Monday, May 11, 2026
14:00 – 16:00
Registration and Get-Together
16:00 – 16:30
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Welcome from the Chairs
Welcome from Carmen Chifiriuc, Vice-Rector of Research
Welcome from Marian Preda, University fo Bucharest Rector
Session I: Membrane Reactions in the Brain
Ana-Nicoleta Bondar, University of Bucharest, Romania, Chair
16:30 – 17:10
Keynote Lecture: Gabriela Popescu, University of Buffalo, USA
Talk Title TBD
17:10 – 17:35
Future of Biophysics: Kota Katayama, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
Spectroscopic Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Biased GPCR Signaling
17:35 – 18:00
Biophysics Meets Philosophy: Andrei Ionuţ Mărăşoiu, University of Bucharest, Romania
Talk Title TBD
18:00 – 18:25
Vasanthi Jayaraman, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA
Talk Title TBD
18:25 – 20:00
Welcome Buffet & Networking
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
8:30 – 18:35
Registration/Information
Session II: Neurological Disorders
David Minh, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA, Chair
9:00 – 9:25
David Minh, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA
ML Mapping of GPCR Intracellular Pocket Conformations to Multidimensional Pharmacological Efficacy
9:25 – 9:50
Marçal Vilar, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Spain
Cleavage at the Membrane: How Gamma-Secretase Complex Modulates Neuronal Complexity
9:50 – 10:15
Liviu Movileanu, Syracuse University, USA
Membrane Protein Engineering for Sensing Transient Molecular Hallmarks in Neurodegeneration
10:15 – 10:30
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
10:30 – 11:00
Coffee Break & Posters
Session III: Understanding the Aqueous and the Membrane Environments
Mariana Pinteala, Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry, RAS, Romania, Chair
11:00 – 11:25
William Wimley, Tulane University, USA
PH-Responsive Peptide Nanoparticles Deliver Macromolecules to Cells via Endosomal Membrane Nanoporation
11:25 – 11:50
Ingela Parmryd, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Membrane Topography Variations and Quantitative Biology - Pitfalls and Solutions
11:50 – 12:15
Elena Pohl, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
Mitochondrial Uncoupling Protein 4 in Brain: Putative Functions and Molecular Mechanisms
12:15 – 12:30
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch & Posters
Session IV: Signaling in the Brain
Kumiko Hayashi, The University of Tokyo, Japan, Chair
14:00 – 14:25
Rohit Menon, University of Regensburg, Germany
Differential Oxytocin Receptor Signaling Drives the Reversal of Social Trauma-Induced Avoidance in Mice
14:25 – 14:50
Christoph Fahlke, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany
Molecular Physiology of Vesicular Glutamate Transporters
14:50 – 15:05
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
15:05 – 15:20
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
15:20 – 15:40
Coffee Break & Posters
Session V: Signaling Across the Membrane Part I
Ching-Ju Tsai, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland, Chair
15:40 – 16:05
Leonid Sazanov , Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Austria
How the Twin-Arginine Translocase (Tat) System Transports Folded Proteins Across Membranes Without Leaking Protons?
16:05 – 16:30
Matthias Buck, Case Western Reserve University, USA
Talk Title TBD
16:30 – 16:55
Durba Sengupta, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, India
Specificity and Promiscuity of Phosphoinositide Lipid Interactions with Neuronal GPCRs
16:55 – 17:10
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
17:10 – 17:25
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
17:25 – 17:45
Coffee Break & Posters
Session VI: Signaling Across the Membrane Part II
Valerica Raicu, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA, Chair
17:45 – 18:10
Ching-Ju Tsai, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
Conformational Ensembles of Rhodopsin-G Protein Complexes Reveal Light Perception and GPCR Signaling Mechanisms
18:10 – 18:35
Kalina Hristova, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Biophysics of EphA2 Receptor Signaling in the Membrane
18:35
Free time
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
8:30 – 15:10
Registration/Information
Session VII: Receptor Structural Dynamics and Structure-Function Relationships
Kota Katayama, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan, Chair
9:00 – 9:25
Keiichi Inoue, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Functions and the Photoreaction Dynamics of Non-Canonical Rhodopsins
9:25 – 9:50
Przemyslaw Nogly, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland
Talk Title TBD
9:50 – 10:05
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
10:05 – 10:35
Coffee Break & Posters
Session VIII: Transport in Cells and Across Cell Membranes
Andrei Petrescu, Institute of Biochemistry, Romanian Academy of Sciences, Chair
10:35 – 11:00
Tomohiro Shima, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Writing and Reading the Microtubule Lattice: Biophysical Mechanisms of Cellular Architectural Organization
11:00 – 11:25
Kumiko Hayashi, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Force Generation by the Kinesin-3 Family Motor Protein KIF1A and Its Disruption in KIF1A-Associated Neurological Disorder
11:25 – 11:50
Peter Pohl, Johannes Kepler University Linz - JKU, Austria
Light-Controlled Modulation of Neuronal Excitability Using Photoswitchable Lipids
11:50 – 12:05
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
12:05 – 13:30
Lunch & Posters
Session IX: Receptor Dynamics and Function
Laurentiu Spiridon, Institute of Biochemistry, Romanian Academy of Sciences, Chair
13:30 – 13:55
Ana-Nicoleta Bondar, University of Bucharest, Romania
Talk Title TBD
13:55 – 14:20
Valerica Raicu, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA
4D Fluorescence Intensity Fluctuation Spectrometry Monitors the Localization and Interactions of Ligand-Activated Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors Among Themselves and with Downstream Signaling Effectors
14:20 – 14:45
Satoshi Tsunoda, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
Channelrhodopsins with Defined Biophysical Properties for Optogenetic Control of Neuronal Activity and Vision Restoration
14:45 – 15:10
Eric Beitz, University of Kiel, Germany
Intrinsic Asymmetry in Monocarboxylate/H+ Transporter Activity
15:10
Free Time
Thursday, May 14, 2026
8:30 – 18:15
Registration/Information
Session X: Drug-Membrane and Drug-Receptor Interactions
Durba Sengupta, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, India, Chair
9:00 – 9:25
Jana Selent, Hospital del Mar Research Institute & Pompeu Fabra University, Spain
Talk Title TBD
9:25 – 9:50
Ran Friedman, Linnaeus University, Sweden
Talk Title TBD
9:50 – 10:15
Konstantin Mineev, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Insights into the Mechanics of Neurotrophin Receptor Signaling from NMR Spectroscopy
10:15 – 10:30
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
10:30 – 11:00
Coffee Break & Posters
Session XI: Reactions in Cells and in vivo
Vlad Cojocaru, University of Babes Bolyai Cluj Napoca, Romania, Chair
11:00 – 11:25
Joachim Heberle, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Infrared Nanoscopy for Subcellular Chemical Imaging
11:25 – 11:50
Masha Niv, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Hidden Pockets and Intracellular Ions: Lessons from Bitter Taste GPCRs
11:50 – 12:15
Herbert Nar, Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany
Structure, Function and Drug Interactions of Orphan GPCRs
12:15 – 12:30
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch and Group Photo
Session XII: Advanced Computational Approaches to Study Membrane Reactions
Radu-Silaghi Dumitrescu, Babes Bolyai University Cluj Napoca, Romania, Chair
14:00 – 14:25
Hossein Batebi, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Allosteric Communication and Kinetic Regulation in Membrane Proteins
14:25 – 14:50
Florence Tama, Nagoya University, Japan
Seeing Function in Motion: Computational Methods for Protein Dynamics
14:50 – 15:15
Maria Kurnikova, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
Talk Title TBD
15:15 – 15:30
Short Talk
Talk Title TBD
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee Break & Posters
Session XIII: Perspectives in Membrane Receptor Dynamics
Gabriela Popescu, University of Buffalo, USA, Chair
16:00 – 16:25
Jana Shen, University of Maryland, USA
Membrane Crossing of Opioids Revealed by Continuous Constant PH Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Cell Experiments
16:25 – 16:50
Gebhard Schertler, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
Talk Title TBD
16:50 – 17:05
Closing Remarks and Biophysical Journal Poster Awards
17:05 – 18:15
Buffet and Networking
* Contributed talks selected from among submitted abstracts