PROJECT SUMMARY
This proposal requests partial support for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on autophagy to be held in
Barga, Italy, March 10-14, 2024. Autophagy is a fundamental cellular homeostatic mechanism affecting many
developmental processes, as well numerous age-related human diseases such as neurodegeneration and
inflammation. Growing evidence also suggests autophagy as a major molecular mechanism of aging, warranting
its mechanistic study. The broad and long-term goal of this GRC series is to highlight the expanding role and
regulation of autophagy in physiological and pathological processes that underlie human aging and diseases.
The specific aims of the 2024 GRC meeting will be to convene 40 invited speakers and discussion leaders in
key areas of autophagy research along with 200 participants for a five-day conference. The GRC will be preceded
by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) designed to enhance the participation of junior investigators. The program
will include a keynote session with keynote address from three world leaders who have made seminal
connections between molecular mechanisms and physiological processes. The conference will also feature eight
sessions that address current issues relating to aging, neurodegeneration, cancer, inflammation, immunity, bulk
and selective autophagy mechanisms, membrane dynamics, and lysosomal secretion and repair. In addition, 20
short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts and GRS presentations, and two poster sessions will permit
all participants to contribute to these topics. The significance of this application is that the GRC on autophagy
has become the most important venue that critically influences, directs and drives research in the international
community of autophagy researchers. GRC meetings bring together a broad group of investigators who are at
the forefront of the autophagy research and allied fields, and provide ample opportunities for junior scientists and
trainees to present their work and exchange ideas with leaders in the field, thus nurturing the next generation of
autophagy research leaders, following in the footsteps of the 2016 Nobel Prize winner Yoshinori Ohsumi, who
discovered the molecular mechanisms of autophagy. The health relatedness of this application is that autophagy
directly impacts a wide spectrum of human health and diseases related to aging, such chronic inflammation and
neurodegeneration. The research highlighted by GRC meetings on autophagy will lead to a greater molecular
understanding of a critical process and help develop new approaches to treat age-related diseases and improve
healthspan.