Programme
Wednesday, 17 September 2025 | ||
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Registration | |
| Keynote Lectures and Festive Opening | ||
| Chair: Ursula Ravens | ||
| 17:00 – 17:15 | Welcome addresses by: Peter Kohl | |
| 17:15 – 18:00 | Calum MacRae | Cardiac electro-mechanics: from zebrafish to human |
| 18:00 – 18:45 | Dawn Bowles | Gene therapy for cardiac transplantation: the impact of mechanical conditions on successful outcomes |
| 18:45 – 19:00 | Wrap-up | |
| 19:00 – 21:00 | Reception | |
Thursday, 18 September 2025 | ||
| 08:30 – … | Registration | |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Rémi Peyronnet | MEC2025, Special Issue |
| Session 1: Power to the Piezo! | ||
| Chair: Boris Martinac | ||
| 09:15 – 09:45 | Yang Guo | Functional coupling between Piezo1 and TRPM4 influences the electrical activity of HL-1 atrial myocytes |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Ramona Emig | Fibroblasts at the interface of cardiac inflammation and mechanical remodelling |
| 10:15 – 10:45 | Ana Simon-Chica | Piezo1 in cardiac immune cells and their electrophysiological relevance for the myocardium |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Charles Cox | Piezo1 and fibrosis: roles of MyoD-family inhibitor proteins |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Coffee break (posters on display) | |
| Session 2: Stretch and Signalling | ||
| Chair: Callum Zgierski-Johnston | ||
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Andrew D McCulloch | Mechanoregulation of transcription in cardiac myocytes |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Yumiko Chiba | Acute stretch-induced reactive oxygen species: roles in cardiac physiology and pathogenesis |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch (posters on display) | |
| 14:00 – 14:30 | Remi Peyronnet | Stretch-activation of Ca2+ sparks: role of TRPA1 channels |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Julie Bossuyt | Mechanical afterload-induced increases in Ca2+ transient and sparks: role of CaMKII nitrosylation |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Dennis Ogiermann (Poster 01) | Computational studies on the mechano-electrical feedback governed by the Piezo1 ion channel in the left ventricle |
| 15:15 – 15.30 | Yohei Yamaguchi (Poster 09) | Hydrostatic pressure enhances cardiomyocyte contraction through TRPC6-mediated intracellular Ca2+ regulation |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee break (posters on display) | |
| Session 3: Stretch and Subcellular Dynamics | ||
| Chair: Ye Chen-Izu | ||
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Thomas Iskratsch | Regulation of cardiomyocyte adhesion and mechanosignalling: roles of integrins |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Ornella Manfra | Mechanical regulation of cardiomyocyte substructure in the developing, adult, and diseased heart |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Eva Rog-Zielinska | Mechanical modulation of nano-dynamics of the transverse/axial tubular system |
| 17:30 – 19:30 | Poster Session | |
Friday, 19 September 2025 | ||
| Session 4: Stretch and Tissue Dynamics | ||
| Chair: Michael R Franz | ||
| 09:15 – 09:45 | Norio Fukuda | Imaging of the beating mouse heart in vivo with sub-cellular resolution |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Marie-Louise Ward | Endocardial arrhythmias induced by acute ventricular stretch: role of Purkinje fibres |
| 10:15 – 10:45 | Miriam Hurley | Imaging stretch-effects on Purkinje-myocardial junctions in the whole heart |
| 10:45 -11:15 | Coffee break (posters on display) | |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Fanny Vaillant | Impact of percardium on ventricular interdependence in the working heart |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Jonathan Taylor | Biomechanical coupling of heart structure, coronary flow, and electrophysiology |
| 12:15 – 13:45 | Lunch (posters on display) | |
| Session 5: Stretch and Rhythm – Acute | ||
| Chair: Eilidh MacDonald | ||
| 13:45 – 14:15 | Jan Christoph | Linking electrical and mechanical activation |
| 14:15 – 14:45 | Alex Quinn | Linking electrical repolarisation and mechanical relaxation |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | Axel Loewe | Differential effects of mechano-electric feedback on whole-heart electrical activation, repolarisation, and mechanics |
| 15:15 – 15:45 | Coffee break (posters on display) | |
| 15:45 – 16:00 | Minerva Corrales Terrón (Poster 05) | Mechanoregulation of Cartilage Intermediate Layer Protein (CILP) in cardiac in vitro models |
| 16:00 – 16:15 | Brianna Latremouille (Poster 11) | Cardiomyocyte mechanical function is maintained by an optimal range of afterload |
| 16:15 – 16:30 | Benedict Reilly-O'Donnell (Poster 14) | Increased load on cardiomyocytes causes dilation of T- tubule openings |
| 16:30 – 16:45 | Anna Clouvel-Gervaiseau (Poster 38) | Geometric boundary conditions govern myofibrillar organization in hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes |
| 17:00 | Meeting Photo | |
Saturday, 20 September 2025 | ||
| Session 6: Stretch and Rhythm – Chronic | ||
| Chair: Flavia Ravelli | ||
| 09:15 – 09:45 | Matt Caporizzo | Stretch-induced arrhythmia susceptibility in diabetic obese rats: role of microtubule detyrosination |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Katja Odening | Mechano-electrical interactions in transgenic short- and long-QT syndrome rabbits |
| 10:15 – 10:45 | Lisa Gottlieb | Localized pulmonary vein scar promotes atrial fibrillation in high left atrial pressure |
| 10:45 -11:15 | Coffee break (posters on display) | |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Alexey Glukhov (Poster 17) | Sex- and age-dependent chronotropic response of the heart to atrial stretch in mice and rats |
| 11:30 – 11:45 | Katharina Friederichs (Poster 20) | The impact of atrial preload on ventricular electrophysiology in left bundle branch block |
| 11:45 – 13:15 | Lunch (posters on display) | |
| Session 7: Cool tools | ||
| Chair: Gregory Sands | ||
| 13:15 – 13:45 | Emilia Entcheva | Ultrasound stimulation of iPSC cardiomyocytes with optogenetic gating: good vibrations |
| 13:45 – 14:15 | Maretoshi Hirai | Development of new molecular tension indicators |
| 14:15 – 14:45 | Chiara Bertarelli | Light-induced, spatio-temporally controlled mechanical deformation of lipid bilayers: opening a new frontier for cardiac mechano-electric coupling research |
| 14:45 – 15:00 | Chiara Florindi (Poster 32) | Geneless optical control of cardiac excitability via azobenzene-based intramembrane photoswitches |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Joachim Greiner (Poster 34) | AI-based 3D reconstructions of cardiomyocytes for structure-function studies and beyond |
| 15:15 – 15:45 | Coffee break (posters on display) | |
| Closing Session | ||
| Chair: Peter Kohl | ||
| 15:45 – 16:00 | Calum MacRae | What we’ve learned and what should we focus on next in terms of mechanisms |
| 16:00 – 16:15 | Dawn Bowles | What we’ve learned and what should we focus on next in terms of translational relevance |
| 16:15 – 16:45 | Discussion, Participant feedback | |
| 18:00 – 00:00 | Meeting Dinner (optional) | |
| 18:00 – 18:30 | Reception | |
| 18:30 – 18:45 | Poster Awards | |
| 18:45 – 00:00 | Meeting Dinner | |
