Autophagy

Friday, April 7, 9:00-10:15

Moderator:    

Aleksandra Divac Rankov, PhD, Research Associate, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Guests:        

Mate Varga, PhD, Assistant Professor, Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary

Jelena Dinic, PhD, Research Associate, Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic”, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Autophagy was observed for the first time over half a century ago. Many years of research and efforts of many scientists in this field were crowned by the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine last year. The award went to Yoshinori Ohsumi, one of several scientists who have independently discovered autophagy-related genes using the budding yeast. The field of autophagy research experienced accelerated growth at the turn of the century. To this date, relationship between cancer and autophagy continues to be a main theme of autophagy research, but the roles of autophagy in neurodegeneration and immune defense also receive considerable attention.

This session will be devoted to the current research topics in the field of autophagy, with an emphasis on the role of this process in health and disease and potential therapeutic applications.