GRK2243 Symposium
Understanding Ubiquitylation:
From Molecular Mechanisms to Disease
2-4 June 2025 I Würzburg, Germany
The Meeting
The post-translational modification of proteins with ubiquitin ("ubiquitylation") has taken center stage in eukaryotic cell biology. Ubiquitylation mediates the degradation of regulatory and damaged proteins, protein aggregates and even entire organelles. Moreover, it controls a wide variety of non-proteolytic processes such as DNA damage repair, receptor signaling and endocytosis.
Given the multi-faceted cellular functions of protein ubiquitylation, it is not surprising that abnormalities of the ubiquitin system lead to various human diseases including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and infectious diseases. Moreover, the ubiquitin system has emerged as a promising target for therapeutic intervention, and drugs interfering with ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis are successfully used for the treatment of certain cancers.
This Symposium aims to showcase the most recent, exciting progress towards understanding molecular mechanisms, cellular functions and pathogenic aberrations of the ubiquitin system as well as developing novel therapeutic strategies targeting it. The meeting will feature cutting-edge research presentations by international leaders in the field, additional short talks selected from submitted abstracts, and a large poster session along with poster teasers. There will be ample opportunity for scientific interactions between all participants to stimulate further progress in ubiquitin research.
GRK2243
The Symposium is organized by the Research Training Group GRK2243, a ubiquitin-themed graduate program, which has been funded by the German Research Foundation DFG since April 2017. The GRK2243 offers cutting-edge research projects and a structured, interdisciplinary training program for more than 20 PhD students and postdocs at the University of Würzburg.
For further information, please visit our webpage:
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
1 March 2025
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
DEADLINE
15 April 2025
Short talks will be selected from abstracts.
Find us on Bluesky
#wUeBI2025
Speakers
For further information, please click on the speakers’ portraits.
Program
Day 1 - 2 June 2025
12.30 - 2.00 pm Arrival and registration
2.00 pm Welcome address
2.10 - 4.00 pm Session 1: Proteostasis
The EMBO Keynote Lecture: Tom Rapoport
Mechanism of ER-associated protein degradation
Michael Rape - Proteolytic control of gene expression in development and disease
Mark Hipp - VCP as a ubiquitin-dependent disaggregase
Paul Müller - p97/VCP is required for piecemeal autophagy of aggresomes
4.00 - 4.30 pm Coffee break
4.30 - 6.15 pm Session 1 (ctd.): Proteostasis
Anja Bremm - Ubiquitin-dependent regulation of selective autophagy
Florian Wilfling - Ultrastructural visualization of macroautophagy
Jan Keiten-Schmitz - Induced proximity to PML protects TDP-43 from aggregation via SUMO-ubiquitin networks
Thomas Mercer - Ubiquitin Phosphoserine 65 is a Novel Epigenetic Mark Implicated in Parkinson's Disease
Katrin Trunk - The USP11/TCEAL1 complex promotes transcription elongation to sustain oncogenic gene expression in neuroblastoma
6.15 - 6.45 pm Poster power show I (1 min teaser presentations)
7.00 - 9.00 pm Poster session I (odd numbers)
& Finger food dinner
Day 2 - 3 June 2025
9.00 - 10.50 am Session 2: Structural biology and Enzymology
Keynote Lecture: Brenda Schulman
Structural mechanisms of regulation by the ubiquitin proteasome system
Katrin Rittinger - TRIM family proteins – more than just your typical E3 ligase
Sonja Lorenz - Illuminating HECT E3 regulation and substrate recognition
Jessica Huber - Structural mechanism of the small HECT ligase HECTD3
10.50 - 11.20 am Coffee break
11.20 - 12.45pm Session 2 (ctd.): Structural biology and Enzymology
Tim Clausen - The ubiquitin big bang theory
Paul Elliott - Understanding specificity within ubiquitin/FAT10 conjugation pathways
Leo Kiss - Deciphering the ubiquitin degradation code
Sascha Amann - Structural basis of ubiquitin chain recognition by the human 26S proteasome
12.45 - 2.15 pm Lunch | Meet the editor (Hartmut Vodermaier, EMBO Press)
2.15 - 4.00 pm Session 2 (ctd.): Structural biology and Enzymology
Helen Walden - Targeting Parkin substrates
Anne Schütz - Diverse spectrum of molecular defects in pathogenic mutants
of VCP/p97
Georg Winter - Identification and mechanistic characterization of small-molecule degraders
Zijuan Wang - UFMylation regulates DNA damage repair by promoting NHEJ complex engagement on chromatin
Devanshi Gupta - Neddylation: a new modification for dynein-mediated transport in cells
4.00 - 4.30 pm Coffee break
4.30 - 5.00 pm Poster Power Show II (1 min teaser presentations)
5.00 - 7.00 pm Poster session II (even numbers)
8.00 pm Conference dinner at restaurant Backöfele
Day 3 - 4 June 2025
9.00 - 10.45 am Session 3: Tool and drug development
Sara Buhrlage - A novel chemical biology platform for deubiquitylases
Philipp Schenk - Targeting USP9X: Cancer Cell Responses to Smal Molecule Inhibition
Heeseon An - Comparative degradomics identifies impaired protein degradation
in cancer
Nicola Berner - Chemical proteomics meets molecular degraders - elucidating the target selectivity of kinase inhibitor based PROTACs
Gerbrand v. d. Heden v. Noort - Ubiquitination and ADP-ribosylation: post-
translational crosstalk
10.45 - 11.15 am Coffee break
11.15 - 1.00 pm Session 4: Infection and Immunity
Jonathan Pruneda - Pathogenic bacteria make surgical strikes on host ubiquitin
signaling
Lillie Bell - Targeting and ubiquitination of bacterial pathogens by the cell defence factor RNF213
Tyler Rhinesmith - TRIM21 induces selective autophagy of viruses and bacteria
Andrea Ablasser - Sensing DNA as a danger signal through the cGAS-STING pathway
12.45 pm Award ceremony & Closing remarks
Lunch (packed)
Departure
Registration & Fees
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
1 March 2025
ABSTRACT SUBMISSON DEADLINE
15 April 2025
Registration fees
PhD student, Postdoc 150 €
Academic, Industry. 250 €
Registration includes:
-
Conference materials
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Access to all sessions
-
Conference dinner at restaurant Backöfele
-
Food and drinks during coffee breaks, lunches and finger food during poster session
Accommodation is not included. Please see hotel registration information under LOCATION below.
Payment
Please note that payment must be submitted only after receipt of confirmation that your registration has been accepted. At that point, you will receive an email from the organizers with detailed payment instructions. Payment ought to be made via national and international bank transfer exclusively. Credit card payment is not possible.
Cancellation and registration fee refund policy:
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Notification of cancellation should be made in writing and sent to the conference organizers:
ubiquitin2025@uni-wuerzburg.de
-
100% refund (less 25 € handling fee) if a notification e-mail reaches the organizers on or before
15 April 2025.
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No refund on cancellations after 15 April 2025.
Selection criteria
The admission of participants (in case of overbooking) will be guided by the submitted abstracts, according to the expected scientific impact of the work on the conference and the field. It is thus recommended that all participants submit an abstract at the time of registration and specify whether they wish to present a poster or short talk.
Abstract guidelines
Please download the abstract template and follow the instructions therein.
To submit your abstract please sent the wordfile via email to
Poster specifications
Please bring one printed copy of your poster in portrait orientation (not landscape).
POSTERS SHOULD HAVE A SIZE OF DIN A0 (84,1 x 118,9 cm).
Short talks
A number of short talks (10 min talk followed by 5 min discussion) – preferentially by early-career scientists – will be selected from the submitted abstracts ahead of the meeting.
Please indicate whether you would like to be considered for a short talk at the time of registration. Applicants will be notified at least three weeks before the meeting.
Contact
Organizing committee
Andreas Brunschweiger
Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Würzburg
Alexander Buchberger
Biocenter, University of Würzburg
Martin Eilers
Biocenter, University of Würzburg
Caroline Kisker
Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg
Hermann Schindelin
Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg
Christoph Sotriffer
Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Würzburg
Amel Aziba
Biocenter, University of Würzburg
Sebastian Bothe
Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg
Shaliya Puthanveedu Hashardeen
Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg
Lamiya Mahmudova
Biocenter, University of Würzburg
Paul Müller
Biocenter, University of Würzburg
Jonathan Patzke
Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg
Location
Meeting Venue
Congress Center Würzburg
Pleichertorstraße
97070 Würzburg
Germany
For further information, please check:
www.wuerzburg.de/tourismus/tagungen-kongresse/tagung/besucher/index.html
(German website only)
City of Würzburg
Arrival and parking at the Congress Centrum
By car: Please enter the destination "Pleichertorstraße" in the navigation system. There are several parking lots in the immediate vicinity of the Congress Centrum: (I) the Congress Centrum underground parking at Pleichertorstraße (246 slots), (II) Congress Centrum parking lot at the Kranenkai (60 slots), and (III) Talavera parking lot (1000 free parking spaces on the other side of the river Main, 5-minute walk from the Congress Centrum).
By public transport: From the main train station, you can reach the Congress Centrum by tramway line 2 to "Zellerau", stop "Congress Centrum".
By foot: From the main train station walk towards the river Main and either follow the street "Röntgenring" or walk through the Ringpark, about 10 minutes walk.
Accommodation
Please note that accommodation is not included in the registration fee and has to be organized by the participants on their own.
For the two nights, June 2 - 4, 2025, participants are offered rooms at the Maritim Hotel (incl. breakfast) which is directly located at the Congress Center: single room comfort for 156 €/per night and double room comfort for 177 €/per night. Please make your reservation directly with the hotel, using code "GRK2243". A limited number of rooms have been reserved for the conference and will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis until April 21, 2025.
For budget hotels, we recommend Ibis or B&B Hotel in Veitshöchheimer Straße, which are in walking distance to the conference venue.
For further accommodation opportunities, please check here:
www.wuerzburg.de/tourismus/unterkunft-buchen/hotels-pensionen/index.html
About Würzburg
For further information, please check the official tourist information website of Würzburg:
Copyright: Peter Schumann (cover image, www.dasistwuerzburg.de), Congress-Tourismus-Würzburg & Katrin Heyer
