FASEB SRC: The Ubiquitin & Ub-like proteins Conference: Cell Functions and Therapeutic Targeting - Summary/Abstract
The 2022 FASEB Summer Research Conference on Ubiquitin & Ub-like proteins: Cell Functions and
Therapeutic Targeting will be held at the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center, Southbridge,
Massachusetts, July 24th to July 28th, 2022. This FASEB-sponsored conference has been held biannually
since 1989; this application seeks support for the 2022 conference, which was delayed due to COVID-19 from
2020. The conference will bring together approximately 150 investigators (junior and senior scientists,
postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and people from industry and government) for discussions of recent
advances in the areas of regulated proteolysis and signaling by ubiquitin (UB) and ubiquitin-like (UBL) protein
modification, with special emphasis on human diseases. Protein ubiquitination cuts across all fields of biology
and the diversity of its impacts cannot be overstated. The selective degradation of proteins by the ubiquitin
system is a mechanism for control of virtually all aspects of eukaryotic cell biology, including the cell cycle,
transcription, metabolic pathways, development, and antigen processing. In addition, non-proteolytic functions
of ubiquitination and UBL modification in protein trafficking and signaling are critical for processes that involve
membrane receptors and signaling in the innate immune system, while others help to coordinate the DNA
damage response. Dysfunction of the system is involved in many disease processes, particularly cancer,
neurologic and developmental diseases, and viral and microbial infectious diseases. In addition, UB and UBL
proteins are critical in infectious diseases, and it is now evident that microbes encode UBL proteins, that
bacteria and viruses produce enzymes to modulate and/or emulate cellular ubiquitination pathways in host
cells, and that cells defend themselves against infectious agents with specific UBL proteins. The topics of eight
scientific sessions will be: (i) Mechanism of Ubiquitin Conjugation & Deconjugation; (ii) Molecular Machines;
(iii) Disease Pathology; (iv) Ub-like Proteins and Atypical Ubiquitin; (v) Protein Quality Control and Stress; (vi)
Organelles and Pathways; (vii) Therapeutic Targeting; (viii) Signaling Pathways and Cell Fate. In addition,
there will be two poster sessions and a Meet the Experts discussion panel focused on career development.
This conference will be a timely and important meeting in this rapidly growing research area. It is unique in that
it provides a format that brings together an extraordinary range of investigators whose collective approaches
encompass cell biological, biochemical, structural biology, molecular and genetic methods that address central
issues in the regulation of cellular proliferation and signaling pathways. The FASEB SRC format provides a
safe and inclusive environment that encourages informal and open discussions among the participants and this
in turn fosters initiation of collaborative efforts and stimulates future research directions to broaden the
understanding of the roles of UB, the proteasome, and UBL proteins in health and disease.
