GoingToMeet

The ubiquitin (Ub) pathway controls many biological processes and determines how cells respond to growth factors, stress and genetic damage, controlling nearly every facet of a cell’s life and death. The covalent attachment of Ub to proteins can alter their localization, activities, and ultimate fate. One of the most intriguing features of the ubiquitin pathway is its emerging involvement in functions not directly related to protein degradation. In addition, some half-dozen related ubiquitin-like (Ubl) proteins, such as SUMO, are also revealing themselves as regulators of numerous cellular pathways. The existence of this vast and dynamic array of Ub and Ubl signals raises the central question of how specificity is achieved during conjugation, recognition, and signal transduction. Indeed, the molecular requirements for generating and recognizing various Ub signals are poorly understood and form a central unresolved issue in the field. This meeting will focus attention on the biology associated with Ub/Ubl-mediated signal transduction, including its role in human disease and cancer. The goal of this meeting is to gather a diverse array of scientists, not just “ubiquitinologists”, but also biologists whose work has been touched in some way by ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like pathways. By bringing together scientists from different backgrounds who work on a wide range of systems that are regulated by Ub and Ubl conjugation, this meeting will create a fertile ground for exchange of ideas on non-conventional functions for Ub and Ubl proteins in signal transduction.