Drug repurposing represents a promising approach to find new therapeutic uses for existing drugs. This two-day meeting will provide a platform to highlight some of the latest developments in the field of drug repurposing.

There is a need for more systematic and strategic approaches and resources, and this meeting wants to highlight and showcase such efforts besides recent drug repurposing studies.

The field of drug repurposing provides a natural opportunity to combine the strengths of the academic and industrial field. Therefore, we encourage scientists from both sectors, as well as clinicians, to attend this meeting and use it as a networking opportunity and an interdisciplinary forum for discussion.

This meeting is designed to gather scientists working in transcription across all domains of life including eukaryotes, archaea and bacteria. The meeting will encompass all aspects of transcription control including basic mechanisms, epigenetics, chromatin organisation and long-range gene control.

Our aim is to provide a platform to bring together transcription researchers working in a diverse range of settings that include development, signalling, disease states (including cancer) and viral infections to share new and exciting developments and knowledge and to develop links and contacts.

Organ-on-a-Chip is a hot topic and one of keen interest to many scientists working in translational sciences. Whilst the technology is still in its infancy, Organ-on-a-Chip is expected to deliver game changing solutions and progressively increase our capacity to gain greater insight into mechanisms of human disease, toxicity and early efficacy assessment of new therapies. There are many Organ-on-a-Chip start-ups that have developed within academic institutions and are now attracting interest and financial investment. This conference will review where the current state of the art is, and where the bottle necks and future directions lay.

Participants attending this event will benefit from hearing a candid and critical perspective on the technology by leading academics, end users, regulators and manufacturers, and determine if the technology is currently able to replace more conventional approaches and, if not, where the remaining gaps are. Anyone from the scientific community who is either already working in this area of complex in vitro systems or who is interested in learning more is encouraged to attend this conference and explore this new exciting and promising area of research.

Synthetic biology is a convergence of multiple fields that can generate both improved understanding of biological systems as well as cutting-edge biotechnology.

Synthetic Biology UK 2019 will explore the unique opportunities of research in a number of areas of synthetic biology, establishing likely future directions and facilitating discussion about appropriate strategies. It will provide an excellent framework for younger scientists and engineers to learn about burgeoning new areas of activity, including the engineering of microbial communities and of microbial-plant interactions.

The application of styrene-maleic acid (SMA) co-polymers to extract small discs of membrane, termed SMA lipid particles (SMALPs), has changed the established landscape of research into biological membranes. Membrane proteins play a vital role in intracellular communication and the control of molecular movement across the membrane, making them key therapeutic targets for a wide range of human diseases. Their location within the membrane, tightly packed with so many different proteins and lipids has, until now, made them extremely challenging to study. By allowing membrane proteins to be purified and studied whilst maintaining their lipid environment, ‘SMALP’ methodology enables the use of techniques that were previously not possible to study membrane protein structure and function.

New developments in applications of SMALP are being made rapidly to make the study of membrane proteins more accessible and widespread. This meeting will explore the latest developments within the field, including novel polymers, techniques and targets, bringing together a wide range of researchers to share their findings.

Small G proteins of the Ras superfamily regulate a plethora of cell signalling pathways and impact on most biological processes. Deregulation of these proteins and their pathways often results in disease, such as cancer and genetic disorders, and plays a role in infection by pathogenic organisms.

This conference will gather renowned experts to discuss research covering all five families of small G proteins, to highlight recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of small G protein function, and to generate new ideas, collaborations and scientific strategies from diverse inputs. This will include the Ras family, involved in cell growth, the Rho family, which drive cytoskeletal rearrangements, the Arf and Rab families, which play a role in vesicle trafficking and Ran, which is responsible for nuclear transport.