Kinases and pseudokinases online symposium

Abstract

The Biochemical Society’s Kinases and pseudokinases online symposium took place on 26 May, with 110 participants joining from around the globe. The event was convened to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of the first ever protein kinase crystal structure by Professor Susan Taylor. Professor Taylor joined us as a keynote speaker, along with Professor Stefan Knapp from Frankfurt. Professor Taylor presented a tour de force covering her career, explaining how structural and functional analyses of kinases, including neglected PKA isoforms within the ‘dark kinome’, are advancing knowledge of the molecular basis of signal transduction. Professor Knapp discussed new insights into technologies, tools and challenges in studying pseudokinase structure and function.The remainder of the program focused on 25 emerging researchers, who presented short and flash talks, with contributions from the USA, Australia, Europe, India and Japan. PhD students, post-docs and early career faculty gave engaging presentations spanning microbial, plant, yeast and mammalian kinases and pseudokinases, impinging on host defence, cell death, oncogenesis, chemical biology and beyond. These ‘taster’ presentations now set the scene for what promises to be an outstanding 88th Harden Conference on kinases and pseudokinases, scheduled for May 2022 in Warwickshire, UK. Our thanks go to our sponsors, the Biochemical Journal and SVI Phosphocellulose, for supporting our speaker prizes, which were awarded to Dr Florentine Rutaganira (UC Berkeley, USA) and Dr Chris Horne (WEHI, Australia).