While alterations to DNA underlie genome evolution and antibody diversification, genome instability drives many disorders, including cancer, developmental abnormalities, and neurodegeneration. DNA damage and other genome-threatening replication blocks are generally overcome by a number of DNA repair pathways. The choice of DNA repair pathways, specifically the reliance on error-prone vs. error-free is both intriguing and confounding. Moreover, the deregulation of repair pathway choice can trigger pathological processes. In this conference, we will discuss the delicate equilibrium of genome maintenance pathways, addressing how natural processes such as replication and transcription can threaten genome stability, how the genome can be altered in cancer, signatures of genome instability in human disease, and how cells control the inherent plasticity of their replication and repair machinery. We aim to bring together scientists from diverse fields who are interested in understanding the many processes impacting DNA metabolism and the molecular and biophysical principles that maintain the balance between genome stability and plasticity.

Key Sessions

• Genome Signatures and Evolution
• Tissue Specific Repair and Mutagenesis
• Transcription-Replication Driven Mutation
• Transposable Elements
• DNA Sensing and Inflammation
• CRISPR/Cas9 and DNA Repair

Confirmed Invited Speakers

Andrea Ablaser (EPFL)
SENSING DNA AS A DANGER SIGNAL THROUGH THE CGAS-STING PATHWAY
Karen Adelman (Harvard University)
DISRUPTION OF THE INTEGRATOR COMPLEX TRIGGERS THE INTEGRATED STRESS RESPONSE THROUGH FORMATION OF DOUBLE-STRANDED RNA
Kathleen Burns (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute)
DEFINING THE LINE-1 RETROTRANSPOSON MUTATIONAL SIGNATURE
Keith Caldecott (University of Sussex)
PARP ACTIVITY IN DNA SINGLE-STRAND BREAK REPAIR, DNA REPLICATION, AND HUMAN DISEASE
Ross Chapman (Medical Research Council Molecular Haematology Unit)
DSB REPAIR PATHWAY CHOICE CONTROL IN GENOME MAINTENANCE AND DIVERSIFICATION
Gheorghe Chistol (Stanford University)
SINGLE-MOLECULE IMAGING REVEALS HOW DNA HELICASES ARE ACTIVATED DURING REPLICATION INITIATION
Alberto Ciccia (Columbia University)
DISSECTING THE GENETIC INTERCTION NETWORK OF THE DNA DAMAGE RESPONSE
Karlene Cimprich (Stanford University)
MECHANISMS FOR RNA-MEDIATED GENOME INSTABILITY
Jacob Corn (ETH Zürich)
Cecilia Cotta-Ramusino (Tessera Therapeutics)
WRITING DNA WITH RNA: GENOME ENGINEERING BY TARGET-PRIMED REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION
Dipanjan Chowdhury (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute)
MRE11 PROXIMAL POLYADENYLATION SITE-MEDIATED LOOPING IMPACTS TRANSCRIPTION AND GENOMIC STABILITY
Titia de Lange (Rockefeller University)
WHAT DOES HUMAN KU DO?
Daniel Durocher (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute)
THE CIP2A PATHWAY OF MITOTIC DNA DAMAGE TOLERANCE
Marcin Imielinski (NYU Langone Health)
DIMENSIONS OF STRUCTURAL CHROMOSOMAL INSTABILITY ACROSS THOUSANDS OF CANCER GENOME GRAPHS
Gaëlle Legube (CBI Toulouse)
CHROMOSOME AND CHROMATIN DYNAMICS DURING TRANSCRIPTION-COUPLED DSB REPAIR
John Maciejowski (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
MECHANISMS OF CANCER GENOME EVOLUTION
Houra Merrikh (Vanderbilt University)
REPLICATION-TRANSCRIPTION CONFLICTS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES
Serena Nik-Zainal (University of Cambridge)
FOR SHORE: SITES OF VULNERABILITY TO STRUCTURAL VARIATION AND ONGOING EVOLUTION
KJ Patel (University of Oxford)
REVERSIBLE YET PERVASIVE DNA ADDUCTION BY AN ENGOGENOUS ALDEHYDE
Elizabeth Pollina (Washington University in St Louis)
DYNAMIC GENOME CONTROL MECHANISMS IN NERVOUS SYSTEM PLASTICITY
Agnel Sfeir (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
MMEJ-MEDIATED REPAIR OF BREAKS AT TA REPEATS MAINTAINS ECDNA AND CANCER CELL FITNESS.
Nitika Taneja (Erasmus Medical Center)
MECHANISMS OF CHROMATIN REORGANIZATION UPON REPLICATION STRESS
Alessandro Vindigni (Washington University)
NUCLEASES IN DNA REPLICATION FORK PLASTICITY
Joanna Wysocka (Stanford University)
Joe Yeeles (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine)
SETTING THE SPEED OF THE REPLISOME

Target Audience

The meeting, which addresses fundamental questions that pertain to genome instability, is expected to appeal to basic science researchers, including students and postdocs. In addition, the various topics covered will be of interest to translational and clinical investigators in academic institutions and industry.

Educational Need

Genomic integrity is the foundation of human health with a plethora of diseases emerging from any dysfunction in the cellular machinery that maintains our genome. In this conference we focus on emerging areas in the field of genome biology that have gained significant prominence in recent years, specifically, large scale studies on genome evolution and mutational signatures combined with the interplay of DNA metabolism, RNA metabolism and DNA repair in the context of sub-nuclear compartments. We anticipate that attendees at all levels, students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty will be exposed to radical new concepts and cutting-edge technology that will define the genome stability field in the upcoming years. The conference is being designed to facilitate interaction of  trainees with senior scientists, and promote scientific collaborations. 

We are pleased to announce that we have a minimum of 10 registration support grants (starting at €750) ready to award to those submitting abstracts (T&C's apply).

To apply, please email Alice . Your application should include:

• Your name, organisation, career level
• An abstract for short talk or poster consideration

Deadline for submission is 01 May 2025. All applications will be reviewed after this date and successful candidates will be informed shortly after.