NEW: Click here to download the schedule

ICRP2026 Program Schedule

ICRP 2026 – Final Program

September 14 (Monday)

Morning
  • 10:00 – 13:00 Conference Junior Session
    Chairs / Organizers: Filippo Sacchetta and Riccardo Carletti
    Title: Computational Photobiology for Graduate Students and Postdocs: A discussion of Methods and Case Studies

September 14 (Monday)

Afternoon/Evening
  • 14:00 – 14:20 Conference Opening (M. Olivucci, A. Watts, S. Braslavsky, K. Inoue)
  • SESSION A. Photochemistry and Spectroscopy I (Chair: Watts)
    • 14:20 – 15:00 [Keynote] J. Heberle – The contribution of infrared spectroscopy to the understanding of retinal proteins – an interdisciplinary and personal perspective
    • 15:00 – 15:30 [Invited] L. Pedraza-González – What controls excitation energy transfer in xanthophyll-binding microbial rhodopsins? Structural and spectroscopic insights from multiscale modeling
    • 15:30 – 15:40 [Contributed A] R. McDowell – How is protonation of the retinal Schiff base stabilised in melanopsin?
    • 15:40 – 15:45 [Contributed B] Z. Lyu – Mechanistic insights into indole-3-acetate-dependent modulation of the outward proton-pumping
    • 15:45 – 16:15 [Invited (online)] I. Guschin – Engineering of soluble microbial rhodopsin analogs
  • 16:15 – 16:40 Coffee Break
  • SESSION B. Biology, Diversity and Evolution I (Chair: Sakmar)
    • 16:40 – 17:20 [Keynote] B. Chang – Molecular Evolution of Visual Adaptations
    • 17:20 – 17:50 [Invited] M. Del Carmen – Novel light-driven schizorhodopsins from Antarctic Minisyncoccota (Patescibacteria) and cyanobacteria
    • 17:50 – 18:00 [Contributed A] G. Castiglione – Rhodopsin moonlights as a tunable capacitor buffering the toxic, desensitizing retinoids of the vertebrate eye
    • 18:00 – 18:05 [Contributed B] M. Sela – Design of Rhodopsin Variants with Targeted Absorption Maxima Using Deep Generative Models
    • 18:05 – 18:35 [Invited (online)] A. Marchetti – Proton-pumping rhodopsin contributions to energy production under varying light quality in Southern Ocean diatoms
  • 18:35 – 19:30 Poster Session I (Poster 1 a 31)
  • 19:30 – 22:00 Welcome Reception

September 15 (Tuesday)

Morning
  • SESSION C. Photochemistry and Spectroscopy II (Chair: Wachtveitl)
    • 08:30 – 09:10 [Keynote] H. Kandori – Channel and Pump Rhodopsins
    • 09:10 – 09:40 [Invited] K. Inoue – AI-driven Exploration of Functional Rhodopsins
    • 09:40 – 09:45 [Contributed B] R. Misra – Elucidating Structure and Function of a Novel Dinoflagellate Bestrhodopsin
    • 09:45 – 10:15 [Invited] A. Bochenkova – Accurate excited-state potentials and dynamics of retinal proteins: from the gas phase to the protein solution
  • 10:15 – 10:40 Coffee Break
  • SESSION D. Biology, Diversity and Evolution II (Chair: Terakita)
    • 10:40 – 11:10 [Invited] T. Morizumi – Structural Insights into Xenopus Blue-Sensitive SWS2 Opsin
    • 11:10 – 11:15 [Contributed B] H. Takahashi – Identification of two key amino acid residues determining UV and visible absorption in Apusomonad rhodopsin from Singekia franciliensis
    • 11:15 – 11:20 [Contributed B] K. Fujimoto – Computational Insights into Protein-Controlled Chromophore Interactions in Microbial Rhodopsins
    • 11:20 – 11:50 [Invited] L. Gómez-Consarnau – Microbial Rhodopsins in the Global Ocean: An Environmental Perspective
    • 11:50 – 12:20 [Invited] T. Yamashita – Spectral tuning of UV-sensitive vertebrate non-visual opsin Opn5
    • 12:20 – 12:50 [Invited] V. H. Albarracín – Light-driven adaptations in extreme andean microbiomes: the hidden diversity of microbial rhodopsins
  • 12:50 – 14:00 Lunch

September 15 (Tuesday)

Afternoon
  • SESSION E. Photochemistry and Spectroscopy III (Chair: Bondar)
    • 14:00 – 14:40 [Keynote] B. Mennucci – Photoreceptors: Bridging Electronic Excitations to Functional Response through Multiscale Simulations
    • 14:40 – 15:10 [Invited] K. Heine – Electric-field jump triggers a protein response preceeding the ultrafast photoisomerization
    • 15:10 – 15:20 [Contributed A] S. Haacke – Ultrafast Stark shift of Trp absorption probes retinal’s excited state dipole moment in Archaerhodopsin-3
    • 15:20 – 15:25 [Contributed B] D. Carrasco-Busturia – Multiphoton Absorption Spectra of Channelrhodopsin-2 via Multiscale Simulation Methods
    • 15:25 – 15:35 [Contributed A] D. Nikolaev – Engineering of archaerhodopsin-3-based fluorescent genetically encoded voltage indicators
    • 15:35 – 16:05 [Invited] M. Garavelli – Modelling of Coherence and Photoactive-Modes Sensitive X-ray Spectroscopies in a Retinal Photoisomerization Model
  • 16:05 – 16:30 Coffee Break
  • SESSION F. Structural Biology, Synthetic Biology and Physiology I (Chair: Schertler)
    • 16:30 – 17:10 [Keynote] K. Palczewski – The Eye’s Gatekeeper: The Structure and Logic of Rhodopsin
    • 17:10 – 17:40 [Invited] W. Huang – Artificial photosynthesis based on rhodopsin
    • 17:40 – 17:50 [Contributed A] H. Kato – Development of NOAH/ARK1, a Structural Analysis Platform for Animal Rhodopsins, Reveals Molecular Mechanisms of Non-visual Opsins
    • 17:50 – 17:55 [Contributed B] S.-G. Cho – Heliorhodopsin PRISM: Functional Coupling of an ABC Transporter to Retinal-Related Substrate Handling
    • 17:55 – 18:25 [Invited] Y. Chii-Shen – Protein cinematographic analysis unveils the structural mechanism conferring the unique acid-tolerance properties of HwBR
    • 18:25 – 18:55 [Invited] F. Fanelli – Structural Network Analysis of Rhodopsin Mutants and Development of Therapeutic Pharmacological Chaperones

September 16 (Wednesday)

Morning
  • SESSION G. Biology, Diversity and Evolution III (Chair: Jung)
    • 08:30 – 09:10 [Keynote] P. Hegemann – SEEING RED by Algae, Fungi and Mantis Shrimp
    • 09:10 – 09:40 [Invited] T. Oakley – An Opsin Genotype-Phenotype Map Reveals Path-Dependent Functional Evolution of Animal Color Sensitivity
    • 09:40 – 09:50 [Contributed A] M. Broser – Structure of the 7-cis Retinal Chromophore in the UV-absorbing Photoproduct of Neorhodopsin
    • 09:50 – 09:55 [Contributed B] A. Chazan – Shedding light on rhodopsin-mediated phototrophy
    • 09:55 – 10:25 [Invited] A. Rozenberg – Dissecting microbial rhodopsins diversity
  • 10:25 – 10:50 Coffee Break
  • SESSION H. Optogenetics and other Applications I (Chair: Karunarathne)
    • 10:50 – 11:20 [Invited] J. Geiger – A Designed Retinal-Bound Fluorescent Protein Based on an hCRBPII Template
    • 11:20 – 11:25 [Contributed B] M. Paolino – Designing Xanthopsin Mimics via Site-Specific Click-Functionalization of a Retinoic Acid Binding Protein Platform
    • 11:25 – 11:30 [Contributed B] M. Ooka – Residue-Specific Assignment of Peptide Backbone Vibrations in KR2 by Lysine Isotope Labeling
    • 11:30 – 11:35 [Contributed B] S. Gao – When Channelopsins Miss Retinal: Intrinsic Ion Conductance of Apo-Channelopsins
    • 11:35 – 12:05 [Invited] A. Walker – Multiscale Simulations of Fluorescent Proteins for Rational Design
    • 12:05 – 12:35 [Invited] K. Kovalev – On structural model quality
  • 12:35 – 14:00 Lunch

September 16 (Wednesday)

Afternoon
  • SESSION I. Photochemistry and Spectroscopy IV (Chair: Braslavsky)
    • 14:00 – 14:30 [Invited] M. Ryazantsev – From voltage-dependent fluorescence mechanism elucidation to engineering of novel archaerhodopsin-3-based genetically encoded voltage indicators
    • 14:30 – 15:00 [Invited] S. Ruhman – Comparative survey of impulsive vibrational spectroscopy in diverse microbial retinal proteins
    • 15:00 – 15:10 [Contributed A] A. Hilditch – De novo design of retinal-based photoswitches
    • 15:10 – 15:15 [Contributed B] D. Hashimoto – Establishment of an AI- and Robotics-Assisted Experimental Pipeline for Protein Function Modeling and Optimization Using CapChR2
    • 15:15 – 15:45 [Invited] N. Ferré – Modulating retinal photochemistry with pH or a static electric field
  • 15:45 – 16:10 Coffee Break
  • SESSION J. Optogenetics and other Applications II (Chair: Ernst)
    • 16:10 – 16:40 [Invited] D. Brinks – Voltage imaging with rhodopsin-based genetically encoded voltage indicators: Development and Applications
    • 16:40 – 17:10 [Invited (online)] R. Liang – Elucidating Photochemical Structure-Activity Relationships in Photopharmacology via Multiscale Simulations
    • 17:10 – 17:15 [Contributed B] A. Kolesnikov – Rhodopsin expression renders mammalian M-cones resistant to retinoid deficiency in LCA2 model
    • 17:15 – 17:20 [Contributed B] P. Pirih – Reflection spectroscopy of LW rhodopsin/metarhodopsin in living butterflies
    • 17:20 – 17:30 [Contributed A] A. Karunarathne – Tuning the Subcellular Localization, Spectral Properties, and Signaling Mechanisms of Mammalian Opsins
    • 17:30 – 17:35 [Contributed B] Y. Sakai – Spectroscopic properties and intracellular signalling of self-regenerating opsin from the reef-building coral
    • 17:35 – 18:05 [Invited] R. Stipp – “Rhodopsinizing” the β2-adrenergic receptor using a synthetic efficacy photoswitch
    • 18:05 – 18:35 [Invited] Y. Sudo – Proton-pumping microbial rhodopsins for optogenetic manipulation in living cells
  • 18:35 – 19:30 Poster Session II (Poster 32 a 63)

September 17 (Thursday)

  • SESSION K. Structural Biology, Synthetic Biology and Physiology II (Chair: Isaikina)
    • 08:30 – 09:10 [Keynote] E. Govorunova – Channelrhodopsin Research: Outcomes and Perspectives
    • 09:10 – 09:40 [Invited] K. Katayama – Structural basis of spectral tuning in primate cone visual pigments
    • 09:40 – 09:50 [Contributed A] S. Ohashi – Structural insights into pore-mediated retinal exchange and chromophore dynamics in cone visual pigments
    • 09:50 – 09:55 [Contributed B] I. Kawamura – Ultrafast Magic-Angle Spinning Enables High-Resolution ¹H-Detected Solid-State NMR of Schizorhodopsin 1 in Lipid Bilayers
    • 09:55 – 10:25 [Invited] K. Forest – A Role for Microbial Opsins in Building the Membrane Bilayer
  • 10:25 – 10:50 Coffee Break
  • SESSION L. Photochemistry and Spectroscopy V (Chair: Ferré)
    • 10:50 – 11:20 [Invited] A. Rasmussen – Gas-phase studies of the protonated Schiff-base retinal chromophore
    • 11:20 – 11:30 [Contributed A] F. Sacchetta – QM/MM Counterion Diffusion for Electrostatic Control of Photochemical Properties
    • 11:30 – 11:35 [Contributed B] S. Inukai – Spectroscopic detection of sodium ion binding in the Gs-coupled jellyfish rhodopsin
    • 11:35 – 11:40 [Contributed B] P. Nag – Exploring the unusual photoreaction in neorhodopsin
    • 11:40 – 12:10 [Invited] M. Konno – Photochemical Properties of Novel Sensory-type Rhodopsins
    • 12:10 – 12:40 [Invited] H. Kuramochi – Tracking Isomerization and Energy Transfer Dynamics in Rhodopsins by Ultrafast Spectroscopy Using Few-Cycle Pulses
  • 12:40 – 19:30 Lunch and Free Afternoon in Siena
  • 19:30 – 21:20 Conference Dinner
  • 21:20 – 22:30 After-Dinner Talk (Olivucci, Jung)
    • Poster Prizes
    • Announcement of ICRP2028
    • Acknowledgements

September 18 (Friday)

Morning
  • SESSION M. Biology, Diversity and Evolution III (Chair: Liénard)
    • 08:30 – 09:10 [Keynote] O. Béjà – How diverse are microbial rhodopsins?
    • 09:10 – 09:40 [Invited] M. Koyanagi – Dragonfly red opsins: Spectral tuning, evolution, and potential as near-infrared-sensitive optogenetic tools
    • 09:40 – 09:50 [Contributed A] S. Musilova – From rods to super-rods: extreme rhodopsin evolution in deep-sea fishes
    • 09:50 – 09:55 [Contributed B] S. Kuraku – Shark genomics shed light on the deep-sea vision of the world’s biggest fish: identification of spectral tuning residues 94 and 178 in rhodopsin
    • 09:55 – 10:00 [Contributed B] A. Beyer – Ancestral Rhodopsins and Retinal-Based Phototrophy as Exoplanet Surface Biosignatures
    • 10:00 – 10:30 [Invited] M. Guido – When Glia Sense Light: Blue-Light Signaling as a Regulator of Retinal Developmental Plasticity
  • 10:30 – 10:55 Coffee Break
  • SESSION N. Structural Biology, Synthetic Biology and Physiology III (Chair: Haacke)
    • 10:55 – 11:25 [Invited] S. L. Schmidt – Unravelling rapid kinetics driving human daylight vision
    • 11:25 – 11:35 [Contributed A] P. Robinson – AlphaFold-guided engineering of melanopsin-chemogenetic receptors improves G-protein signaling fidelity
    • 11:35 – 11:40 [Contributed B] A. Sampaoli – Protonation-controlled photophysics of TAT Rhodopsin across fourteen orders of magnitude in time
    • 11:40 – 12:10 [Invited] K. Gerwert – The bacteriorhodopsin movie: proton transfer via key residues and single water molecules
    • 12:10 – 12:40 [Invited] M. Shalev-Benami – Spectral Tuning and Photoswitching in Non-Visual Bistable Opsins
  • 12:40 – 14:00 Lunch

September 18 (Friday)

Afternoon
  • SESSION O. Photochemistry and Spectroscopy V (Chair: Olivucci)
    • 14:00 – 14:30 [Invited] J. Kennis – Reaction Dynamics and Mechanisms of Bistable Opsins
    • 14:30 – 15:00 [Invited] Y. Furutani – Molecular Mechanisms of Proton and Ion Pump Rhodopsins Revealed by Light-Induced FTIR Spectroscopy
    • 15:00 – 15:10 [Contributed A] X. Yang – Protein-Controlled Excited-State Dynamics Govern Quantum Efficiency in Visual Rhodopsins
    • 15:10 – 15:15 [Contributed B] M. Kloz – Excited-State Manifold of Retinal and Its Derivatives Analyzed by Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy
    • 15:15 – 15:45 [Invited] I. Schapiro – Removing One Proton: How Deprotonation Reshapes Retinal Schiff Base Photochemistry
    • 15:45 – 16:15 [Invited] L.M. Frutos – Mechanical control of retinal photochemistry: excitation energies, quantum yields and opsin forces
  • 16:15 – 16:40 Coffee Break
  • SESSION P. Structural Biology, Synthetic Biology and Physiology IV (Chair: Standfuss)
    • 16:40 – 16:50 [Contributed A] K. Kojima – Light-sensitive opsins in eyeless nematodes: A dual-opsin system mediates phototactic behavior in an insect parasite
    • 16:50 – 16:55 [Contributed B] C.-J. Tsai – Conformational ensembles of rhodopsin-G protein complexes reveal light perception and GPCR signaling mechanisms
    • 16:55 – 17:25 [Invited] V. Panneels – The missing link: early Meta states of rhodopsin reveal the light transduction mechanism for vision
    • 17:25 – 17:55 [Invited] H. Sun – Atomistic understanding of ion selectivity and conductivity of channelrhodopsins from molecular dynamics simulations
    • 17:55 – 18:30 Conclusion (Olivucci, Jung, Organizing Committee)