The Latest Innovations on Therapies for Genetic, Epigenetic and Degenerative Diseases to Be Presented in Bologna

The 65th International Symposium “Advances in Biological Regulation” will take place on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 October at the Aemilia Hotel’s Congress Centre in Bologna. This international event will focus on molecular mechanisms at the origin of cell function and the possible therapies to treat genetic, epigenetic and degenerative diseases.

‘This year marks an important moment for the Symposium’s History in Bologna: it is, indeed, the 20th year in which this series of events, established in the United States, is hosted by the University of Bologna’, explains Lucio Cocco, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences and coordinator of the initiative. ‘We will welcome speakers from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, Finland, Czech Republic, Italy and especially the United States. Thus, we will have a rich debate on frontier research topics dedicated to etiopathogenesis and therapy to treat genetic, epigenetic and degenerative diseases’.

The latest data (on both a molecular and a clinic level) how human cells grow, differentiate and communicate among them – known as cell signalling - will be presented during the event, along with data on several neoplastic, inflammatory and degenerative diseases. The focus will be on the most effective experimental therapies, which have led to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality.

The keynote lecture will be held by Vytas A. Bankaitis, Distinguished Professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and E.L. Wehner-Welch Foundation Chair.

All data will then be gathered in the 95th volume of "Advances in Biological Regulation", published by Elsevier. This series, of which Lucio Cocco is Editor-in-Chief, is the longest-running series of biomedical books published annually without any interruption.

Indeed, the symposium was established in 1961, when a group of carefully selected scientists and researchers gathered for the first time at the Faculty of Medicine of Indiana University under the coordination of Sir Hans Krebs - winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine - and Prof. George Weber, with the aim of presenting and discussing the scientific data obtained.

Since then, the Symposium took place annually in the USA. From 1977, the research group directed by Professor Francesco Antonio Manzoli in Bologna was invited to present their results. From 2005, Professor Lucio Cocco was nominated chairman of the Symposium organisation, relocating the event from its historic Indianapolis venue to Bologna.

Participation in the symposium is by invitation only. Scientists are selected based on their scientific production and the articles published in the most prestigious, internationally distributed journals. In account of the accuracy of results, importance of the research topics and foresight towards new horizons in research, consulting the related volumes has now become a fundamental reference for all researchers in the field.