The Workshop « Translational Control in Cancer » will take place at the Faculty of Odontology of Montpellier from 05/20/2019 to  05/22/2019.

Recent technological advances have led to a renewed interest on the ribosome and the translation process, revealing novel regulatory mechanisms that dictate functional expression of the genome. It is now clear that translational reprogramming provides an essential mean by which aberrant cells can escape normal physiology and favor development of diseases such as cancer. First, almost all major oncogenic signalling pathways found to be deregulated in cancer ultimately lead to gene expression reprogramming at the translation level. Second, alteration of ribosome structure and activity –a.k.a. “cancerous ribosome”- is at the core of oncogenic transformation and progression. Third, non-coding RNAs play important roles in the development of human cancer –most particularly in the maintenance of cancer stem cells- with an obvious functional relevance for both microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs. In addition to covering these research topics, this meeting aims at bridging disciplines and will bring together scientists across Europe from a broad range of relevant disciplines such as Biology, RNA Chemistry, Biophysics, Bioinformatics and clinical research.

Targeting the process of mRNA translation has huge potential to provide innovative therapeutic avenues with which to improve the management and quality of life of cancer patients. Indeed, all major pharmaceutical companies have drug development programmes in this area. However, these are mostly focussed on inhibition of translational initiation whereas dysregulation of protein synthesis in cancers occurs at all stages of this complex process. Thus there is still a large amount of research which needs to be carried out to decipher translational dysregulation and its contribution to tumorigenesis which will involve a broad range of disciplines and expertise. By attracting scientists across disciplinary boundaries and fostering communication and knowledge sharing, this Workshop offers an excellent opportunity to promote research on translation and cancer, and to maintain a competitive environment for European research. As such, this event will serve as a springboard to initiate a European Network in the field. Finally, we intend to reach out to young scientists/clinicians and increase trans-collaboration. This endeavour is essential to translate academic achievements into medical practice and meaningful health outcomes.

TCC flyer 2019