Protein Aggregation: Polymorphic Species

For nearly 30 years, this conference has been the leading force in studying protein amyloids in disease and health, bringing together a diverse group of researchers. This year’s program aims to increase knowledge and advance therapy by highlighting emerging findings by basic, translational, and clinical researchers and trainees, particularly early-career investigators, and those from historically excluded groups.

This conference’s success is thanks to the broad integration of theoretical, biophysical, and molecular aspects of protein aggregation together with its medical implications. The recent progress in this area of research has been remarkable and this meeting will be particularly prescient in highlighting the significance of new developments.

The 2025 FASEB Protein Aggregation conference will mark the 30th year anniversary of the meeting, which was founded in 1995. To commemorate this anniversary, we will include a session, entitled “30 years of FASEB Protein Aggregation Conference: Past, Present, and Future” to offer historical perspectives from the founding organizers (Drs. Jeff Kelly and Ronald Wetzel) and several key figures in the field on how the field has evolved since the inception of this meeting. With this session, we expect to promote and enable intergenerational conversations between experts and young emerging scientists.

Goals and Takeaways

· Molecular and structural basis of amyloid formation in disease

· The role of cellular machinery in regulating pathogenic amyloid formation

· New approaches to understanding the structure-function relationship of amyloid formation 

· Therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for respectively limiting and detecting amyloid formation

· New roles of amyloids in the regulation of normal cellular processes

Program Topics

· The structural characterization of amyloids

· Mechanistic understanding of protein aggregation

· Molecular and cellular mechanisms of amyloid spreading

· The influence of amyloid shape in this process (i.e. structural polymorphism)

· Impact of fibril formation on proteostasis and vice versa

· The role of phase separation in neurodegenerative disease

· The development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic tools

· State-of-the-art emerging experimental and computational technologies

· Roles of functional amyloids in bacterial biofilm formation and long-term memory

Workshops

A Career Development Workshop will focus on “How to Maximize Your Impact,” featuring discussions about effectively using social media, choosing journals, and strategic meeting attendance.

A Meet the Experts workshop will feature speakers from our sessions hosting tables, providing early-career scientists with an opportunity to discuss their research and careers in an informal setting.