Molecular Mechanisms and Physiology

The Autophagy in Stress, Development and Disease GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.

Autophagy is a fundamental biological process that impacts nearly all facets of human health and plays critical roles in many human diseases, especially inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cancer. During the autophagy process, cellular components are sequestered into double-membrane vesicles targeted for lysosomal degradation by a set of evolutionary conserved autophagy-related genes, which in turn ensure homeostasis at the cellular, tissue and organismal level. Enormous progress has been made in revealing the core molecular processes of autophagy in the past few years. At the same time, the relationships of autophagy with lysosome biology, membrane traffic, secretion, signaling, membrane damage, and inflammation are becoming clearer. All this progress has converged to create unparalleled opportunities to elucidate physiology and pathophysiology at progressively higher levels of rigor and detail. The opportunities are greater than ever, but exploiting them requires communication and collaboration between experts in all aspects of autophagy and its allied fields. Insights into basic mechanism are needed to inspire new therapeutic concepts, while insights from physiology and pathophysiology are important to chart the direction of future basic studies. The 2024 GRC on Autophagy in Stress, Development, and Disease will bring together researchers working on basic mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, structural, and biophysical levels with specialists in development, aging, neurodegeneration, infectious disease and cancer. With its historical role at the center of the field undiminished, this GRC will define the agenda for the field in the coming two years.