Autophagy (D1) 2011

Autophagy is an essential cellular process that mediates continuous recycling of intracellular components and becomes an alternative source of energy when nutrients are scarce. Novel roles of autophagy in embryogenesis, development, cellular defence and cell death have emerged from recent studies, along with growing evidence of associations between autophagic dysfunction and disease. However, a deeper understanding of the molecular effectors and regulators of autophagy is still required if we are to effectively repair, restore or modulate autophagy in whole organisms for therapeutic purposes. This meeting will bring together experts in different areas of cell biology, genetics, cellular pathophysiology and metabolism to foster multidisciplinary discussions intended to advance our knowledge about the different autophagic mechanisms, their regulation and their contribution to normal cell functioning and to disease.