Chemical biology and human stem cells in the study of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Rakesh Karmacharya is an Associate Professor at Harvard University, with appointments in the Chemical Biology Graduate Program, Program in Neuroscience, the Department of Psychiatry and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He received an A.B. in Biochemistry from Harvard University, an M.S. in Molecular Biophysics from Yale University and an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After clinical training in psychiatry, he pursued postdoctoral training in chemical biology at Harvard University with Prof. Stuart Schreiber before starting his own group. His laboratory focuses on research at the intersection of chemical biology and stem cell biology in order to investigate the cellular-molecular underpinnings of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In addition to overseeing his lab, he takes care of patients with first-episode psychosis as the Medical Director of the OnTrack Program.

Target Locked: How Tn7 Transposons Find Their Landing Sites

It is my pleasure to introduce Dr. Alba Guarné, a professor at McGill University and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in DNA transposition. She is a leading structural biologist whose work focuses on understanding how cells coordinate DNA replication, repair, and DNA damage response. Dr. Guarne’s path into structural biology began during her undergraduate studies in biochemistry at the University of Barcelona, when she attended a talk by her future PhD supervisor. He showed the crystal structure of an antibody fragment bound to human rhinovirus, and she was immediately impressed by the prospect of seeing how proteins function at the atomic level. That curiosity led her to pursue doctoral research on the structure of viral proteases at the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona, followed by postdoctoral work at the NIH, where she began studying DNA-binding proteins. Since then, her laboratory has made major contributions to our understanding of DNA mismatch repair, exploring the role of MutL. Another key project in her lab involves studying a unique transposon, Tn7. Her lab has also become a Canadian reference for combining small-angle X-ray scattering with other structural biology approaches, primarily cryo-EM, to study complex and often transient biological interactions. Beyond her scientific accomplishments, Dr. Guarne is deeply committed to mentorship, describing one of the most rewarding parts of her work as helping trainees reach their potential. She has trained numerous undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research associates, many of whom have received major national awards. We are very pleased to welcome her to PSFaM 2026, and I invite you to join me in welcoming Dr. Alba Guarne for her talk, “Target Locked: How Tn7 Transposons Find Their Landing Sites.”

Targeting GABAergic Signaling in Brain Cancers

Dr. Pomeranz Krummel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Tufts Medical Center. He completed his PhD at Yale University, where he studied RNA structure and function under Nobel Laureate Sidney Altman. He then pursued postdoctoral training at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, where he solved the first crystal structure of a fully recombinant 10-subunit U1 snRNP.

Over the past decade, Dr. Pomeranz Krummel has expanded his research into the field of cancer neuroscience, investigating how interactions between neurons and cancer cells shape the brain tumor microenvironment. His work focuses particularly on the role of GABAergic signaling in brain tumor growth and on developing new therapeutic strategies to target these pathways. He is also interested in using advanced 3D in vitro models to better understand brain tumor biology.

In 2025, he joined Tufts Medical Center after serving on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

From Structural Biochemistry to Therapeutic Design: Targeting Pathogenic Proteins Across Biological Systems

Imaging Cells Inside and Out: Functional Cellular Assays Using Correlative Microscopy

Mass Spectrometry–Based Characterization of Food Nutrients and Their Impact on Human Health

Dr. Zhang is a faculty member in the Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research applies advanced mass spectrometry techniques to characterize food micronutrients and bioactive compounds, and to better understand their roles in human health and disease.

Her work spans several important areas, including vitamin B analysis in pulse crops to support global efforts to address micronutrient deficiencies, the study of health-promoting phenolic compounds in foods and fruits, and the development of non-invasive biomarkers for Parkinson's disease using cerumen and sebum. Her research also explores how nutritionally balanced diets may influence the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

Growth factors: the proteins driving cultured meat production, cost, and scalability

Dr. Cameron Semper is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. He was the first North American recipient of the New Harvest Postdoctoral Fellowship award and holds expertise in protein biochemistry, structural biology and fungal genetics. His research program is focused on two main themes: 1) improving our understanding of fungal pathogens; 2) using fungi as cell factories in biotechnological applications. In particular, he is interested in investigating the role of fungal secondary metabolism in pathogenesis and in the emerging field of cellular agriculture. He is active in translating his agricultural research into real-life solutions, serving as the lead technical consultant for XPRIZE Foundation's Feed the Next Billion prize competition. A $15 million dollar competition focused on advancing the technology of meat alternatives. He is currently recruiting graduate students.

From Lead Optimization to Drug Rescue: An AI-Driven Multi-Objective Framework for Drug Design

Dr. Barakat is a Full Professor at the University of Alberta, where his research lies at the multidisciplinary interface of physics, biology, and computer science. He earned his PhD in Biophysics from the University of Alberta in 2012, followed by postdoctoral training with Nobel Laureate Sir Michael Houghton. His academic work focuses on cardiac ion channels, antiviral therapeutics, and cancer immunotherapy, with a strong emphasis on developing and applying advanced computational drug discovery tools. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. His research has been continuously supported by leading agencies including the Alberta Cancer Foundation, NSERC, CIHR, Kidney Foundation of Canada, Alberta Innovates, and the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology. He has also received prestigious awards such as the CIHR and AIHS postdoctoral fellowships and the University of Alberta Dissertation Award.

From Small Signals to Major Shifts: The Story Behind DNA Damage Signaling

Unravelling WNT signaling networks in pluripotent stem cells through genome editing

Dr. Brad Doble is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Child Health and Biochemistry and Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba. He holds the inaugural Bihler Chair in Stem Cell Research and serves as the Scientific Director of the Genetically Engineered Model Services core facility. Dr. Doble has a longstanding interest in WNT signaling in stem cell and cancer contexts. Dr. Doble's expertise in genome editing and biotin proximity labeling in pluripotent stem cells revealed functional redundancies and unique functions of key WNT pathway regulators such as the kinases GSK-3alpha and GSK-3beta. His expertise has been instrumental in recent collaborations with Drs. Michael Taylor and Tamra Ogilvie’s laboratories, focusing on the pediatric brain cancer medulloblastoma, and the WNT subgroup of medulloblastoma is being actively studied by the Doble lab.

Residue-Level In Silico Analysis of Gliflozin Derivatives Reveals Determinants of Nav1.5 Selectivity and Guides Novel Drug Design

Solvent Mediated Lipase Catalysis: Michael Addition and Transesterification with Organic and Ionic Liquid Solvents

Stronger Together: Investigating Haskap Berry Phenolic Synergy and Its Impact(s) on Human Cellular Longevity

SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a Disrupts Stress Granule Formation and Uncovers Impaired Integrated Stress Response Plasticity in Cystic Fibrosis Bronchial Epithelial Cell

Enhancing Colorectal Cancer Treatment Efficacy by combining radioimmunotherapy with immunotherapy

Pitx2c Regulates Cardiomyocyte Organization to Promote Atrial Trabeculation