Recent discoveries in the field of polyglutamine (polyQ) protein aggregation research provide an example of how biophysics is involved in protein misfolding diseases like Huntington’s disease (HD). In this BPS networking event we bring together scientists from different continents, who look at polyQ from different biophysical and biological perspectives. We will explore ways to connect molecular biophysics (in vitro and in silico) to biological and cellular contexts, in order to help understand, and even treat, this kind of protein misfolding disease. The event offers a platform for networking and discussion of discipline-crossing challenges such as: - How can we integrate experimental and computational biophysics to understand polyQ protein aggregation and nucleation? - What (if any) structural features are carried from the nucleation event to the mature protein aggregates? - How do we understand and study these fundamentally biophysical processes in a biological context?
Click here to Register for this Free Event
The event will be held from 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm CET on July 6, 2022
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This event is organized by BPS members Patrick van der Wel, University of Groningen, Netherlands, and Markus Miettinen, Max Planck Institute, Germany.
The organizers have set up a website with additional information here: https://www.rug.nl/research/zernike/news/polyq-biophysics-2022/
Event Speakers
- Kiersten Ruff [Pappu group]
- Albert Escobedo [Salvatella group]
- Ashwani Thakur
- Maurice Dekker [Onck group]
- Chathuranga Siriwardhana [Legleiter group]
- Greeshama Jain [van der Wel group]
- Mahdi Bagherpoor Helabad [Miettinen group]
- Randal Halfmann
- Anne Ast [Wanker group]
- Nathan Riguet [Lashuel group]
- Tessa Sinnige
Event Schedule
| 15:00 - 16:30 |
Session 1: |
| 12 minute talk |
Kiersten Ruff [Pappu group]: Insights regarding the monomeric structure and modulation of aggregation of Httex1 |
| 12 minute talk |
Albert Escobedo [Salvatella group]: Side chain to main chain hydrogen bonds in context: from monomeric polyQ helices to fibrils |
| 20 minute talk |
Ashwani Thakur: Polyglutamine aggregation mechanism based approaches for drug discovery in Huntington's disease |
| 12 minute talk |
Maurice Dekker [Onck group]: Inferring pathways and mechanisms of polyglutamine aggregation from coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations |
| 12 minute talk |
Chathuranga Siriwardhana [Legleiter group]: Impeding huntingtin lipid binding represent a novel therapeutic strategy |
| 16:30-16:45 |
BREAK |
| 16:45 - 18:30 |
Session 2 |
| 12 minute talk |
Greeshama Jain [van der Wel group]: Multifaceted effects of small molecule inhibitor on the aggregation mechanism of Huntingtin Exon 1 |
| 12 minute talk |
Mahdi Bagherpoor Helabad [Miettinen group]: Dovetailing molecular dynamics simulations with solid-state NMR to resolve polyglutamine fibrils in atomic detail |
| 20 minute talk |
Randal Halfmann: Deconstructing the amyloid nucleus of pathologic polyglutamine |
| 12 minute talk |
Anne Ast [Wanker group]: Aggregate stability is a molecular determinant of aggregate induced toxicity |
| 12 minute talk |
Nathan Riguet [Lashuel group]: Mechanisms of inclusion formation in cellular models of Huntington’s disease |
| 20 minute talk |
Tessa Sinnige: Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of polyQ aggregation in C. elegans as a living model system |