Autophagy

Keystone Symposia, Silverthorne CO

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Autophagy, organized by Ana Maria Cuervo, David C. Rubinsztein and Thomas P. Neufeld, which will be held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 27 - April 1, 2011. Autophagy is a basic cellular process involved in a wide array of cellular events including development, aging, immunity and cell death. This field has undergone a vertiginous expansion in recent years due, for the most part, to the fact that autophagic dysfunction has been associated with cancer, metabolic disorders, different types of immune disorders, muscular diseases and neurodegeneration. The goal of the Keystone Symposia meeting on Autophagy is to facilitate communication among the different fields of research that are currently interested in this process and to foment an integrated approach to defining the role of autophagy in physiological and pathological processes. The first part of this meeting focuses on a series of sessions in which international experts will present cutting-edge results regarding mechanisms and regulation of the different autophagic pathways in different organisms. A second series of sessions focuses on the growing number of connections between autophagic dysfunction and human disorders. The program also includes workshops organized around four topics: techniques to track autophagy, experimental systems, clinical relevance, and large-screening analysis. These workshops will serve as a platform for dynamic discussion of topics of high relevance for the field and will provide an avenue to bring awareness on the areas that need future attention. In the spirit of the Keystone Symposia format, the guiding principles of this meeting will be presentation of new, unpublished work and free unhampered discussion of the results. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Autophagy is a basic cellular process involved in a wide array of cellular events including development, aging, immunity and cell death. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Autophagy will serve as basis for discussion of the rapidly advancing discoveries related to the autophagic process including, but not limited to, the molecular mechanisms involved in its execution and regulation, the key physiological functions both at the cellular and organismal level, and the growing number of connections between malfunctions in autophagy and human disease.