RNA Localization and Local Translation - SUMMARY
Recent revolutionary advances in RNA-based therapies have been made possible due to decades of research
on basic mechanisms of RNA regulation. An untapped level of RNA control with wide-ranging clinical relevance
relates to targeting of mRNAs to subcellular compartments and local mRNA translation. Indeed, such
mechanisms play a major role in controlling protein expression and function from unicellular organisms to
humans. By favoring on-site and on-demand protein production, they contribute to numerous cellular,
neurobiological, and developmental processes including the generation of cellular asymmetry, synapse growth
and plasticity, axon pathfinding, and patterning and differentiation in embryos. Highly polarized and long-lived
neuronal cells are particularly reliant on this mechanisms and defects in RNA transport and translational
regulation are increasingly associated with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease. The FASEB
Science Research Conference on RNA Localization and Local Translation is the premier international meeting
dedicated to this promising branch of RNA biology and it has been key to the continuous development of the
field. Importantly, this conference provides a unique venue for bringing together investigators who share
interests in RNA transport, translation, stability and decay, but use a complementary experimental systems and
approaches to understand how cells harness RNA regulation to achieve tight spatial and temporal control of
protein expression. Other RNA-focused conferences are typically large, which limits interactions, and offer only
a handful of talks on RNA regulation in cellular systems. The overarching goal here is to promote interactions
among scientists at different career stages and from different backgrounds in order to identify key challenges in
the field, generate new ideas and technologies, and foster collaborations that will drive the field forward.
Participation in conferences by early-career scientists and trainees is crucial to their network
establishment and future career opportunities as well as to innovation and growth of the field. In this proposal,
we request funds to support these groups, with an emphasis on individuals from underrepresented
communities, to attend the 2024 FASEB conference on RNA Localization and Local Translation. A draft
program has been outlined around a small number of speakers and session chairs, who have enthusiastically
accepted our invitation. Apart from those, the majority of talks will be allocated to speakers who will be selected
from submitted abstracts, to promote participation by newly minted PIs, post-doctoral fellows, and students –
groups that include higher numbers of underrepresented researchers. Informal interaction between more
senior members of the field and junior scientists and trainees will be also facilitated by planned events
including an ‘Outstanding Questions’ workshop, ‘Meet-the-experts’ sessions, and ‘Career Development’
roundtable discussions. The mix of attendees will further participate to the conference goals to spawn
collaborations and stimulate innovative research on the biology of RNA localization and local translation.
