Workshop on Animal prion diseases: Emerging Prion Diseases Surveillance, Detection, Pathogenesis

The focus of this workshop will be ongoing studies and findings that enhance our understanding about the emergence and transmission of animal prion diseases. Special emphasis will be placed on short oral talks from early career, students and technicians.

Structural biology of protein misfolding diseases

Recent advances in cryo electron microscopy and other techniques have given us detailed insights into the structures of amyloid fibrils that were either isolated from diseased brains or generated in vitro. The question, which of theses structures represent the biologically active form, can be difficult to answer.

In this workshop, we will discuss the latest technical approaches to analyze the structures of amyloid fibrils and other misfolded proteins. We welcome contributions describing structural analyses at low and high resolutions, as well as studies that investigate the question of biological activity.

Special emphasis will be given to short oral presentations by trainees (all levels) to encourage young structural biologists in their quest to analyze the structures of amyloid fibrils and other protein aggregates.

Neuropathology and clinicopathological correlation of human prion diseases and related dementias.

Several dementias are characterized by aggregation of abnormally folded conformers of host encoded proteins. In prion diseases and related dementias, seeded aggregation can lead to the spread of protein aggregates throughout the brain.
In this workshop, we will focus on neuropathology, selective cellular and regional vulnerability, and clinicopathological correlation not only in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease but also in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Besides lectures by prominent experts in the field such as Ellen Gelpi, Piero Parchi and Markus Glatzel there will be room for case discussions and hands-on neuropathology training in this exciting field of science.

Bio-marker/Human diseases

The focus of this workshop will be ongoing studies on developments of seeding aggregation assays in neurodegenerative diseases. Special attention will be paid to clinical studies and improvement for early detection in various biological fluids and tissues in humans.