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Get ready for a tidal wave of excitement! PSA 2024 is not just about algae; it’s about amplifying the enthusiasm with our protist pals! Brace yourselves because the PSA-ISOP-ISEP 2024 meeting in Seattle is a mega-event, bringing together the powerhouses of algae and protists. Our theme will be From Micro to Macro: Cultivating Resilience in Communities.
Mark your calendars for July 29th to August 1st, 2024, as the Husky Union Building (HUB) at the University of Washington transforms into the epicenter of groundbreaking discussions. Be prepared to be immersed in an extravaganza of ideas, scientific revelations, and collaborative brainstorming sessions that transcend micro and macro worlds.
Registration is NOW OPEN!!!
REGISTRATION FEES
· Professionals: $525
· Students: $300
· Post-docs: $300
· Indigenous Representatives/Affiliates: $300
· Retirees: $300
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Deadline is May 17th. Please follow the abstract preparation guidelines in the submission form. The submission form is ready to download here.
We want to bring to your attention the growing significance of program abstracts, which are now archived alongside meeting websites, becoming a valuable resource for the phycological community. To ensure the quality of our archives, the Scientific Program Committee is committed to closely reviewing all submitted abstracts. An abstract is expected to be both informative and representative of the presentation, with an emphasis on conveying data and results rather than delving into methodology.
More details on the presentation format are upcoming!!!
For any inquiries or clarification, feel free to reach out to the Program Director.
ACCOMMODATION & LOGISTICS
Dormitory booking: Open now. https://washington.irisregistration.com/Form/5751
Accommodation
Regular: Sunday, July 28 – Friday, August 2, 2024
Package Rates (per person):
· $541.63 Double Occupancy - Private Bathroom
· $784.13 Single Occupancy - Private Bathroom
Early Arrival Housing: Friday, July 26, 2024.
Late Departure Housing: Sunday, August 4, 2024.
Rates (per person, per night):
· $80.25 Double Occupancy - Private Bathroom
· $128.75 Single Occupancy - Private Bathroom
Parking
Overnight parking is available near the residence halls. Complimentary parking is not available, and rates are subject to change without advance notice. Availability is limited and not guaranteed. Additional information regarding parking is available on the UW Transportation Services website.
Transportation
Getting to campus – Visit the UW (washington.edu)
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
Tentative Schedule
IDEA Symposium (Opening Ceremony)
Aqua Harmony: Empowering Indigenous Narratives on Water Quality
As a community-driven society, PSA has devoted extensive efforts to infuse Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access into our scientific endeavors, fostering a harmonious environment. This year, PSA, alongside sister societies ISOP and ISEP, seizes the opportunity to unite with tribal scientists. Together, we'll delve into the pressing challenges faced by Indigenous tribes concerning clean water resources. Uncover the impact of artificial pollutions and harmful algal blooms on source water and seafood harvests for these communities. The forthcoming IDEA Symposium promises an illuminating showcase of scientific endeavors by Pacific Northwest Tribes, exploring diverse subjects like coastal health, harmful algal bloom detection over time, and shellfish management. Join us for an immersive discussion with Neil Harrington and Rosa Hunter about the Pacific Northwest right in the heart of the region, and discover the crucial roles played by Indigenous Research and storytelling in the protection of our precious waters.
Plenary Speakers
We've curated an amazing lineup of speakers, featuring!!!
Dr. Philippe Hess
Presentation Title: HARMFUL MICROALGAE AND THEIR METABOLITES – DIVERSITY AND BIOACTIVITY, FROM AN ANTHROPOCENTRIC TO AN ECOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT AND BACK AGAIN
Dr. Philipp Hess has trained as an analytical chemist with a BSc from Saarbrücken University (1990, DE) and a Master's degree from Strasbourg School of Polymers & Chemistry (1993, ECPM, FR). After his Ph.D. on planar aromatic and halogenated pollutants in the Marine Environment at Marine Scotland (1998, Aberdeen, UK), he specialized in microalgal toxins and their effects on marine and coastal socio-ecosystems, risk assessment, and management. He worked from 2001 – 2008 at the Marine Institute in Ireland to introduce chemical testing for azaspiracids and other lipophilic toxins. Since 2008, he has continued his research at the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), where he currently leads a research unit on the physiology and toxins of harmful microalgae (30 permanent staff and 10 contractors and students). He also teaches a master's course on algal toxins at Nantes University and has supervised well over 30 undergraduate and 12 graduate students over the last 20 years. He has made over 450 scientific contributions of which 136 are papers in peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the governing council of the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae and chairs the FAO/IOC-UNESCO Intergovernmental Panel for Harmful Algal Blooms.
Dr. Michael Stekoll
Presentation Title: SEAWEED MARICULTURE RESEARCH IN ALASKA
Dr. Michael Stekoll is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Alaska Southeast and the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He received a BS in chemistry from Stanford and a PhD in biochemistry from UCLA. He has spent the last 40+ years in Alaska teaching university classes in chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, aquatic pollution, and phycology. His research interests have focused on two major areas: aquatic pollution effects on fish, invertebrates, and marine algae (seaweeds) and research on the mariculture of seaweeds. His lab has worked out the procedures for the successful mariculture of the kelps Macrocystis. Alaria, and Saccharina in Alaska. He and colleagues have researched the physiological ecology of several species of Alaskan Pyropia/Porphyra as it relates to future commercial production. Current focus is on applied research on kelp mariculture. The latest projects are investigating the mariculture of Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp), especially with respect to this species’ use in large-scale production for biofuels and the mariculture of Nereocystis luetkeana (bull kelp). He lives in Juneau with his wife Deborah Hansen. They have four, now adult, offspring: Justin, Skye, Spencer, and Kokii, and have accumulated seven grandchildren.
Dr. Laura Eme
Presentation Title: THE ORIGIN AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF EUKARYOTES
Dr. Laura Eme’s primary research interests are in evolutionary microbiology. She has a strong background in bioinformatics and phylogenetics, and she has examined fundamental problems related to the origin, evolution, and genome biology of eukaryotes. She pursued my doctorate at Aix-Marseille University (France) under the supervision of Céline Brochier-Armanet, which she defended in 2011. She was then a postdoctoral fellow in Andrew Roger's lab (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada) until 2016. In January 2017, she joined the group of Thijs Ettema (Microbial Diversity and Evolution group, Uppsala University, Sweden) as a Marie Curie Fellow for two years. Finally, since 2019, she has been a principal investigator in the DEEM team (Diversity, Ecology and Evolution of Microbes; Ecology, Systematics, and Evolution Unit) at the Paris-Saclay University. Her broad interests in evolutionary biology are reflected in the diversity of topics she has addressed, including: (i) the archaeal ancestry of eukaryotes, (ii) the origin and evolution of mitochondria, (iii) the origin and evolution of key eukaryotic cellular systems (e.g. involved in cell division, membrane trafficking), (iv) the role of symbiosis and horizontal gene transfer in eukaryotic evolution, and (v) the age of major eukaryotic evolutionary transitions. She aims to answer these questions through a combination of top-down (from the eukaryotic perspective) and bottom-up (from the prokaryotic perspective) approaches. From a methodological perspective, she mainly combines classical approaches (protist isolation, culturing) with state-the-art sequencing, molecular evolution (ancestral sequence reconstruction, species tree/gene tree reconciliation, sophisticated phylogenomics), and structural bioinformatics (AlphFold, FoldSeek).
Dr. Courtney Stairs
Presentation Title: STEALING AND DEALING: HOW EUKARYOTES LIVE WITHOUT OXYGEN
Dr. Courtney Stairs is an Associate Senior University Lecturer and Wallenberg Academy Fellow at the Biology Department at Lund University in Sweden since October 2020. After completing her PhD at Dalhousie University (Canada) in 2015 with Prof. Andrew Roger, Courtney took up a four-year post-doctoral research fellowship at Uppsala University with supervisor Prof. Thijs Ettema. Throughout her academic career, Dr. Stairs has studied how different marine and freshwater microorganisms have evolved to live without oxygen through a biochemical and evolutionary lens. This includes work on deep sea chlamydia (‘Anoxychlamydiales’) and archaea (‘Asgard archaea’) as well as pathogenic and free-living protists. Now, her team at Lund - ‘the lab upstairs’ - is investigating the metabolic and cellular adaptations of anaerobic eukaryotes using genomics and cell biology.
Workshops & Fieldtrips
Registration for Workshops & Fieldtrips Will Open Between March 15 and June 17!!!
Fieldtrip – Boat trip to Vendovi Island (plankton tows, intertidal exploration, and short hike on the island)
Hosts: Robin Kodner, Western Washington University
Tom Mumford, University of Washington
Fee: $50; Capacity: 15; Time: 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday, July 27
In this all-day field trip, we will drive from Seattle to Anacortes, WA visit the Western Washington University Shannon Point Marine Center. After a tour of the campus and a visit with the Director, we will take a SPMC research vessel to Vendovi Island Preserve. The island is owned and operated by the San Juan Preservation trust. Vendovi is one of the wildest private islands in the San Juan archipelago, which is why for many years it has been a priority for permanent conservation. We will go on a short hike on the island (approx. 1.5 miles with some moderate elevation gain) and explore the intertidal on Vendovi's two beaches. We will also take some plankton tows on the way to the island and have a microscope available to explore the San Juan's summer phytoplankton communities as well. We will return to SPMC by 6pm and return to Seattle by 9pm. Participants are responsible for bringing a lunch, and the group will stop for dinner in Anacortes before returning to Seattle.
Introduction to FlowCam: Flow Imaging Microscopy for Algal Research & Monitoring
Lecturer: Savannah Judge, FlowCam Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc.
Fee: Free; Capacity: 20; Time: 3 pm to 5 pm, Saturday, July 27
Many scientists worldwide are interested in modernizing & expediting their algal research & monitoring programs. One way of doing this is through automated imaging techniques, yet many researchers are not familiar with the capabilities and limitations of such approaches. This knowledge gap can introduce unnecessary risk during the buying process and make it challenging to interpret data from other studies involving imaging data. In this workshop, we will work to eliminate this knowledge gap by learning more about automated imaging techniques such as flow imaging microscopy (FIM).
FIM first started gaining popularity as a technique for researching and monitoring phytoplankton in the late 1990s. FlowCam was one of the first FIMs on the market and has been commercially available for almost 25 years.
Incorporating Anticolonial Approaches to Science in Biology Courses
Lecturer: Bridgette Clarkston, University of British Columbia
Fee: Free; Capacity: 20; Time: Sunday, 2 pm to 4 pm, July 28
How would you include Indigenous knowledges and anticolonial approaches to science in an undergraduate biology course? If you teach about herbaria or other natural history collections, how do you do so in an anticolonial way when the foundation of many collections is rooted in colonialism? In this session, Bridgette Clarkston and colleagues from the University of British Columbia will share their experiences with designing a new undergraduate course that centers Indigenous knowledges, anticolonial approaches, and expertise in science and natural history collections. Join us for a discussion on course and curriculum design, share your own experiences, and leave with example lesson plans and resources that may spark new ideas for your own teaching.
EVOLVEing around PhycoCosm
Lecturers: Robin Kodner, Western Washington University
Alan Kuo, Joint Genome Institute (JGI)
Jodi Young, University of Washington
Fee: Free; Capacity: 50; Time: 9 am to 4 pm, Sunday, July 28
Algal biology and ecology have advanced significantly through the integration of genomics methodologies. The understanding of algal genomes and their functional implications has provided valuable insights into various biological and ecological phenomena. One such platform facilitating this integration is the Joint Genome Institute's Fungal and Algal Program, which offers a comprehensive suite of resources and tools for algal genomics research through its flagship portal, PhycoCosm. In this workshop, we aim to bridge the gap between traditional algal research and genomic approaches, empowering investigators to leverage genomics effectively in their studies. By familiarizing researchers with the tools and resources available through PhycoCosm, we hope to enable them to explore the vast potential of genomics in answering questions in algal biology. Through this workshop, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how genomics can enhance their ability to study algal genomes, identify functional genes, and conduct comparative genomics and multiomics analysis on PhycoCosm. By bridging the gap between traditional algal research and genomic approaches, we aim to foster collaboration and accelerate discoveries in the field of algal genomics.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Monday 07/29: Meet & Greet Breakfast
Join other student and early career researchers on Monday morning of the conference for breakfast. This will be an event just for student and early career researchers to connect early in the meeting. Grab breakfast using your daily food voucher and join us! Information on location of the breakfast will follow!
Tuesday 07/30: Career Panel
Come meet and hear from professionals in our field who will offer perspectives on their diverse career paths. This is an event for students and early career researchers who are interested in learning about the diversity in career paths and experiences of those in those careers. This event will take place during the lunch break on Tuesday. Lunch will be provided. Free event.
*Our student & early career researcher committee is curating a list of professionals for this panel and is in the process of reaching out to them. However, if you are a professional and would like to volunteer for this event, please reach out to our Student Member Rep!*
Wednesday 07/31: Trivia & Pub Social Event
Meet us off campus for our student and early career researcher social event! We are planning a fun Trivia night, so come prepared to have a great time! More details about this event will follow! We are working to coordinate transportation to the event space. The trivia event is free.
Our student representative, Gabbie Kuba, alongside ISOP and ISEP, is conjuring up a series of fun and integrated activities for all the young minds out there. For more on this magical experience, stay in tuned or reach out to gkuba@uri.edu.
OPENING MIXER
The opening mixer will be held at University of Washington Botanic Gardens-Center for Urban Horticulture, which is 10-min drive and 20-min walking distance from the dormitory. Indulging in the sunset, sharing laughs with colleagues, all while relishing the delectable offerings from Bay Laurel Catering? Count me in! What an incredible experience that would be!
Center for Urban Horticulture | University of Washington Botanic Gardens (uw.edu)
HOW TO GET THERE
Getting to campus – Visit the UW (washington.edu)
PSA AWARDS AND COMPETITION
Hoshaw Travel Award — Phycological Society of America (psaalgae.org)
Bold Award — Phycological Society of America (psaalgae.org)
Lewin Poster Award — Phycological Society of America (psaalgae.org)
Please find other awards at Phycological Society of America (psaalgae.org)
JOINT SOCIETIES
Home - International Society of Protistologists
ISOP Symposium
Cells in the 3D perspective – Volume Electron and Super Resolution Microscopies
Advances in microscopy have driven the discoveries in bioscience, including protistology. More than half a century ago, electron microscopy (EM) revolutionized protistology by opening up a way to observe sub-cellular structures, including various organelles (mitochondria and plastids) or cytoskeletal configurations, including flagellar apparatus. Those understandings laid the foundation for contemporary systematics and led to significant discoveries, including recognizing plastid acquisitions via endosymbiosis. Today, we’re experiencing yet another quiet revolution - the development of volume EM (vEM) and the invention of super-resolution microscopy (SRM), connecting the ultrastructures and functional molecules in the live cells. This symposium will showcase the recent vEM and SRM works applied to protists and algae.
International Society for Evolutionary Protistology (isep-protists.com)
LOGO DESIGN ARTISTS
─── Anna M. G. Novák Vanclová
I tried to express all the key concepts of the motto in a single image. I picked a shield as the central motif as it represents protection, toughness, resilience and robustness. At the same time, it is only given shape through the arrangement of multiple smaller parts, various microorganisms which I selected for their unique, easily identifiable shapes and with the intention to cover a wide portion of the eukaryotic tree of life. This symbolizes the strength stemming from diversity: little things intertwining together to give rise to a large system that is more than the sum of its parts. I designed the logo so that it can work in both the detailed (line work) and simple (silhouettes) version as each of these is suitable for different purposes and size and color of the print (the inverted color schemes are also shown). The detailed version can be monochromatic, use a third color, or combine multiple colors to create an upbeat, eye-catching version of the graphic that further stresses the diversity aspect.
─── Naomi Vliet
The main focus of the design is a bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), which is a foundational species in the Salish Sea as our only canopy-forming macroalgae. It is also under threat due to ocean warming, and we have lost a lot of historic kelp beds in recent years. In addition to its ecological importance, bull kelp is also important to the many Indigenous peoples who have lived here since time immemorial. I am kanaka ‘ōiwi and I believe it is important to know the Indigenous names and contexts of the species we study, so in each blade is an Indigenous name for bull kelp:
Hlkyama, Haida language; O¸EṈ¸ , Saanich language; Husmin, Nuu-chah-nulth language; wáwádi, Heiltsuk dialect; Q’am, Hul'qumi'num dialect; qὠqὠúʔәη, Klallam language; Moox, North Coast Sm’algyax language; kwá-ang , Lummi dialect
Between the organization acronyms are chains of Odontella longicruris, a diatom commonly found in the Salish Sea and around the world. It is a food source for microorganisms and small fish and is also cultured for human consumption.
OTHER ENTERTAINMENTS
Some things to do in and around Seattle (washington.edu)
Situated in the Pacific Northwest on Puget Sound, Seattle is surrounded by mountains, forests, and water, replete with kelp forests and abundant biodiversity. It is also the home of Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, as well as the Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, and the famous fish-tossing-fun of Pikes Market, among other attractions. The University of Washington campus is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast. Located in the city’s University District, the main UW campus is replete with coffee shops, pubs, and restaurants with local and international fare. We look forward to seeing everyone there!
(Top left) The ariel view of the University of Washington. https://shorturl.at/bmBCI
(Top left) The ariel view of the University of Washington. https://shorturl.at/bmBCI (Top right) The Ballroom in Husky Union Building, the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. https://rb.gy/7zclcr (Bottom left) The night view of the Space Needle. https://rb.gy/8ocpfo (Bottom right) Seattle Aquarium. https://shorturl.at/rGJ49
Best wishes,
Wade Huang, Program Director
