Skip to main content
Non-B DNA & Genome Stability

Draft program

Two days, seven sessions

The conference runs from Wednesday, March 24 through Thursday, March 25, 2027. Every session below is draft: timings, chairs, and additional invited speakers will change after invitations and abstract selection.


The University of Texas at Austin

This is a draft program. The schedule below is intentionally modular: exact timings, session chairs, and additional invited speakers will be adjusted after invitations and abstract selection.

Wednesday, March 24Mechanisms & genome-scale maps

Opening keynote followed by three scientific sessions — structure formation and dynamics, genome stability at non-B DNA, and genome-wide mapping and modeling — with selected short talks, poster lightning talks, and an evening poster session and networking reception.

  1. 08:00–09:00

    Registration, coffee, and poster setup

  2. 09:00–09:15

    Welcome and opening remarks

    Talk

  3. 09:15–10:00

    Keynote lecture

    Keynote · Karen M. Vasquez, PhD

    Keynote title to be announced. Emphasis on alternative DNA structures, DNA repair and genome stability, mutagenesis, and the mechanisms connecting DNA structure to disease.

  4. 10:00–10:20

    Coffee break

  5. 10:20–11:50

    Session I — Alternative DNA Structures: Formation, Dynamics, and Molecular Mechanisms

    Talk

    Foundational and emerging work on the sequence determinants, energetics, structural dynamics, and cellular formation of G-quadruplexes, Z-DNA/Z-RNA, cruciforms, hairpins, triplex/H-DNA, slipped structures, and related noncanonical conformations. Topics may include structural biology, biophysics, chemical probing, single-molecule approaches, and context-dependent transitions between DNA conformations.

  6. 11:50–12:20

    Selected short talks / emerging investigators

    Talk

    Short talks selected from submitted abstracts, with preference given to trainees and early-career investigators.

  7. 12:20–13:30

    Lunch

  8. 13:30–15:00

    Session II — Genome Stability at Non-B DNA: Replication, Repair, Recombination, and Mutagenesis

    Talk

    Mechanistic studies of how alternative DNA structures affect DNA replication, fork progression, repair pathway choice, recombination, chromosome breakage, repeat instability, and mutation. This session connects molecular mechanisms with genome-scale consequences and highlights both protective and destabilizing cellular responses.

  9. 15:00–15:25

    Coffee break

  10. 15:25–16:55

    Session III — Mapping and Modeling Alternative DNA Structures Across Genomes

    Talk · Ilias Georgakopoulos-Soares, PhD

    Genome-wide detection and prediction of structure-forming sequences using sequencing, chemical and enzymatic mapping, computational motif discovery, biophysical scoring, comparative genomics, and integrative analysis — with an emphasis on scalable analysis across reference genomes, population variation, structural variants, cancer genomes, and diverse species.

  11. 16:55–17:20

    Poster lightning talks

    Talk

    One-slide introductions from poster presenters, immediately before the poster session.

  12. 17:20–19:00

    Poster session and networking reception

    Poster session

Thursday, March 25Disease, evolution & translation

Four scientific sessions covering cancer and human disease, evolution and pangenomes, new technologies and AI, and translational opportunities — closing with a panel on the next frontiers in alternative DNA structure and genome stability.

  1. 08:30–09:00

    Coffee and networking

  2. 09:00–10:30

    Session IV — Alternative DNA Structures in Cancer and Human Disease

    Talk

    Evidence connecting non-B DNA-forming sequences with mutational hotspots, repeat-expansion disorders, genome rearrangements, cancer mutagenesis, transcriptional dysregulation, and inherited disease. Priority is given to studies that establish mechanism, causal links, biomarkers, or opportunities for prevention and treatment.

  3. 10:30–10:50

    Coffee break

  4. 10:50–12:20

    Session V — Evolution, Population Variation, Repetitive DNA, and Pangenomes

    Talk

    How structure-forming sequences arise, persist, turn over, and shape genome evolution. Topics may include population variation, pangenomes, repetitive DNA, recombination landscapes, microbial and viral genomes, adaptation, selective constraint, and lineage-specific enrichment or depletion of alternative DNA structures.

  5. 12:20–13:30

    Lunch and trainee networking

    Social

  6. 13:30–15:00

    Session VI — New Technologies, Computational Genomics, and AI for Non-B DNA Discovery

    Talk

    Methods that expand the field's ability to discover, predict, visualize, perturb, and interpret alternative DNA structures. Topics may include foundation models, machine learning, high-throughput assays, long-read sequencing, single-cell approaches, genome-wide perturbation, computational tool development, large-scale databases, and reproducible benchmarking.

  7. 15:00–15:20

    Coffee break

  8. 15:20–16:20

    Session VII — From Mechanism to Translation: Therapeutic and Biotechnology Opportunities

    Talk

    Translational and engineering opportunities arising from alternative DNA structures, including structure-targeting molecules, biomarkers, genome engineering, synthetic biology, diagnostics, and biotechnology. The session also addresses limitations, specificity, safety, and what evidence is needed to move from mechanistic association to actionable intervention.

  9. 16:20–17:00

    Closing panel — What are the next frontiers in alternative DNA structure and genome stability?

    Panel

  10. 17:00–17:15

    Closing remarks and future directions

    Talk

Program and speaker list are in development and subject to change.

Session chairs have not been appointed and most invited speakers have not yet been confirmed, so no session lists names it cannot stand behind. Times are indicative and exist so attendees can plan travel, not because the schedule is settled.

Cross-cutting discussion

Questions the panels are built around

Discussion prompts that cut across sessions — not scheduled items.

  1. When does a predicted structure-forming motif become a biologically validated structure?
  2. How should the field benchmark computational predictors and genome-wide maps?
  3. Which non-B DNA-associated mutations are causal drivers of disease rather than correlated features?
  4. How can long-read sequencing, single-molecule methods, and high-throughput perturbation change the field?
  5. What datasets and community standards are most urgently needed?
  6. Where can AI contribute meaningfully — prediction, experimental design, multimodal integration, or hypothesis generation?
  7. What opportunities exist for structure-directed therapeutics and diagnostics, and what are the main barriers to translation?

Conference format

Keynote and invited lectures · Focused scientific sessions · Short talks selected from abstracts · Poster presentations · Discussion-oriented panels · Trainee and early-career engagement.

Short talks are selected from submitted abstracts across every session.

View speakersSubmit an abstract