Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we awarded multiple poster prizes!

Chemical Biology and Physiology 2023: A peek into the future

The lunch conversation was lively, the poster sessions packed and the Knight Cancer Auditorium filled to capacity with attendees at the 2023 Chemical Biology and Physiology Conference, which took place Dec. 14-17, 2023, at the Knight Cancer Research Building in Portland, Ore.

The fourth offering of a biennial international conference series, this year’s event brought together high-caliber scientists from top research institutions across the globe to exchange ideas and promote collaboration at the growing interplay between chemical biology and physiology.

“The conference was another huge success,” says Carsten Schultz, Ph.D., chair and professor of chemical physiology and biochemistry, OHSU School of Medicine. “The response of the participants was overwhelmingly positive. Amy Johnson, Lisa Gurung and their team organized a flawless event.”   

This year's topics included chemical bioanalytics, chemical biology tools, nucleotides, protein chemistry and, for the first time in conference history, a session on structural chemical biology. “The session spurred great discussions and opened the field to a community that often is tied up with technical aspects and beautiful structures, but can benefit from the mechanistic questions asked in the field of chemical biology,” explained Dr. Schultz.

This year, 190 people attended the conference and another 23 tuned in online to a range of presentation options from flash talks to short talks, keynotes and poster sessions. View program. An increasing number of attendees are coming to the conference without being invited speakers, Dr. Schultz notes, underscoring the conference’s growing influence and reputation.

Among the conference highlights, says Dr. Schultz, was a keynote lecture by Squire Booker, Ph.D., a biochemist from Penn State. “He presented a peek into the future of chemistry that was truly surprising and blew people away,” says Dr. Schultz. “He showed that chemical reactions that can only be achieved by harsh conditions or very complicated biochemical reaction cascades can be completed by bacteria if they have the appropriate catalytic equipment. This opens many doors into the future bioengineering to perform chemical reactions and might replace some of the typical chemistry experiment in a hood as we know it.” 

The conference programming was led by members of the Science Steering Committee:

• Elisar J. Barbar, Ph.D., Oregon State University
• Kimberly Beatty, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
• Victoria DeRose, Ph.D., University of Oregon
• Braden Lobingier, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
• Ryan Mehl, Ph.D., Oregon State University
• Mike Pluth, Ph.D., University of Oregon
• Carsten Schultz, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University

Planning is underway for the next conference Dec. 11-14, 2025, which will feature different session topics such as lipids and switching tools. 

Speakers

Yimon Aye, EPFL 
Emily Balskus, Harvard University/HHMI
Clifton Barry, NIH/NIAID
Sara Buhrlage, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Neal Devaraj, University of California - San Diego
Meghna Gupta, University of San Francisco 
Angela M. Gronenborn, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Klaus M. Hahn, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Amanda Hargrove, Duke University
Mark Howarth, University of Cambridge
Ehud Isacoff, UC Berkeley
Kathrin Lang, ETH Zurich
Andres Leschziner, University of California - San Diego 
Chang Liu, UC Irvine
John Lueck, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Evan W. Miller, University of California - Berkeley
Jenn Prescher, UC Irvine
Michael Sattler, Helmholtz Munich and Technical University of Munich
Mikhail Shapiro, Caltech and HHMI
Nicolas Winssinger, University of Geneva

Science Steering Committee

Elisar J. Barbar, Ph.D., Oregon State University
Kimberly Beatty, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Victoria DeRose, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Braden Lobingier, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Ryan Mehl, Ph.D., Oregon State University
Mike Pluth, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Carsten Schultz, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University

Conference Organizers

Amy Johnson
Elie Inns
CPB Office Manager

Contact the organizers: chembiophysinquiries@ohsu.edu

*Lab Group registrations are available for 3+ virtual participants from the same lab for a flat fee of $450. Each participating lab group member will receive conference communications and access information. Lab participant details will be requested after the lab group registration is complete.

Only registered participants attending in person are eligible to submit an abstract and present a poster. Poster presentations will not be available to virtual participants. If you are presenting a poster, you must also register for the conference.

Abstract submission deadline was October 30, 2023 to be considered for a Short Talk. See below for further details.

Short Talks:
Nine short talks were selected from the abstract submissions received on or before October 30, 2023. A short talk is a 12-minute presentation with slides on the poster topic, given from the main stage. A short talk allows the presenter to go into details about the poster research to all attendees. Short Talk presenters will be notified 2-3 weeks after the abstract review.

Flash Talks:
The first 75 abstracts received were eligible to give a flash-talk. A flash talk is a 90-second presentation of your poster, supported by a single slide, from the main stage. Flash talks are an opportunity to promote your poster topic prior to the poster session. Flash Talk presenters will be notified after the abstract review.

General Information:

• Finished poster size should be no larger than 48" vertical x 48" horizontal.
• The character limit for abstracts is 4,000 characters (including spaces). 
• Abstracts may be edited up to the deadline of October 30, 2023.  Abstracts will be included in the abstract book as entered as of this date. To change any abstract information previously submitted, please email the conference organizers at chembiophysinquiries@ohsu.edu. 
• Please proof your abstract carefully for spelling and data errors.  Pay special attention to the author order and presenting author designation. 
• Submission of an abstract conveys permission to be included in the abstract book and posted online.
• All abstract submissions must be submitted electronically through the abstract system.

Venue

Knight Cancer Research Building
Oregon Health & Science University
2720 S.W. Moody Ave.
Portland, OR 97201

Accomodations

Downtown Portland has many hotels and lodging options conveniently connected by light rail, Portland street car, and bus lines.

The recommended hotel for the conference is the Hyatt House Portland Downtown. The hotel is conveniently located .3 miles from the venue, within easy walking distance.

Hyatt House Portland Downtown
2080 SW River Drive
Portland, OR 97201
503-241-2775
Map

Additional lodging options include:

• Downtown Portland Hotels
• Bed and Breakfasts
• AirBNB

Local Transportation

The conference venue is just south of downtown Portland, Oregon, and easily accessible by the Portland Streetcar and MAX light rail.  This makes most downtown Portland hotels a convenient choice for conference accommodations. 

Chemical Biology and Physiology 2023 welcomes corporate, journal and institutional sponsors. Sponsorships are essential in allowing us to bring this biennial conference to the chemical biology and physiology scientific communities. Below are our pre-defined sponsorship opportunities, or we are happy to design a package that meets your needs. To discuss interest in conference sponsorship or for questions, please contact conference planners at chembiophysinquiries@ohsu.edu. 

Named Conference Reception Sponsor - $5,000 ($3,150 may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution)
One sponsorship at this level is available

• Named Conference Reception held on the first night of the conference. (Value $1,000)
• One (1) conference registration for in-person attendance. (Value $700)
• Sponsor table with tablecloth. (Value $100)
• Organization logo on conference webpage, booklet and welcome slide. (Value $50)
• Distribute flyers/brochures at conference.

Poster Session Sponsor - $3,000 ($900 may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution)
Two sponsorships at this level are available

• One (1) conference registration for in-person attendance. (Value $700)
• Named poster session. (Value $750)
• Poster awards: $300/$200/$100. (value $600)
• Sponsor representative presents the awards.
• Organization logo on conference webpage, booklet and welcome slide. (Value $50)
• Distribute flyers/brochures at conference.

Gold Sponsor - $3,000 ($1,650 may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution)
Ten sponsorships at this level are available

• One (1) conference registration for in-person attendance. (Value $700)
• Named science session or keynote session. (Value $500)
• Sponsor table with tablecloth. (Value $100)
• Organization logo on conference webpage, booklet and welcome slide. (Value $50)
• Distribute flyers/brochures at conference.

Silver Sponsor - $2,000 ($1,400 may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution)
Eight sponsorships at this level are available

• One (1) conference registration for virtual attendance. (Value $450)
• Named coffee session. (Value $100)
• Organization logo on conference webpage, booklet and welcome slide. (Value $50)
• Distribute flyers/brochures at conference.

Bronze Supporter - $750 ($700 may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution)

• Organization logo on conference webpage, booklet and welcome slide. (Value $50)
• Distribute flyers/brochures at conference.