Detailed Schedule
Friday, September 20, 2024
Presentation Time limit:
Plenary Talks: 25 min talk + 5 min questions.
Contributed Talks: 12 min talk + 3 min questions.
Three-minute Talks: 3 min without questions
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. (CST) Welcome
Harvey Hou (Alabama State University)
Audrey Napier (Dean, College of STEM, Alabama State University)
Carl Pettis (Provost, Alabama State University)
9:10 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. Session 1: Plenary Talk
Chair: Charles Dismukes (Rutgers University)
Structure-Function Studies of the O2-Evolving Complex in Photosystem II from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Gary W. Brudvig*, David A. Flesher, Jinchan Liu, Christopher J. Gisriel, Jimin Wang, Victor S. Batista, and Richard J. Debus (Yale University, University of California at Riverside)
9:40 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Group Photo
9:50 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. Session 2: Contributed Talks
Chair: Jianping Yu (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Isolation & bioprospecting of wild microalgae for biotechnology applications
Eric Schaedig, Michael Cantrell, Chris Urban, Jacob Sebesta, Katherine J. Chou, and Jianping Yu* (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Evaluation of synergistic environmental and biological strategies that control microcystin production by blue-green algae
Hakyung Lee and Yinjie J. Tang* (Washington University in St. Louis)
Elucidating light-induced changes in excitation energy transfer of photosystem I and II via time-resolved fluorescence imaging of whole cells in two model cyanobacteria
Dariusz M. Niedzwiedzki*, Sandeep Biswas, and Himadri B. Pakrasi* (Washington University in St. Louis)
ACCESSing the Carbon Uptake Dynamics of Cyanobacteria
Christopher M. Jones and Himadri B. Pakrasi* (Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri)
10:50 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Break
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. Session 3: Contributed Talks
Chair: Chris Gisriel (University of Wisconsin- Madison)
Algal Turf Scrubber Community: A Growth Model
Ana Gabriela Itokazu and David Blersch* (Graduate, Auburn University)
Enhancing Wastewater Treatment and Sustainability with Filamentous Algae in Controlled Environment Agriculture
Shokouh Mousavi and David Blersch* (Graduate, Auburn University)
B-SURE: Engineering Bioproduction in a Cyanobacteria-bacteria Coculture System Using Alternative Feedstocks
Kok Zhi Lee, Hakyung Lee, Anindita Barnejee, Wentao Yang, Ruixue Zhang, Himadri B Pakrasi, Yinjie Tang, and Fuzhong Zhang* (Postdoc, Washington University in St. Louis)
Expanding the roles of the accessory TPR protein PratA in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Himanshu Mehra and David Vinyard* (Postdoc, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Louisiana State University)
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch Panel Sessions
12:00 p.m. - 12:40 p.m. Session 4: Tri-institutional Research and Training Program.
Chairs: Jianping Yu (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Hamadri Pakrasi (Washington University in St. Louis), and Vida Dennis (Alabama State University)
1:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. Session 5: Student Matters
Chairs: Jieun Shin (Yale University) and Lydia DaviesBalogun (Alabama State University)
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Session 6: Contributed Talks
Chair: Wu Xu (University of Louisiana at Lafayette)
DOWNSTREAM ELECTRON TRANSFER EFFECTS OF PHOTOSYSTEM II CYCLIC ELECTRON FLOW IN CHLORELLA
Grant Steiner, Arivu Kapoor, Devin Saini, and Colin Gates* (Graduate, Loyola University Chicago)
Structure of a mutated photosystem II complex reveals changes to the hydrogen-bonding network that affect proton egress during O–O bond formation
David A. Flesher and Gary W. Brudvig* (Graduate, Yale University)
The effect of interstitial surface spacing on algal biomass accumulation in floway systems
Gabirel Proano and David Blersch* (Postdoc, Auburn University)
Phosphoketolase and KDPG Aldolase Modulate Photosynthetic Carbon Yield in Cyanobacteria
Ningdong Xie, Chetna Sharma, Katherine Rusche, and Xin Wang* (Postdoc, University of Florida)
3:00- p.m. - 3:10 p.m. Break
3:10 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. Session 7: Contributed Talks
Chair: K.V. Lakshmi (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
Live Growth Microscopy and Raman Microscopy of Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation by a Nitrogen Fixing Cyanobacteria
Chris M. Brininger and Jeffrey C. Cameron* (Postdoc, University of Colorado, University of Wisconsin- Madison)
SIGNIFICANCE OF HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTIONS ON THE PRIMARY DONOR, P700, OF PHOTOSYSTEM I IN THE CYANOBACTERIUM SYNECHOCYSTIS SP. PCC 6803
Michael Gorka, Patrick Landry, John H. Golbeck, and K. V. Lakshmi* (Postdoc, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Pennsylvania State University)
3:40 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. Break
3:50 p.m. - 4:20 p.m. Session 8: Three-minutes Talks
Chair: Robert Green (Alabama State University)
HPLC analysis of overflow of cyanobacterial metabolites for energy management
Arielle Lee, Jacob Sebesta, Ibrahim Alamin, Vida A Dennis, Jianping Yu*, and Harvey J.M. Hou* (Undergraduate, Alabama State Universit, National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Isolation of N-fixing microalgae and cyanobacteria from soil in Missouri
Khadijah Taite, Victory Obele, Anindita Bandyopadhyay, Michelle Liberton, Harvey J. M. Hou*, and Himadri B. Pakrasi* (Undergraduate, Alabama State University, Washington University in St. Louis)
Spectroscopic characterization of N-fixing microalgae and cyanobacteria from soil in Missouri
Victory Obele, Khadijah Taite, Michelle Liberton, Anindita Bandyopadhyay, Harvey J. M. Hou*, and Himadri B. Pakrasi* (Undergraduate, Alabama State University, Washington University in St. Louis)
LC-MS analysis of overflow of cyanobacterial metabolites for energy management
Eryn Griffin, Jacob Sebesta, Arnav Deshpande, Ibrahim Alamin, Vida A Dennis, Lieve Laurens, Jianping Yu*, and Harvey J.M. Hou* (Undergraduate, Alabama State Universit, National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Development of a Novel Bead Reactor for Nutrient Remediation of Wastewater
Lauren Fort and David Blersch* (Undergraduate, Auburn University)
Isolation and identification of microalgae and cyanobacteria in Colorado for N-based fertilizer production
Lydia DavieBalogun, Eric Schaedig, Jacob Sebesta, Harvey J.M. Hou*, and Jianping Yu* (Undergraduate, Alabama State Universit, National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
FTIR analysis of overflow of cyanobacterial metabolites for energy management
Ibrahim Alamin, Arielle Lee, Eryn Grinffin, Vida A Dennis, Himadri Pakrasi, Jianping Yu*, and Harvey J.M. Hou* (Graduate, Alabama State Universit, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Washington University in St. Louis)
4:20- p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Break
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Session 9: Contributed Talks
Chair: Gary Hastings (Georgia State University)
Exceptional quantum efficiency powers biomass production in halotolerant algae Picochlorum sp.
Colin Gates*, Fatima Foflonker, Gennady Ananyev, Debashish Bhattachary, and G. Charles Dismukes (Loyola University Chicago, Rutgers University)
A review of the algal turf scrubber as an ecotechnology for aquatic nutrient recovery and remediation.
David Blersch* (Auburn University)
Infrared Difference Spectroscopy for Probing Bacterial Cell Growth
Gary Hastings*, Michael Nelson, Caroline Cameron Taylor, Alex Marchesani, and Eric Gilbert (Georgia State University)
The MenB Variant of Photosystem I in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
K. V. Lakshmi*, Vasily Kurashov, Chris Gisriel, Brandon P. Russell, David Iwig, Megan Schlogl, Patrick Landry, Gary Brudvig
Wade Johnson, Art van der Est, David Vinyard, and John Golbeck (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, Yale University; Louisiana State University, Susquehanna University, Brock University)
5:30- p.m. - 5:40 p.m. Break
5:40 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. Session 10: Plenary Talk
Chair: Robert Blankenship (Washington University in St. Louis)
From the lab to the field: long-term research on psychrophilic algae from ice-covered Antarctic lakes
Rachael Morgan-Kiss* (Miami University)
6:10 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. Award Ceremony
Chair: Govindjee (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
6:20 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
Chair: Harvey Hou (Alabama State University)
6:30 p.m. Departure