On the 6th & 7th May the University of Warwick held a highly successful first UK Autophagy Network Meeting entitled Autophagy in Health and Disease.

The symposium was organised by Dr Ioannis Nezis of the School of Life Sciences and Professor Sharon Tooze from The Francis Crick Institute and was generously sponsored by the Company of Biologists, British Society for Cell Biology, Science AAAS, Abcam Plc, Enzo Life Sciences and Abgent Ltd.

The delegates discussed the latest advances in Autophagy Research, from basic molecular and cellular mechanisms to pathophysiology of diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and other ageing-related diseases, studied in several model organisms (yeast, fruit flies and mice). The programme also included two poster sessions.

A number of collaborations are planned as a result of the meeting, and plans are already in place for a second meeting, possibly in Edinburgh next year.

Around 100 delegates attended from across the UK, including two overseas speakers, Professor Tom Neufeld (University of Minnesota, USA) and Professor Terje Johansen (University of Tromso, Norway).
Other invited UK speakers were Professor David Rubinsztein (University of Cambridge), Professor Katja Simon (University of Oxford), Dr Ian Ganley (University of Dundee), Dr Oliver Florey (Babraham Institute, Cambridge), Dr Rupert Beale (University of Cambridge), Dr Stephanie Kermorgant (Queen Mary University), Dr Sovan Sarkar (University of Birmingham), Dr Michelangelo Campanella (The Royal Veterinary College, University of London), Dr Niccolo Pengo (UCL) and Dr Elaine Dunlop (Cardiff University).