Protein–Membrane Costructures: Structure, Function and Targeting

Research in the biology and biophysics of lipids has surged in the past decade. Huge technical advances in lipidomics have allowed unprecedented insight into the complexity of lipid regulation in biological systems and lipid dysregulation in various diseases. The understanding of the importance of lipid-protein interactions has benefitted from equally large technical advances in structural biology, which have enabled the demonstration that lipids and proteins interact in a mutually regulatory manner in the membrane.Thus, many membrane protein structures would more correctly be referred to as protein– lipid costructures.

This constitutes an emerging paradigm shift and an emerging research field with an immense potential, both in fundamental biology and in the context of cancer, diabetes and obesity, which are characterized by major changes in lipid metabolism.

The aim of this symposium is to bring together the most outstanding researchers working in the fields of lipid biophysics and lipid biology, structural biology and lipidomics in health and disease. The goal is to stimulate knowledge exchange between these fields and to educate young researchers in these fields about state-of-the-art techniques and conceptual advances.

The symposium will be followed up by a separate workshop on the day after the symposium, to further stimulate discussion, promote new collaborations and enable young researchers in Denmark to interact with the invited speakers.