What: Online LINXS Amyloid Workshop
Date: March 5, 2021
Number of Participants: up to 50
Area and Aims of the workshop
Amyloidoses are diseases caused by the aggregation of proteins and their accumulation as amyloid fibrils in cells and tissues. Basic science and clinical research have made extraordinary progress in the last two decades, providing clues on the theory of pathological aggregation of proteins and in discovering new diagnostic tools and therapeutic options. Scientists and doctors are trying hard to develop a common translational approach but inevitably, due to the biological complexity of disease we should accept that for long time and without shortcuts, the two approaches, might run in parallel. How important is the recognition of the gap between experimental and clinical medicine? How can clinicians and basic scientists best establish an effective alliance based on critical thinking and resist the pressure to underestimate the differences between experimental model and disease in patients? We should remember the Descartes remark: ‘. . .whenever people notice some similarity between two things, they are in the habit of ascribing to the one what they find true of the other, even when the two are not in that respect similar’
Much research is focused on understanding the basic biology of amyloidosis and how it relates to disease etiology. Integrative structural biology approaches provide unique interdisciplinary tools in tackling this very complex and challenging problem, but many crucial questions remain. The workshop will address the synergies and conflicts of technology (reduction) and biomedical complexity (integration)
Who should participate
The workshop seeks to engage researchers from different scientific areas (from basic scientists to clinical researchers) to discuss existing and novel experimental approaches being used to understand amyloid and treat patients. Participants may have specific knowledge in methodologies relating to different topics, or may have a specific biological or medical research question that can be addressed by new technology to study the disease in models and in patients.
Format
This will be a half-day online meeting, introduced by keynote speakers and containing contributed talks/scientific question/solution descriptions. A discussion will then be opened.
Deadline for registration is March 1st, 2021
Registration: Please specify your science area/methodology and the session(s) that are of highest interest for you. Please indicate if you are willing to contribute a short talk and provide a short abstract.
We ask the participants to send us questions prior to the meeting that you would wish to have addressed during the discussions.
Speakers
Prof. Fabrizio Tagliavini, National Institute of Neurology, Milano, Italy
Dr. Miriam Solomon, Temple University, Philadelphia USA
Prof. Perry Elliott, Bart’s Heart Centre, London UK
Prof. Vittorio Bellotti, Royal Free Hospital London/UCL) UK
Agenda
15:00 -15:15 Keynote Professor Vittorio Bellotti: “Solving the structure of natural amyloid fibrils: 60 years of progress”
15:15 - 15:45 Keynote Professor Perry Elliott: “Unanswered questions in TTR related cardiomyopathy”
15:45 - 16:00 Short talk 1: Alexander Büll: “Universal amyloidogenicity of patient-derived
immunoglobulin light chains”
16:00 - 16:05 BREAK
16:05 - 16:35 Keynote Prof. Fabrizio Tagliavini: "The complexity of Alzheimer's disease: learning from nature"
16:35 - 16:50 Short talk 2: Ludmilla Morozova-Roche: “Role of pro-inflammatory S100A9 protein in the
amyloid-neuroinflammatory cascades in neurodegeneration diseases – linking in vitro and ex vivo studies”
16:50 - 17:05 Short talk 3: Virginija Danylaite Karrenbauer: “Altered numbers and volumes of secondary lysosomes in circulating monocytes in patients with CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy”
17:05 - 17:15 BREAK
17:15 - 17:30 Short talk 4: Louise Serpell: “Creating a synthetic paired helical filament”
17:30 - 18:00 Keynote Dr. Miriam Solomon: “Making medical knowledge or Medical philosophy: Challenging issues in amyloid diseases”
18:00 - 18:05 BREAK
18:05 - 19:00 Discussion: “Synergy and conflict of technology (reduction) and biomedical complexity (integration)”