We have reached a fascinating point in our research on the ubiquitin system’s function, physiology and roles in disease. The attachment of ubiquitin to a protein in the cytosol was first identified as a means to enable degradation of proteins in the cytosol by the proteasome. It was much later that it was discovered that the ubiquitin system fulfils another crucial cellular function: through the dynamics offered by ubiquitination and subsequent deubiquitination it gives a multitude of signalling pathways the required plasticity to initiate but also to limit their signalling output in an exquisitely controlled manner. Whereas certain signalling-related functions employ ubiquitin’s proteasome-targeting function, e.g. the activation of NF-kB following degradation of I-kB, most signalling-related functions of the ubiquitin system are mediated by different types of ubiquitin chains acting as scaffolds for the recruitment of signalling modules to protein complexes which serve as platforms for the triggering of specific signalling complexes.

Rather than discussing mainly structural aspects of the ubiquitin system, this conference is dedicated to the study of functional roles of the ubiquitin system, how it works to ensure normal signal transduction, what are the pathological consequences when it is perturbed and how can we harness our knowledge of the ubiquitin system therapeutically for more efficacious treatment of diseases with high unmet clinical need, including cancer, chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders as well as neurodegenerative diseases.

Importantly, this conference aims to become the go-to forum at which the most current and up-to-date therapeutic avenues that emerge from the study of the ubiquitin system will be presented and discussed.

A message from our Chairs... 'The field of ubiquitin biology and applications to clinical medicine is one of the most exciting topics in Biomedicine. With the realization that widely prescribed powerful immunomodulatory drugs (IMIDs) including thalidomide and its analogues lenalidomide and pomalidomide work by engaging ubiquitin mediated degradation of critical targets, the field has exploded. A PROTAC strategy (Proteolysis targeting chimera) is now underway at all major Biopharma enterprises to extend the lessons from the IMID field to specifically target unwanted proteins. The impact of the field is far reaching. Indeed, the Nobel Prize was recently given to researchers who worked out how hypoxia engages the ubiquitin system to regulate oxygen availability. The future for the field has never been brighter. Clear your calendars and come join what should be a most exciting conference in Portugal. It will focus on the myriad ways ubiquitin controls the signaling circuitry of life. If the regulation exerted by ubiquitin goes awry the consequences are devastating: it promulgates the pathology associated with inflammatory disease states, cancer and neurodegeneration.'

Student Offer

Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity for students! Fully paying 'single' or 'shared' registrants can bring a student for only €926. Unfortunately, Postdocs are not eligible. Both registration packages include; accommodation for the 07, 08, 09 July 2024 (on a shared basis for students) and a food and beverage package for the conference period. Once registered, please contact Chloe to obtain a special registration code for your student.

Confirmed Speakers

Eric Baehrecke (UMass Chan Medical School)
UBIQUITIN FUNCTION IN THE BALANCE BETWEEN MITOCHONDRIA AND ER CLEARANCE BY AUTOPHAGY
Petra Beli (Institute of Molecular Biology)
DECIPHERING THE FUNCTIONS OF K6-LINKED UBIQUITYLATION IN CELLULAR STRESS RESPONSES
Anja Bremm (Goethe University Frankfurt)
UBIQUITIN-DEPENDENT REGULATION OF PEROXISOME FUNCTION AND TURNOVER
Luca Busino (University of Pennsylvania)
DECIPHERING DCAF15-DEPENDENT COHESIN REGULATION UNVEILS AN ONCOGENIC DEPENDENCY IN ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA
Michael Clague (University of Liverpool)
INTEGRATING UBIQUITIN-DEPENDENT MITOPHAGY AND PEXOPHAGY PATHWAYS
Heran Darwin (NYU Langone Health)
REGULATING DEPUPYLATION OF AN ESSENTIAL ENZYME IN MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS
Virginia De Cesare (University of Dundee)
GAINING INSIGHTS INTO NON-CANONICAL UBIQUITINATION THROUGH MALDI-TOF MS
Ivan Dikic (Goethe University Frankfurt)
UBIQUITIN AND AUTOPHAGY NETWORKS IN REGULATION OF ER REMODELLING 
Paul Elliott (University of Oxford)
UBIQUITIN SIGNALLING IN CELL SURVIVAL AND CELL DEATH
Eric Fischer (Harvard University)
STRUCTURE GUIDED DEGRADOMICS FOR THE DISCOVERY OF MOLECULAR GLUE DEGRADERS
Malte Gersch (Max Planck Institute)
STRUCTURAL BASIS FOR SPECIFIC DEUBIQUITINASE INHIBITION
Alexander Gitlin (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
N4BP1 PROMOTES UBIQUITIN-DEPENDENT CROSSTALK WITHIN THE IkB KINASE FAMILY TO LIMIT TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR SIGNALING AND INFLAMMATION
Ron Jachimowicz (Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing)
UBIQUILINS EXPOSE AN ACTIONABLE TARGET IN CANCER THERAPY
Stefan Knapp (Goethe University Frankfurt)
DEVELOPMENT OF NEW E3 LIGANDS AS CHEMICAL TOOLS AND FOR THE DESIGN OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF PROTACS
Joanna Koszela (University of Glasgow)
TARGETING PARKIN SUBSTRATES
Alena Kroupova (University of Dundee)
DESIGN OF A CEREBLON CONSTRUCT FOR CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC AND BIOPHYSICAL STUDIES OF PROTEIN DEGRADERS
Yogesh Kulathu (University of Dundee)
REGULATION OF ER HOMEOSTASIS BY UFMylation
Gianmaria Liccardi (University of Cologne)
THE ROLE OF LINEAR UBIQUITINATION IN TISSUE HOMEOSTASIS
Pascal Meier (Institute of Cancer Research)
TARGETING CELL DEATH MECHANISMS WITH PROTAC DEGRADERS
Kim Newton (Genentech)
BACTERIAL VIRULENCE FACTORS THAT HIJACK THE HOST UBIQUITIN-PROTEASOME SYSTEM
Nieves Peltzer (CECAD Cologne)
LINEAR UBIQUITINATION MAINTAINS ADIPOSE TISSUE INTEGRITY AND PREVENTS METABOLIC SYNDROME
Simona Polo (IFOM)
HARNESSING SMALL MOLECULES FOR PRECISE NEDD4 MODULATION
Jonathan Pruneda (Oregon Health & Science University)
DYSFUNCTIONAl UFMylation IN PEDIATRIC UBA5-ASSOCIATED ENCEPHALOPATHY
Michael Rapé (University of California, Berkeley)
STRESS RESPONSE SILENCING IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE
Geert van Loo (VIB Ghent)
OTULIN IN INFLAMMATION, CELL DEATH AND DISEASE
Domagoj Vucic (Genentech)
UBIQUITINATION OF RIP KINASES REGULATES INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING
Achim Werner (NIH)
DISSECTING UBIQUITIN-DEPENDENT CELL-FATE DECISIONS THROUGH HUMAN DISEASE MUTATIONS

Target Audience

This conference will appeal to researchers who are particularly interested in the diverse functions of the ubiquitin system, rather than structural aspects of it, as well the way this system is involved in normal physiology in a whole range of pathologies that have been shown to be associated with abnormal ubiquitin signalling. Naturally this target profile will bring together researchers from both academia and the biotech/pharma industries who want to be on top of the most recent developments in this fascinating and fast developing field.

Learning Objectives

• To be on top of the field with regards to the diverse functions of the ubiquitin system
• To comprehend how the ubiquitin system affects health and disease
• To understand the therapeutic opportunities provided through our increased knowledge of ubiquitin’s functions 
• To learn which ubiquitin-related drug candidates are presently in preclinical and clinical development and in which clinical entities they are tested
• To develop a sense for fruitful future research directions and therapeutic opportunities offered by the study of ubiquitin function

Please see below opportunities for financial support for students. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Conference Manager, Chloe Trundle.

Student Offer

Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity for students! Fully paying 'single' or 'shared' registrants can bring a student for only €926. Unfortunately, Postdocs are not eligible. Both registration packages include; accommodation for the 07, 08, 09 July 2024 (on a shared basis for students) and a food and beverage package for the conference period. Once registered, please contact Chloe to obtain a special registration code for your student.