4th Annual Hybrid Non-Coding RNA Symposium 2023

The Annual Hybrid Non-Coding RNA Symposium is a global forum that brings together internationally renowned experts to highlight the latest developments in the field of basic and translational non-coding RNA research. This symposium aims to foster cross-collaborations between national and international researchers/clinicians and serve as a vital platform to accelerate the clinical utility of non-coding RNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics that can pave ways for precision medicine. This meeting will strengthen academia-industry partnership and provide a stimulating environment where students, postdocs and junior investigators can present (oral talk and poster) and discuss their research to a diverse audience. We have included a new session on Cutting-edge technologies highlighting new tools and techniques to study noncoding RNAs and a panel discussion on career development opportunities for the students and junior scientists.
On behalf of the organizers, Dr. Afsar Naqvi (UIC COD) and Dr. Roopa Biswas (USU School of Medicine) and Dr. Victor Ambros (UMass Chan Medical School) we cordially invite noncoding RNA researchers and enthusiasts to participate in this year’s symposium from Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - Friday, September 22, 2023.
Please find details on location, registration dates and pricing, agenda, abstract submission, speaker information, and sponsorship below. If you have urgent questions please contact Dr. Afsar Naqvi directly at afsarraz@uic.edu. If you have any general questions or require more information please email us microRNAsymposium@uic.edu.
Please find our current COVID guidelines here.
Virtual Registration Heading link
This event is now hybrid. Virtual attendee registration is now available.
Register Here
Location Heading link
Location for in-person attendees – UIC Molecular Biology Research Building Auditorium Room 1017 – 900 S. Ashland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60607
Virtual attendees will be provided a Zoom link via email closer to the event.
Plenary Speaker Heading link

Joshua Mendell MD, PhD
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
University of Texas Southwestern
“New functions and regulators of noncoding RNAs in mammals”
Joshua Mendell is a clinician scientist, Vice-Chair and Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Chair in Medical science at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He completed his MD and PhD in molecular genetics from John Hopkins Medical Center. The Mendell laboratory investigates post-transcriptional gene regulation, noncoding RNA regulation employing high-throughput screening to interrogate dysfunctional pathways in cancer. Mendell lab uncovered the first example of a vertebrate transcription factor that regulates miRNA miR-17-92 cluster expression. Dr. Mendell has been at the forefront of elucidating miRNA functions and translating these findings into novel therapeutic approaches through systemic delivery of miRNAs to potently suppress tumorigenesis in mouse cancer models.
Keynote Speakers Heading link

Sandra Wolin MD, PhD
National Cancer Institute
“Defective RNAs: Surveillance and Roles as Signaling Molecules”
Dr. Sandra Wolin is a physician-scientist specialized in biogenesis, function, and turnover of non-coding RNAs. She heads the section on non-coding RNAs and ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Wolin earned her MD from the Yale School of Medicine and PhD from the department of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University studying ribonucleoproteins. During her postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco, she devised an early ribosome profiling method. Dr. Wolin’s research examines noncoding RNAs functions, cell recognition and degradation of defective RNAs and how failure to degrade these RNAs affects cell function and contributes to human disease. Her lab has identified proteins that recognize misfolded and otherwise defective RNAs.
Mark Ansel Heading link

Mark Ansel PhD
University of California San Francisco
“Noncoding RNA circuits in host defense and autoimmunity”
Dr. Mark Ansel is a Professor at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Ansel received his PhD from UCSF and postdoctoral training at the Immune Disease Institute at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ansel’s lab studies molecular and cellular processes underlying chronic tissue inflammation and dysfunction by examining crosstalk between microRNAs, transcription factors, and epigenetic regulation to shape the gene expression programs that determine lymphocyte development, differentiation, and function in immunity. Dr. Ansel has developed novel biochemical and computational techniques to discover the regulatory information encoded in RNA molecules.
Saumya Das Heading link

Saumya Das MD, PHD
Harvard Medical School
“Extracellular RNAs: biomarkers and probes for novel disease-related pathways”
Dr. Saumya Das is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Das completed his MD-PhD at Harvard Medical School and his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Das lab focuses on discovering and characterizing plasma RNAs and extracellular vesicles that may serve as biomarkers for disease phenotypes and processes associated with heart failure and left ventricular remodeling. As part of the NIH Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium, Dr. Das has participated in developing new bioinformatics tools and techniques to measure extracellular RNAs and study their functional role in animal and cell culture models.
Register Here
Other Notable Speakers Heading link
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Other Notable Speakers
Luisa Cochella – Johns Hopkins University
Lin He – University of California Berkeley
Katherine McJunkin – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Peter Sarnow – Stanford University
Selena Sagan – McGill University
Jorge Henao-Mejia – University of Pennsylvania
Pedro Batista – National Cancer Institute
Prasanth Kannanganattu – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Shin-Yuan Cheng – Northwestern University
Jeremy Wilusz – Baylor College of Medicine
Subrata Panja – Quantabio
Monika Franco – Association for Molecular Pathology
Venkat Gopalan – The Ohio State University
Andrea Kasinski – Purdue University
Susmita Sahoo – Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Program Agenda Heading link
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Program Agenda
Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 8:00 am – 6:30 pm Central Standard Time
Registration: Opens at 8:00 am
Breakfast: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
9:00 am – 9:15 am
Welcome
Joanna Groden
Vice Chancellor for Research
University of Illinois ChicagoSusan Rowan
Dean, College of Dentistry
University of Illinois ChicagoSession 1: Noncoding RNAs in Development and Physiology
Session Chair: Jeremy Wilusz9:15 am – 10:00 am Sandra Wolin
National Cancer Institute
“Defective RNAs: Surveillance and Roles as Signaling Molecules”10:00 am – 10:30 am Luisa Cochella
Johns Hopkins University
“Dose dependent function of a microRNA family involved in tissue morphogenesis”10:30 am – 10:55 am Lin He
University of California Berkeley
“Transposons, selfish friends in mammalian development”10:55 am – 11:20 am Katherine McJunkin
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
“Sequence-specific mechanisms of microRNA decay”Selected Short Talks (11:20 am -11:50 am)
11:20 am – 11:30 am Benjamin Jones
University of Texas Southwestern
“Target-Directed microRNA Degradation Regulates Developmental
microRNA Expression and Embryonic Growth in Mammals”11:30 am – 11:40 am Raza Ali Naqvi
University of Illinois Chicago
“Genome-wide screening of SARS-CoV-2 ORFs Identified Multiple Viral Suppressor of RNAi”11:40 am – 11:50 am Gatikrushna Singh
University of Minnesota
“microRNA regulation of radiation resistance in Glioblastoma”11:50 am – 1:00 pm Lunch Break
(Lunch will be provided)
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Session 2: Noncoding RNAs in Immunity and Host DefenseSession Chair: Sandra Wolin
1:10 pm – 2:00 pm Keynote Speaker
Mark Ansel
University of California San Francisco
“Noncoding RNA circuits in host defense and autoimmunity”2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Peter Sarnow
Stanford University
“Pro-viral roles for virus-derived circular RNAs in hepatitis C virus-infected cells”2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Selena Sagan
McGill University
“One microRNA to rule them all: the surprising tale of microRNA-mediated viral RNA accumulation”3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Coffee Break
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Plenary Lecture: Introduction by Dr. Victor Ambros
Joshua Mendell
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
University of Texas Southwestern
“New functions and regulators of noncoding RNAs in mammals”4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Poster Session, Networking, Snacks, and Beverages
Location: UIC COD 5th Floor Commons – 801 S. Paulina St, Chicago, IL 60612—————————-
Thursday, September 21, 2023, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Central Standard Time
Breakfast: 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Session 1: Noncoding RNAs in Cancer
Session Chair: Andrea Kasinski
9:30 am – 10:00 am Jorge Henao-Mejia
University of Pennsylvania
“RNA-regulation of Tumor-Associated Macrophages”10:00 am – 10:30 am Pedro Batista
National Cancer Institute
“Re-wiring of RNA methylation by oncometabolites in kidney cancer”10:30 am – 11:00 am Prasanth Kannanganattu
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
“LncRNA regulates hypoxia-responsive RNA processing”11:00 pm – 11:15 am Coffee Break
11:15 am – 11:45 am Shin-Yuan Cheng
Northwestern University
“Non-coding RNA regulation of Oncogenic Signaling in Glioma”11:45 am – 12:15 pm Jeremy Wilusz
Baylor College of Medicine
“Unexpected mechanisms that control the outputs of many genes”Selected Short Talks (12:15 pm -12:45 pm)
12:15 pm – 12:25 pm Hyun Min Jung
University of Illinois Chicago
“MicroRNA-mediated Lymphatic Control of Fluid Homeostasis”12:25 pm – 12:35 pm Vaishnavi Sidharthan
The Ohio State University
“Exploring the Druggability of the Catalytic RNase P RNA”12:35 pm – 12:45 pm Peng Teng
Emory University School of Medicine
“The human lncRNA GOMAFU suppresses neuronal interferon response pathways affected in neuropsychiatric diseases”12:45 pm – 1:45 pm Lunch Break
(Lunch will be provided)
Session 2: Cutting-edge Technologies
Session Chair: Luisa Cochella
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm Venkat Gopalan
The Ohio State University
“Structural basis for impaired 5’ processing of a mutant tRNA associated with neurodegeneration”2.30 pm – 3.00 pm Subrata Panja
Quantabio
“Accelerating Genomics Discoveries by Cutting Edge NGS and Amplification Technologies from Quantabio”3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Sriram Ravindran
University of Illinois Chicago
“miRNA Based MSC EV Engineering for Regenerative Medicine”3:20 pm – 3:45 pm Coffee Break
3:45 pm – 5:00 pm Career Development Panel Discussion
Dr. Victor Ambros
Silverman Professor of Natural Sciences
UMass Chan Medical SchoolDr. Subrata Panja
Associate Director Field Applications
QuantabioDr. Monika Franco
Policy Analyst, Public Policy & Advocacy
Association for Molecular Pathology—————————-
Friday, September 22, 2023, 8:30 am – 1:30 pm Central Standard Time
Breakfast: 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Session 1: Noncoding RNAs in Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Session Chair: Roopa Biswas
9:30 am – 10:30 am Keynote Speaker
Saumya Das
Harvard Medical School
“Extracellular RNAs: biomarkers and probes for novel disease-related pathways”10:30 am – 11:00 am Andrea Kasinski
Purdue University
“To the tumor and beyond: tales of a holistic microRNA delivery vehicle”11:00 am – 11:30 am Quamarul Hassan
University of Alabama School of Dentistry
“LncRNA Dio3os: a missing link between thyroid hormone signaling and skeletogenesis”11:30 am – 12:00 pm Larisa Nonn
University of Illinois Chicago
“Prostate-derived circulating microRNAs add prognostic value to prostate cancer risk calculators”12:00 am – 12:30 pm Awards (Short talks and Poster presentation)
Concluding Remarks
Ana Bedran-Russo, Associate Dean for Research, UIC COD
Michael Schmerman, Interim Head, Department of Periodontics, UIC COD12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Networking, snacks, and beverages
Important Dates Heading link
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Important Dates
Abstract Deadline: September 15, 2023
Registration Deadline: September 15, 2023
Sponsorship Heading link
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Become a Sponsor
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Dentistry cordially invites you to participate in our 4th Annual Non-Coding RNA Symposium, to be held on September 20-22, 2023.
The purpose of this annual symposium is to provide a global forum for experts and participants from academia and to exchange ideas and present results of ongoing research in the field of “Noncoding RNAs in health and disease”. Pioneers in the field of non-coding rna biology will present their seminal work. In addition, we aim to foster cross-discipline collaborations, and provide presentation opportunities to graduate students and post-docs.
Corporate sponsors, and service providers are an integral part of the success of our symposium. As a sponsor, you can participate in all of the day’s activities as well as display and promote your products and services to the attendees. Exhibitor time has been integrated into the program, and breakfast, lunch and beverages are included for Exhibitors.
We are offering various levels of sponsorship.
Special Sponsor levels offering a variety of benefits are available. These include:
Platinum Sponsorship: $10,000
Gold Sponsorship: $7,500
Silver Sponsorship: $5,000
Bronze Sponsorship: $2,500
Exhibit Table: $1500
Oral and Poster Presentation Award Sponsorship: $500
Platinum Sponsors ($10,000):
- Priority exhibit location for one 4-foot exhibit table
- Two free complimentary registration for sponsor attendee
- Full page, 4-color back inside cover ad in the Program Book (Online only)
- Recognition in the Directory of Participating Companies in the Program Book (online only)
- Continental breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages
- Parking validation
- Company banner will be placed near the podium (company is responsible for bringing their own banners- 4-6 ft. tall)
Gold Sponsors ($7,500):
- Prime exhibit location for one 4-foot exhibit table
- Two free complimentary registration for sponsor attendee
- Half page, 4-color back inside page ad in the Program Book (Online only)
- Recognition in the Directory of Participating Companies in the Program Book (online only)
- Continental breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages
- Parking validation
- Company banner will be placed near the entry door (company is responsible for bringing their own banners- 4-6 ft tall)
Silver Sponsors ($5,000):
- Prime exhibit location for one 4-foot exhibit table
- Two free complimentary registration for sponsor attendee
- Quarter page, 4-color inside cover page ad in the Program Book (Online only)
- Recognition in the Directory of Participating Companies in the Program Book (online only)
- Continental breakfast and beverages
- Parking validation
Bronze Sponsors ($2,500):
- One free complimentary registration for sponsor attendee
- 4-foot exhibit table
- Quarter page ad in the Program Book (Online only)
- Recognition in the Directory of Participating Companies in the Program Book (online only)
- Continental breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverage
- Parking validation
Award Sponsors ($500/award) for Oral and Poster presentation awards and receive recognition in Program Book (online only).
In addition, advertising opportunities are available in our Non-Coding RNA Symposium Program Book (Online only). All participants in Non-Coding RNA Symposium will receive a link for our program book, which features speakers, sponsor information, and abstracts presented in the symposium. Quarter page, half-page, full-page, or two-page-spread ads may be taken out. The 2022 fees are $125 for a quarter page ad; $175 for a half page ad; $300 for a full page; and $500 for a two-page spread. (The Non-Coding RNA Symposium Committee reserves the right to review and refuse any ad).
All donations and/or prizes are appreciated and will be recognized in the Program Book (Online Only).
Sign up to be a sponsor here.
Abstract Submission Guidelines Heading link
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Guidelines
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Poster Size Requirement: Posters must be within 48 inches by 48 inches dimension
Abstract Booklet Heading link
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Abstract
Abstract booklet link to be released by September 15, 2023
Registration Pricing Heading link
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Price Breakdown
In-Person Undergraduate and Graduates: $25
In-Person Post-Graduate/Post-Docs: $50
In-Person Faculty: $75
In-Person Company Representatives: $100
Virtual Attendee: $10
Symposium Planning Committee Members Heading link
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Committee Members
Dr. Araceli Valverde, Research Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Juhi Uttamani, Assistant Professor, The University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics
Dr. Raza Ali Naqvi, Research Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Manali Datta, Associate Professor, Amity University Rajasthan, India
Virginia Buglio, Director of Research Services, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois Chicago
Travel, Lodging and Tourism Information Heading link
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Traveling and Tourism Information
Hotel and Lodging- Drake Hotel, Chicago
- Sonesta ES Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile – Medical
- Hilton Chicago/Magnificent Mile Suites
- Selina Chicago
- InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, an IHG Hotel
Airport Transportation
- O’Hare International Airport
Shuttle information
Taxi and limousine information
Public transit informationMaps
Chicago area mapTourism
Make the most out of your stay in Chicago and take advantage of all the city of Chicago has to offer. From tours to shopping to world-class museums to Michelin-star restaurants, Chicago promises to offer something to everyone. For a for a complete tourism guide and transportation directions please visit:https://www.choosechicago.com/things-to-do/classic-chicago/