The epitranscriptome

Overview

This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually.

Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest.

Conference Overview

The regulation of the transcriptome is key to cellular processes that underpin cell biology, development, and tissue function. All classes of cellular RNA are subject to post-transcriptional modification, be it by direct chemical modification, editing, or non-templated nucleotide additions. Now, in its fourth edition, ‘The epitranscriptome’ meeting first held at EMBL in 2016 (and repeated in 2018, then in 2022 as a virtual conference) was the first RNA modification-dedicated meeting with a focus on mammalian systems. It is now established that biochemical modifications of nucleotides regulate RNA metabolism, modulate cell functions and contribute to severe human diseases including cancer and metabolic disorders. Moreover, the power of single, chemically modified nucleotides to alter the electrostatic charge, base pairing, and stability of RNA molecules is exploited for clinical use of stable artificial RNA transcripts such as mRNA vaccines or synthetic small RNA molecules to increase or decrease the expression of therapeutic proteins.  The 2025 meeting will highlight recent developments and focus on future aspects and current challenges in the field:

• Critical evaluation of novel methods quantifying RNA modifications at single-nucleotide resolution – with a focus on RNA modification direct sequencing.
• Biosynthetic mechanism of native and synthetic RNA modifications – implications for therapeutic use.
• Epitransriptomic regulation mediated by RNA modifications during gene expression and signalling.
• Novel metabolic pathways requiring RNA modifications to respond to changes in the microenvironment.
• RNA modifications as prognostic marker in disease.

Together, these basic science discoveries have unravelled the molecular and cellular functions of RNA modifications, have provided new prospects for therapeutic manipulation and have led to a range of innovative clinical approaches. Our program will bring together field-leading experts from across the globe to provide cost-effective access to European researchers to the state-of-the-art.

What past participants say about the conference:

“The epitranscriptome EMBL conference rapidly became a must in the field.” – Mattia Pelizzola, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy

“The conference provided an excellent opportunity to get the latest insights in the field of epitranscriptomics, presented by the world-leading academic groups.” – Gerhard Müller, Gotham Therapeutics, New York, USA

“This conference was really good for me. I have learnt about new RNA regulatory mechanisms, especially m6A and how it’s an important target for RNA processing.” – Opeyemi Olotu, University of Turku, Finland

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Speakers

Keynote speaker

Tsutomiu Suzuki

Dept. Chemistry and Biotechnology

Japan

Speakers

Sandra Blanco

Salamanca Cancer Research Center (CIC)

Spain

Chuan He

University of Chicago

USA

Stacy Horner

Duke University

USA

Julian König

Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) Mainz

Germany

Tony Kouzarides

Gurdon Institute

UK

Eva Kowalinski

EMBL Grenoble

France

Kate Meyer

Northwestern University

USA

Eva Maria Novoa

Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)

Spain

Dónal O’Carroll

The University of Edinburgh

UK

Yanhong Shi

City of Hope

USA

Irmgard Sinning

University of Heidelberg

Germany

Chengqi Yi

Peking University

China

Yi-Tao Yu

University of Rochester

USA

Scientific organisers

Michaela Frye

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

Germany

Tsutomiu Suzuki

Dept. Chemistry and Biotechnology

Japan

Chengqi Yi

Peking University

China

Conference organisers

Maria Bacadare

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities

We offer a variety of event sponsoring possibilities, with the flexibility to select a set sponsorship package or combine individual sponsorship options to suit your event budget. Discounts are available for companies sponsoring multiple events at EMBL Heidelberg. View other conferences, or contact sponsorship@embl.de for further information.

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