus Area. In addition, he is a co-founder of Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC), where he is also Head of Functional Modeling. Dr. Economides co-invented Cytokine Traps, VelociGene®, and VelocImmune®, all part of an integrated methodology for target discovery, validation, and the generation of biologic drugs such as the IL1 and VEGF traps, as well as therapeutic antibodies. More recently, he has been developing a new method for Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT), one that addresses two of the main limitations of current ERT, namely immunogenicity and inefficient uptake by the tissues most affected in the corresponding lysosomal diseases. As part of his involvement with the RGC, Dr. Economides has been working to elucidate the molecular pathophysiology of genetically-driven disorders. An example is his work in Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, where he and his team discovered a novel mechanism that explains important aspects of FOP’s pathophysiology and pinpoints a new potential route to therapy.
Dusan Bogunovic, Ph.D.
Genetic Immune Disorders
Professor, Precision Immunology Institute, Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn Genomics Institute, and Departments of Oncological Sciences, Microbiology and Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Director of the Center for Inborn Errors of Immunity at ISMMS
Keynote Speaker: Genetic Immune Disorders
Dusan Bogunovic, Ph.D.
UB Alumnus, ’04
Dusan Bogunovic, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Inborn Errors of Immunity at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences and Precision Immunology Institute, Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
Bogunovic, a University of Bridgeport alumni, received his Ph.D. in 2009 from New York University School of Medicine’s Molecular Oncology and Immunology training program, Sackler Institute, New York, NY. Upon completion of his postdoctoral fellowship at the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, he was appointed as a professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences and Precision Immunology Institute at the Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Dr. Bogunovic is also the Director of the Center for Inborn Errors of Immunity at Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
Bogunovic’s laboratory focuses on the study of human immunogenetics. His research is focused on improving our understanding of the human immune system. Dr. Bogunovic’s lab has defined an essential role for free intracellular ISG15 and USP18 in the regulation of Type I Interferon induced inflammation, which was reported in Nature. He also discovered that ISG15 deficient individuals have augmented antiviral responses, which was reported in Nature Communications. His lab identified USP18 deficient individuals and detailed the molecular mechanisms behind the Type I IFN inflammation. In 2020, in NEJM, he described the first USP18 patient who was successfully treated with a JAK1 inhibitor.
Bogunovic’s work was ranked among the “Top 10 Discoveries with Potential to Change to World” by Scientific American in 2016 and has inspired his own drug discovery pipeline in the field of broad-spectrum antivirals, which allowed him and his team to spin off a biotech company which now has Blue Knight designation by BARDA and is funded by STTR. Dr. Bogunovic is at the forefront of immunogenomic research, and as such, he has been invited to speak at numerous institutions across the U.S. and the world. Work performed in his laboratory has had a lasting local, national, and international impact.
Schedule of Events
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30-9 a.m. | Continental breakfast Poster set-up |
John J. Cox Student Center |
| 9-9:45 a.m. | Keynote speaker: Dusan Bogunovic | John J. Cox Student Center |
| 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Member presentations Vendor presentations Student poster presentations |
John J. Cox Student Center |
| 12:30-2:30 p.m. | Lunch Keynote speaker: Aris Economides |
John J. Cox Student Center |
| 2:30-4 p.m. | Ice cream social Poster awards |
John J. Cox Student Center |
Registration for the conference is closed
Organizing Committee
Spiros Katsifis, PhD, Biology
Fred Ferraro, MS Biology
Kathleen Engelmann, PhD, Dean, College of Science and Society
Natalia Belfiore, PhD, Biology
Julie Demers, CRA Director, Instruction Based and Sponsored Research
Susan Ferency, MS, MLS
Maria Gherasimova, PhD, Physics
Seokyoung Kang, PhD, Biology
Prabir Patra, PhD, Biomedical Engineering
Anthony Ross, PhD, Biology
Juhi Solanki, MS ABD, Biology
Khabir Uddin, PhD, Chemistry
Questions?
Kathleen Nolan, MACUB President at
Spiros Katsifis, UB Professor of Biology
About MACUB
Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB) is a professional organization comprised of college and university biologists in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut Metropolitan Region.
Founded in 1967, MACUB’s purpose is to stimulate dialogue among college and university biologists, provide members with a forum to present the results of their scientific and educational research, and to resolve transfer, and articulation problems between two and four year colleges.
Recently, MACUB initiated a number of grants and awards available to its members in support and recognition of research and scholarship.
MACUB, a federally recognized and tax-exempt non-profit corporation registered in New York State, is governed by an Executive Board elected by its members. The actions of the Board are governed by the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association.