Keystone Symposia – Autophagy in Health and Disease: From Mechanisms to Therapeutics

08/02/2027 au 11/02/2027

Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, AB (Canada)

Hong Zhang, Susan Ferro-Novick, and Hitoshi Nakatogawa

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic pathway that plays pivotal roles in cellular stress response and homeostasis maintenance. Its dysregulation is implicated in the aging process and diverse pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s), cancer, metabolic syndromes (diabetes, obesity), and infectious diseases.

Substantial progress has been made in elucidating both the core autophagy machinery and systemic regulatory networks. Particularly noteworthy are the mechanistic insights gained into selective autophagy pathways — including mitophagy (mitochondrial degradation), ER-phagy (endoplasmic reticulum turnover), and aggrephagy (protein aggregate clearance) — which have illuminated the molecular basis of cargo recognition and sequestration. Recent research has significantly expanded our understanding of autophagy’s physiological repertoire. Furthermore, recent studies on non-canonical autophagy pathways have uncovered their participation in diverse biological processes ranging from plasma membrane repair to antimicrobial defense and viral infection cycles.

Therapeutic exploitation of autophagy has emerged as a promising frontier, with innovative approaches like autophagy-targeting chimeras (AUTACs) enabling precise degradation of disease-causing proteins and organelles. This conference aims to synthesize current knowledge of autophagy mechanisms, functional diversity, and regulatory networks, while exploring their implications for understanding disease pathogenesis and achieving clinical translation. Through interdisciplinary dialogue, we seek to bridge fundamental discoveries with therapeutic applications, ultimately advancing autophagy-based interventions for human health.