Nucleic acids lie at the core of gene expression and genetic regulation in all cells. DNA encodes the cell's genetic blueprint, must be replicated with unprecedented fidelity, and has multiple mechanisms to repair any damage incurred. RNA is the worker bee of genetics to the DNA's queen. RNA is transcribed, spliced, covalently modified and processed in many ways. RNA is also the basis of many cellular control processes, and systems like CRISPR-Cas can be exploited to perform powerful gene editing.

The focus of this conference is the mechanisms that underly these processes. We want to get under the hood and figure out just how the nuts and bolts work at the molecular level. We take a consistently structural and mechanistic approach to studying processes like replication, transcription and splicing, supported by high-throughput methods, bioinformatics and single-molecule experiments.

Key Topics will include…

• DNA replication in the context of chromatin and telomere

• DNA repair and recombination

• Transcription and splicing

• RNA structure and function

• Translation and post-translation modification

• Gene editing 

• High-throughput methods and AI-assisted nucleic acid research 

• RNA therapeutics

  Early Bird & Talk Submission Deadline: 25 Jan 2027