Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved fundamental intracellular degradative process operating as a homeostatic mechanism in all eukaryotic cells. Following the genetic breakthroughs in yeast, the field of autophagy research has been growing exponentially resulting in a cornucopia of discoveries regarding the molecular mechanisms and physiological roles of autophagy. The latter include adaptation to stress such as starvation or genotoxic insults, clearance of intracellular components including damaged or surplus organelles and protein aggregates, anti-aging, neoplasia, metabolic disease, immunity and development. In human populations, autophagic dysfunction has been directly associated with neurodegeneration, cancer and inflammatory diseases.

The 2010 Gordon Research Conference on Autophagy in Stress, Development and Disease is our 4th GRC on autophagy. The goal of this conference is to facilitate an integrated approach to defining the role of autophagy in physiological and pathological processes and to elucidate the mechanism of the autophagic pathways. The conference will present cutting-edge research on these topics. In addition, we will include sessions on the longstanding key fundamental questions: “how is autophagy regulated?” and “what is the origin of the autophagosome?” The conference will bring together investigators who are at the forefront of the autophagy field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. The 2010 Autophagy GRC will be an ideal venue for both experts and newcomers to the field of autophagy research. Topics to be addressed include the following:

• Regulation of autophagy
• Autophagy signaling
• Autophagy machinery
• Origin of the autophagosome
• Selective autophagy
• Metabolic disease and cancer
• Innate and adaptive immunity
• Neurology
• Aging