The Ubiquitin System: Mechanisms, Functions, and Therapeutics - PROJECT SUMMARY The 2026 FASEB Summer Research Conference (SRC) on The Ubiquitin System: Mechanisms, Functions, and Therapeutics (UB) will be held June 1-4, 2026, at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, KY. The UB SRC has been held biennially for nearly four decades, since 1989, and is the premier forum for sharing and discussing the latest developments in understanding the basic biology of processes regulated by ubiquitin and ubiquitin- like (UBL) proteins, and therapeutic approaches that target or harness these systems to treat disease. This application requests support for 12 new and early career invited speakers and 2 trainee organizers of a pre- meeting career forum to attend the 2026 SRC, which will bring together approximately 150 scientists at all career stages, from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to principal investigators, professors, and company leaders working in academia, government, and industry. Regulated protein degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system is a critical aspect of protein homeostasis, the cell cycle, gene expression, metabolism, and development. Ubiquitin and UBLs also regulate a myriad of other cellular functions, including vesicular trafficking, autophagy, signal transduction, and membrane protein biogenesis, via non-degradative mechanisms. Hence, ubiquitin and UBL pathways impact essentially all aspects of eukaryotic cell biology and thus human health and disease, including developmental, neurologic, and inflammatory disorders, as well as cancers. The 2026 UB SRC will feature 8 themed sessions covering a broad range of topics focused on ubiquitin and UBL systems. These sessions will include 28 invited speakers and 24 short or “lightning” poster talks that will be selected from the submitted abstracts. In addition, for the first time, the 2026 UB SRC will co- locate and run concurrently with the FASEB SRC on Protein Folding in the Cell (PF), highlighting the close connection between protein biogenesis and degradation while also maximizing cost savings. The organizers of the two SRCs have joined forces to coordinate the programs of each SRC to maximize interactions. This includes 3 joint sessions, including the opening keynote lectures, running the poster sessions concurrently, and scheduling all coffee breaks, on-site meals, and panel and roundtable discussions to be held together. In addition, there will be a joint half-day career forum before the main SRCs, aimed at introducing trainees to each other, the SRC organizers, and invited speakers. This pre-meeting forum will be organized by a peer group of 4 trainees and provides opportunities for 16 additional trainees (8 each from UB and PF) to present their work. Finally, a new outreach component will be introduced to the SRC through the invitation of local high school students to attend the poster sessions. Thus, in addition to upholding the long-standing tradition of the UB SRC in featuring the latest high-quality work from basic science to translation to the clinic, these innovations will distinctly enhance and broaden the UB community to foster a safe, welcoming, and stimulating environment for sharing nascent ideas and unpublished results and forming new collaborations.
