Agenda

9:00 a.m. 
Continental Breakfast 

9:15 a.m.
Welcome: Juli Unternaehrer, PhD, Chair, 2026 Basic Sciences Symposium 
Flash talks: Johnny Figueroa, PhD, Chair

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 
Research Focused Talks  

• Sonnet Jonker, PhD (LLU)
  The impact of congenital heart disease on development of other fetal organs
• Eugenia Mata-Greenwood, PhD (LLU)
  Tissue-specific dysregulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in preterm newborns with respiratory distress syndrome
• Virginia Chu-Cheung, PhD (UCSD): 
  Stem Cell Models of the Maternal-Placental Interface
• Vito Imbasciani, MD (CIRM)
   A doctor’s life at CIRM: On the roads (not) taken

11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Vendor Show 

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Lunch 

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Poster Presentation and Judging 

2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Roundtable Discussions: Eric Behringer, PhD, Chair 
(Trainee Professional Development)  

• Stella Goulopoulou, PhD, LLU 
  “Trainee Professional Development”

• Chris Wilson, PhD, LLU 
  “AI: Tool or Trouble?"
• Kelly Huffman, PhD, UCR: 
  “Effective Writing for Manuscripts & Proposals"
• Hayley Lam, PhD, CIRM, UC Berkely: 
  "Career Trajectories After Getting a Doctorate: Facilitating Science Funding at a State Agency and a Commitment to Education through University Teaching"

3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Break and Meet & Greet

3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Remarks
Penelope Duerksen-Hughes, PhD, Associate Dean, Basic Sciences and Translational Research
Kevin Codorniz, MD, Vice Dean, Academic Affairs 

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Keynote Speaker
Alexander Nikitin, PhDCornell University 
Stem cells, cell states, and the origins of ovarian cancer

5:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. 
Panel Discussion: Juli Unternaehrer, PhD

5:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Poster prizes: Chair: Isaac Kremsky, PhD
Closing remarks: Juli Unternaehrer, PhD