Conference Description
The Stress Proteins in Growth, 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scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages.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.
The viability of all organisms is critically dependent on a healthy proteome. Proteins drive most, if not all, biological processes including those mediating cell structure, function, and regulation. As physiological conditions fluctuate, the complexity of a proteome is adapted to maintain homeostasis. This balance is challenged by various internal and external events including normal developmental programs as well as environmental or disease conditions. For instance, the emergence of a new tissue type can involve a dynamic rewiring of the protein landscape that is accompanied by increased loads on the protein folding systems in the cytosol and organelles (e.g., endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria) as well as on the degradation machinery used to clear the obsolete polypeptides. Further contesting the health of a proteome are chronic and acute stresses such as shifts in temperature, free radical, or hydration levels. Fortunately, cells increase the production of protective factors such a molecular chaperones and proteases to counter these insults. A multi-faceted signaling network ensures that proteomic balance is preserved in each cell compartment under all physiological states by utilizing myriad of signaling components as well as gene and translation programs. In conjunction with the molecular chaperones and proteases, these systems constitute the protein homeostasis or proteostasis process. Notably, an organism’s ability to achieve proteostasis dissipates with age correlating with a higher occurrence of aliments including cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic (e.g., type II diabetes), and neurodegenerative diseases.
The 2023 meeting is the eleventh in this successful series and will highlight the most recent advances in the field of protein homeostasis ranging from fundamental mechanisms regulating stress programs and protein quality control to therapeutic strategies countering proteinopathies. Special emphasis will be placed on novel aspects controlling stress-related transcription and translation programs, protein aggregation and phase separation events, polypeptide clearance strategies, and the influence of cytosolic/organelle stress responses to pathology. The collegial and scholarly atmosphere of this conference series encourages vigorous and open discussions of exciting emerging research related to various areas of stress and proteostasis biology. The meeting also provides excellent opportunities for graduate student, postdoctoral fellows, and junior group leaders to present their work either in posters or short talks. We will continue our successful use of “poster preview” talks and a Power Hour focused on women investigators in the field. The formal scientific program, limited attendance, and organized but informal interaction-opportunities help shape this meeting into a preeminent conference promoting a deeper understanding of the versatile roles of stress proteins and proteostasis in human health, aging, and disease.
The topics, speakers, and discussion leaders for the conference sessions are displayed below. The conference chair is currently developing their detailed program, which will include the complete meeting schedule, as well as the talk titles for all speakers. The detailed program will be available by March 4, 2023. Please check back for updates.
Keynote Session: From the Decline of Proteostasis with Aging to the Protein Machines Supporting Proteostasis
Discussion Leaders
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Harm Kampinga (University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands)
Speakers
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Johannes Buchner (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
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Susan Ackerman (University of California, San Diego / Howard Hughes Medical Institute, United States)
Signaling Systems Governing the Protein Homeostasis Network
Discussion Leaders
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Monica Driscoll (Rutgers University, United States)
Speakers
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Chengkai Dai (National Cancer Institute, NIH, United States)
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Patricija van Oosten-Hawle (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, United States)
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Heinrich Jasper (Genentech, Inc., United States)
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Vladimir Denic (Harvard University, United States)
Gene Regulatory Responses to Stress and Aging
Discussion Leaders
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Richard Morimoto (Northwestern University, United States)
Speakers
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John Lis (Cornell University, United States)
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Lea Sistonen (Åbo Akademi University, Finland)
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Kevin Morano (McGovern Medical School, UTHealth Houston, United States)
Translation Events Maintaining Protein Homeostasis
Discussion Leaders
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Judith Frydman (Stanford University, United States)
Speakers
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Jonathan Weissman (Whitehead institute/MIT/HHMI, United States)
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Elke Deuerling (University of Konstanz, Germany)
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W. Lee Kraus (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States)
Molecular Chaperone Machines
Discussion Leaders
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F. Ulrich Hartl (Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany)
Speakers
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Justin Benesch (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
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Lila Gierasch (University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States)
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Didier Picard (University of Geneva, Switzerland)
Stress Responses of the Endoplasmic Reticulum with Age
Discussion Leaders
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Jeffrey Brodsky (University of Pittsburgh, United States)
Speakers
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Anne Bertolotti (MRC LMB Cambridge, United Kingdom)
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Maho Niwa (University of California, San Diego, Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Molecular Biology, United States)
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Peter Walter (Altos Labs, United States)
Mitochondrial Function During Aging and Stress
Discussion Leaders
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Andrew Dillin (University of California, Berkeley, United States)
Speakers
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Liza Pon (Columbia University, United States)
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Xinnan Wang (Stanford University School of Medicine, United States)
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Marcia Haigis (Harvard Medical School, United States)
Protein Aggregation and Phase Transitions During Health, Aging, and Disease
Discussion Leaders
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Jeffery Kelly (Scripps Research, United States)
Speakers
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Simon Alberti (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
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Manajit Hayer-Hartl (Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany)
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James Shorter (University of Pennsylvania, United States)
Protein Ubiquitination and Degradation
Discussion Leaders
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Bernd Bukau (ZMBH, Heidelberg University, Germany)
Speakers
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Rachel Klevit (University of Washington, United States)
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Wade Harper (Harvard Medical School, United States)
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Malene Hansen (Buck Institute for Aging Research, United States)
The GRC Power Hour™
Organizers
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Patricija van Oosten-Hawle (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, United States)