The maintenance of genome integrity is critical for the suppression of several pathological disorders in humans, including cancer, infertility premature ageing, and neurodegeneration. Destabilization of the genome can occur as a result of several cell intrinsic or extrinsic factors, including errors arising during DNA replication or chromosome segregation, as well as exposure of cells to agents that induce DNA damage. In this conference, we aim to bring together scientists studying DNA replication & repair, chromosome segregation and cellular responses to DNA damage, such as cellular senescence, with those interested in how chromosomal instability can influence human pathology, with a special focus on aging and age-related pathologies. Moreover, we aim to show how high throughput and high content screening methods can be used as a discovery tool both for basic science applications and to identify potential therapeutic modalities.

Key Sessions

• Pathways for repair of DNA damage and disrupted DNA replication forks
• Screening tools for analysis of genome maintenance pathways and for development of new therapeutics
• Molecular and cellular determinants of aging, with a particular focus on cellular senescence.
• Chromosome instability as a driver of tumorigenesis, neurodegeneration and ageing
• Exploitation of defects in chromosome maintenance in cancer treatment

Confirmed Invited Speakers

Peter Baumann (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz)
Ivana Bjedov (University College London)
Dan Durocher (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute)
Maria Ermolaeva (Leibniz Institute on Aging)
Daniele Fachinetti (Institut Curie)
Daniel Gerlich (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology)
Jesus Gil (MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences)
Myriam Gorospe (National Institutes of Health)
Andrew Jackson (University of Edinburgh)
Oscar Llorca (Spanish National Cancer Center)
Niels Mailand (Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research)
Cristina Mayor-Ruiz (IRB Barcelona)
Juan Mendez (Spanish National Cancer Center)
Daniel Munoz-Espin (University of Cambridge)
Serena Nik-Zainal (University of Cambridge)
Andre Nussenzweig (National Institutes of Health)
KJ Patel (Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), University of Oxford)
Lorenza Penengo (Institute of Molecular Cancer Research)
Evi Soutoglou (University of Sussex)
Zuzana Storchova (University of Kaiserslautern-Landau)
Dario Valenzano (Leibniz Institute on Aging)

Target Audience

This meeting will appeal to Molecular/Cell Biologists/Geneticists & Biochemists interested in genome stability. Researchers interested in the molecular basis of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and ageing and those with an interest in high throughput genetic and pharmacological screening methods will also find the conference highly relevant along with those wishing to exploit genome maintenance abnormalities in tumour cells for therapeutic benefit.

Educational Need

Chromosome instability is involved in several human diseases and is a feature of natural ageing. This conference will bridge fundamental studies on the mechanisms by which cells maintain genome stability with applications of these studies aimed at the development of new therapies. Hence, the conference will bridge basic biology and clinical applications in this rapidly advancing field. Attendees should be able to obtain a full picture of the current status of the field, as well as to interact with prominent research leaders driving the clinical application of the latest research.

Although the programme has not yet been released, we are able to confirm that the conference should begin no earlier than 14:00 with opening comments on Tuesday 07 October 2025. The conference will conclude no later than 12:30 on Friday 10 October 2025.