Organs “communicate” with each other during normal physiology to maintain homeostasis, and also in disease, causing very significant morbidity and mortality, for example, in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders, or COVID-19. Recent advances have provided new insights into molecular mechanisms of organ crosstalk in health and disease and implicated the immune and nervous system, soluble circulating factors, the microbiome and metabolome, and host pathogen interactions. This FEBS Advanced Lecture Course will bring together leaders in the fields of interorgan crosstalk between the nervous system, immune system, kidney, lung, heart, gut, liver, fat, bone, blood, bone marrow, nervous system, and the microbiome.

Organizers: Andreas Herrlich, François Leulier

The primary objective of this course is to share the latest knowledge regarding the biochemical, molecular, and genetic mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis with early-career scientists. Additionally, it aims to create valuable networking opportunities for them with renowned experts in this dynamic research field. Through these efforts, the course will play a significant role in enhancing the training of PhD students and post-doctoral fellows engaged in the investigation of fungal pathogens and the control of fungal infections. (Photo credit: Vishu Kumar Aimanianda.)

Organizers: Guilhem Janbon, Mike Lorentz, Elaine Bignell

The transglutaminase enzymes are extremely important to normal biological function, having been recognized to perform a myriad of roles relating to signal transduction and protein crosslinking. Dysregulation of their function or expression is the basis of a host of pathologic conditions including fibrosis, inflammation, cancer, celiac disease, skin diseases, diabetes, blood disorders and neurodegenerative disease, and there is a tremendous interest in transglutaminase type 2 as a therapeutic target.

The proposed FEBS Workshop is a much anticipated scientific meeting on known and emerging transglutaminase-related diseases, new methods for detection and novel translational aspects for treatment. It aims to bring together an international group of senior academic and industrial members, with as many as possible early career scientists, future leaders and drivers of this expanding field. The Workshop will feature presentations relevant to all the pathological conditions for which transglutaminase is a relevant target, and will also focus on emerging diseases associated with this class of enzymes, and new methods for their investigation. Additional training sessions will focus on career development and grant capturing. There will be plenty of opportunities for poster or selected oral presentations. Our evening programme is designed to encourage networking and to enjoy all that idyllic Bertinoro has to offer.

Image credit: Created with BioRender.com

Organizers: Elisabetta Verderio Edwards, Kiyotaka Hitomi

Metal ions play key roles in biology. More than 40% of all enzymes require metals for their activity, and metals are essential for the structure and function of nucleic acids. Conditions such as anaemia or hemochromatosis show that too much or too little of a single metal leads to disease. Metal-containing compounds provide diagnostic tools such as the gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents, or are pollutants such as the arsenic generated by biological leaching. This Advanced Course provides competence in this broad range of disciplines with integrated multi-disciplinary training that combines advanced theoretical knowledge with hands-on practical experiments.

Organizers: Ricardo O. Louro

The field of structural biology has been undergoing profound changes over the past few years, including the growing recognition of macromolecular dynamics being of paramount importance. Processes such as enzymatic turnover, protein transport and folding via biomolecular machinery, or the translocation of small molecules across biological membranes, fundamentally involve the sampling of multiple conformations of the proteins involved, i.e. dynamics. Moreover, the realization that many proteins are functional despite lacking a well-defined 3D structure, i.e. so-called intrinsically disordered proteins, has challenged our view of the structure–function relationship. Thus, in order to understand biological processes, it is instrumental to decipher the motions of proteins. The FEBS Advanced Course ‘Les Houches– Telluride Workshop on Protein Dynamics’ is a forum for presenting and discussing results from the application of state-of-the-art experimental (including, but not limited to optical, NMR and neutron spectroscopies, time-resolved X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy and scattering methods) and computational and theoretical approaches to studying equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium protein dynamics.

Organizers: Enrica Bordignon, Paul Schanda, Lars Schäfer, Ben Schuler, Martin Weik, Junko Yano