The third annual meeting of ProteoCure has been held in Warsaw, Poland, from May 7th to 10th, 2024.

It brought together members of the ever-growing ProteoCure network to discuss progress in research on proteolysis-related topics in normal and pathological conditions. The meeting involved researchers from different background including chemistry, molecular biology, and biochemistry, representatives from companies, clinician-scientists and representatives from patient organizations.

Plenary talks and posters were presented by ProteoCure members, their teams, and invited guests. Presenters discussed previous research and unpublished data for which they seek collaborations and scientific input. During this year’s annual meeting, topics on the development of tools, among which chemical probes to visualize active proteases, antibodies, and compounds, and drugs acting as inhibitors of proteases, were prioritized. Invited clinician-scientists could give a clinical relevant perspective on the diseases linked to proteostasis failure, challenges in treatment and possible approaches to address underlying causes of disease. Furthermore, fundamental research on mechanisms of protein clearance from the cell, including signals and signatures for protein degradation, were discussed.

The poster session, where more than 30 posters were presented, encouraged further discussion among participants. All poster presenters had the possibility to present a flash talk related to the topic of their poster, which helped to stimulate discussions

An important highlight of the meeting has been a session dedicated to presentations by patient associations. The annual meeting opened new possibilities for all participants to learn about the goals, histories and needs of the foundations, and the importance for them as well as for the scientific community to develop tight connections.

Thanks to several sponsors, we had the opportunity to give three prizes for poster presentations and two prizes for short talk presentations. Awarded were young researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level