Day 1: Thursday, 19 November 2026
08:00 - 09:30
Registration
09:30 - 10:00
Inauguration
Session I: Keynote Address
K Thangaraj, CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad, India
Mitochondria in Biology and Medicine: Future perspectives
Chair: Keshav K Singh, UAB, USA & Nalini A, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
10:00 – 10:30
Mitochondria in Biology and Medicine: Future perspectives
Session II: Mitochondrial diseases: Clinical spectrum, diagnosis and management
Chair: Arun B Taly, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
Soumya Sundaram, SCTIMST, Trivandrum, India
11:00 – 11:25
Mitochondrial disorders: Clinical perspective
Madhu Nagappa
NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
11:25 – 11:50
Why care about Rare?
Brian Tseng
The POLG Foundation, USA
11:50 – 12:15
Approach to Leigh syndrome and Leigh like disorders
Vykunta Raju
IGICH, Bengaluru, India
12:15 – 12:40
Mitochondrial diseases: from prevention to treatment
Bert Smeets
Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch break/ Poster session
Session III: Mitochondrial dynamics & quality control
Chair: Patrick D’ Sliva, IISc, Bengaluru, India
Srinivas Bharath MM, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
14:00 - 14:25
Inside the mitochondrion: Live super-resolution imaging of cristae membrane dynamics
Arun Kondadi
University Hospital Dusseldorf, Germany
14:25 – 14:50
Mitochondrial derived vesicles in organelle crosstalk and cellular homeostasis
Naresh V Sepuri
UoH, Hyderabad, India
14:50 –15:15
Mitophagy in health and disease
Ravi Manjithaya
JNCASR, Bengaluru, India
15:15 – 15:40
Application and limitation of using mitophagy to decrease mutant mitochondrial DNA and rescue mitochondrial function in the skin fibroblasts of MERRF patients
Yau-Huei Wei
Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan
15:40 – 16:00
Tea/Coffee break
Session IV: Panel discussion
The future of mitochondrial medicine: Prospects and challenges
Moderator: Sandhya P. Koushika, TIFR, Mumbai, India
Session V: SMRM- Young Scientist Award presentation
Chair: K. Thangaraj, President, SMRM, India
P. Govindaraj, Secretary, SMRM, India
18:40 – 19:30
Poster session/ EC meeting
Day 2: Friday, 20 November 2026
Session VI: Mitochondria in neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders
Chair: Gayathri N, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
TBA
09:30 – 09:55
Mitochondrial pathology in neuromuscular diseases
Nandeesh BN
NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
09:55 – 10:20
Clinical features and molecular mechanisms of CHCHD10-associated Jokela spinal muscular atrophy
Emil Ylikallio
University of Helsinki, Finland
10:20 – 10:45
From fiber to niche: spatial iron-oxygen sensing in mitochondrial muscle disease
Nahid A Khan
University of Helsinki, Finland
10:45 – 11:10
Mitochondria: an organelle-mediated gene delivery approach for neurodegenerative disease therapy
Arunkumar Pitchaimani
VIT University, Vellore, India
11:10 - 11:30
Tea / Coffee break
Session VII: Mitochondria in aging and cancer
Chair: A. K. Munirajan, University of Madras, Chennai, India
TBA
11:30 – 11:55
Powering up for healthy aging and longevity
Keshav K Singh
UAB, Alabama, USA
11:55 – 12:20
Tuning mitochondrial structure-function to boost stem cells towards delaying aging and age-related disorders
Kasturi Mitra
Ashoka University, New Delhi, India
12:20 – 12:45
Role of mitochondrial exchange in therapeutic resistance in cancer
Rana P Singh
JNU, New Delhi, India
13:10 - 14:30
Lunch break/ Poster session
Session VIII: Mitochondrial genomics: Diversity, dysfunction and emerging diagnostics
Chair: Venkat Subramaniam, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
Madhumita Roy Chowdhury, AIIMS, New Delhi, India
14:30 – 14:55
Genetic variation in the mitochondrial genome of Indian population across 80 ethnicities
Ishaan Gupta
IIT Delhi, India
14:55 – 15:20
Molecular basis of mitochondrial DNA maintenance disorders: clinical phenotypes and disease models
Sanjiban C
MAHE, Manipal, India
15:20 – 15:45
Minimally invasive methods for mitochondrial disease diagnosis
Rebecca Ganetzky
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA
15:45 – 16:10
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Psychiatric Disorders
Mohanmmad Zia UI Haq Katshu
University of Nottingham, UK
16:10 - 16:30
Tea / Coffee break
Session IX: Dr. Lalji Singh Memorial Award Presentation
Ullas Kolthur Seetharam, BRIC-CDFD, Hyderabad
(M)-Powering physiological plasticity and memory
Chair: K. Thangaraj, President, SMRM, India
L. S. Shashidhara, Director, NCBS, India
16:30 - 17:30
(M)-Powering physiological plasticity and memory
17:30 - 18:30
Poster session/ General Body meeting
18:30 - 19:30
Cultural programme
19:30 h onwards
Gala Dinner
Day 3: Saturday, 21 November 2026
Session X: Mitochondria in metabolism and cellular signaling
Chair: Gulam Hussain Syed, ILS, Bhubaneshwar, India
Bhupesh Mehta, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
09:30 – 09:55
Targeting NAD+ metabolism in health and disease
Liliya Euro
University of Helsinki, Finland
09:55 – 10:20
Sleep fragmentation accelerates heart failure through mitochondrial related redox signaling
Dhandapany PS
inStem, Bengaluru, India
10:20 – 10:45
Organelle crosstalk in inherited metabolic disorders: Translating mitochondrial insights into disease management
Reena Kartha
University of Minnesota, USA
11:00 - 11:20
Tea / Coffee break
Session XI: Mitochondrial therapeutics: From emerging technologies to clinical translation
Chair: Bert Smeets, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
TBA
11:20 – 11:45
Mitochondria as therapeutic agents: Foundational concepts and emerging applications
Andres Caicedo
USFQ, Ecuador
11:45 – 12:10
Pharmaceuticals for mitochondrial regulation
Ravichandran V
DPSRU, New Delhi, India
12:10 – 12:35
Developing therapies for mitochondrial diseases: Failures, success, and lessons learned
Amel Karaa
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, USA
12:35 – 13:00
Changing the energy equation: Clinical trials in mitochondrial disease
Fernando Scaglia
BCM, Texas, USA
13:00 – 13:25
Mitochondrial disease therapeutics: Advancing novel targets toward commercialization in an innovative ecosystem
Marni J Falk
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA
13:25 - 14:30
Lunch break / Poster session
Session XII: The mitochondrial puzzle: Clinical cases, clues and diagnosis
Chair: Megha S Uppin, NIMS, Hyderabad
Gautham Arunachal Udupi, NIMHANS, Bengaluru
14:30 – 14:45
Clinical spectrum of combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency: A case-based review
Sangeetha Y
CMC, Vellore, India
14:45 – 15:00
A potentially treatable mitochondrial disorder: From clinical phenotype to genetic diagnosis
Hansashree P
NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
15:00 – 15:15
A fatal 13-year natural history of genetically confirmed mitochondrial disorder: From childhood stroke like episodes to fatal cardiomyopathy
Sireesha Yareeda
NIMS, Hyderabad, India
15:15 – 15:30
Nuclear respiratory chain disorders: A case-based discussion
Arushi GS
PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
15:30 – 15:45
The Mitochondrial Clue to a Rare Congential Muscular Dystrophy
Rajeswarie RT
NIMHANS, Bengaluru, India
16:00 – 16:30
Valedictory session
