The Ubiquitin Family in Biology and Disease (K5)
February 23-26, 2026  | Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, AB, Canada
Michael Rape, Christopher D. Lima and Bekky Feltham
Scholarship Deadline: Nov. 26, 2025 | Abstract Deadline: Feb. 3, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Dec. 30, 2025
* Session Chair † Invited but not yet accepted | Program current as of February 25, 2026 2 AM | For the most up-to-date details, visit https://www.keystonesymposia.org
Monday, February 23, 2026
4:00–8:00 PM Registration Van Horne Foyer
6:00–8:00 PM Welcome Mixer Van Horne Foyer
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast President's Hall
8:00–8:10 AM Welcome Remarks Van Horne B
8:10–9:00 AM Keynote Address Van Horne B
  * Michael Rape, University of California, Berkeley
Session Chair		  
  Nicolas H Thomä, EPFL Lausanne
Ubiquitin Signaling in Transcription and DNA Repair		  
9:00–11:15 AM Ubiquitin System – A Global View Van Horne B
  * David Komander, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Session Chair		  
  * Nicoletta Basilone, University of Western Ontario
Session Chair		  
  Brenda A Schulman, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
Molecular Machines of Ubiquitylation		  
  Eric J. Bennett, University of California, San Diego
Leveraging Plasticity within the Ubiquitin System		  
  Michele Pagano, New York University School of Medicine
Something about Ubiquitin		  
  Predrag Jevtic, UC Berkeley
Short Talk: Dynamics of Gene Repression in Development and Disease		  
9:30–9:50 AM Coffee Break Van Horne Foyer
9:50–9:55 AM Award Recipient Acknowledgement Van Horne B
11:15–1:00 PM Poster Setup Van Horne C
11:15–5:00 PM On Own for Lunch
11:15–12:15 PM Meet the Editors (Joint) Van Horne B
  Bekky Feltham, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
*Session Chair		  
  Hartmut C Vodermaier, The EMBO Journal
Senior Editor		  
  Katie Pickup, The Company of Biologists
Reviews Editor		  
  Heather Bisbee, Cell Press
Scientific Editor – Molecular Cell 		  
1:00–10:00 PM Poster Viewing Van Horne C
2:30–4:30 PM Symposia Spotlight: Physiology of Ubiquitin Signaling Van Horne B
  * Susan Shao, Harvard Medical School
Session Chair		  
  Jennifer Kong, University of Washington
Ubiquitin Signaling at the Plasma Membrane: Adapter-mediated Control of Receptor Abundance		  
  Emma C Fink, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
CRL5(LRRC58) Controls Cysteine Catabolism by Cyst(e)ine-regulated Degradation of CDO1		  
  Peter Hsu, Genentech
Template-mediated Multivalent Scaffolding of the SCF(FBXO42) E3 Ligase Regulates PP2A Degradation		  
  Hani Zaher, Washington University in St. Louis
eIF4E Links Transcription and Translation		  
  Elijah Mena, UT Southwestern
Proteasomal Surveillance of Exposed Cysteines		  
  Hai Rao, Southern University of Science and Technology
Tryptophan-sensing Ubiquitin Ligases Regulate Tryptophan Metabolism and Tumor Immune Suppression via IDO1 Modulation		  
  Shannon Buckley, Huntsman Cancer Institue
Targeting the Ubiquitin E3 Ligase FBXO21 Reveals a New Approach to Modulate Aberrant PI3K Signaling in Cancer		  
  Robert Piper, University of Iowa
K48-Ubiquitin-Dependent Proteases Cut-Up Post-ER Proteins		  
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available Van Horne Foyer
5:00–6:30 PM SUMO: The First Ubiquitin-Like Molecule Van Horne B
  * Li Du, Beckman Research Institute City of Hope
Session Chair		  
  * Yogesh Kulathu, University of Dundee
Session Chair		  
  Christopher D. Lima, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
SUMOylation Mechanisms		  
  Yifat Merbl, Weizmann Institute of Science
SUMO in the Immune Response		  
  Stefan Müller, Goethe-University Frankfurt
Short Talk: SUMO Signaling Rewires HSF1-dependent Gene Expression Programs		  
  Nima Mosammaparast, Washington University in St. Louis
Short Talk: Stalling of a Late Activated Spliceosome Recruits the ASC-1 Complex to Initiate Ubiquitin-dependent Spliceosomal Disassembly		  
7:00–8:00 PM Social Hour with Dinner President's Hall
7:05–8:05 PM Women in Science Networking Event Van Horne B
  * Brenda A Schulman, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
  
  * Ingrid E Wertz, Lyterian Therapeutics
  
  * Michelle R. Arkin, University of California, San Francisco
  
  * Elena De Vita, Queen Mary University of London
  
  * Jennifer Kong, University of Washington
  
  * Soraya Carrancio, BMS
  
  * Susan Shao, Harvard Medical School
  
  * Yifat Merbl, Weizmann Institute of Science
  
  * Emma C Fink, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
  
7:30–10:00 PM Poster Session 1 Van Horne C
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast President's Hall
8:00–11:30 AM Quality Control Ubiquitylation in Development and Disease Van Horne B
  * Eric J. Bennett, University of California, San Diego
Session Chair		  
  * Danielle M Garshott, University of California Berkeley
Session Chair		  
  Xin Gu, Harvard Medical School
Cellular Regulation and Pathophysiological Relevance of the Midnolin-proteasome Pathway		  
  Susan Shao, Harvard Medical School
Ribosome-Associated Quality Control		  
  Michael Rape, University of California, Berkeley
Stress Response Silencing		  
  David Komander, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Ubiquitination of Glycogen and Metabolites in Cells and Tissues		  
  Eugene Oh, Harvard Medical School
Mitotic Control of Histone Ubiquitylation		  
  Ricardo Rajsbaum, Rutgers University, New Jersey Medical School Cancer Center
Short Talk: The Role of Non-Covalent Ubiquitin Interactions in Virus-Induced Pathology		  
  Lillie E Bell, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
Short Talk: Regulatory Control of RNF213 and Its Disruption in Moyamoya Disease		  
9:00–9:20 AM Coffee Break Van Horne Foyer
11:30–1:00 PM Poster Setup Van Horne C
11:30–5:00 PM On Own for Lunch
1:00–10:00 PM Poster Viewing Van Horne C
3:00–4:30 PM Career Roundtable (Joint) Van Horne B
  Nicholas F. Polizzi, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Assistant Professor		  
  Simon Glerup, Aarhus University
Associate Professor		  
  Antonia Lopez-Girona, Bristol Myers Squibb
Executive Director | Discovery Oncology		  
  Heather Bisbee, Cell Press
Scientific Editor – Molecular Cell 		  
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available Van Horne Foyer
5:00–7:00 PM New Insights into Ubiquitin-Like Proteins Van Horne B
  * Jennifer Kong, University of Washington
Session Chair		  
  Eilika Weber-Ban, ETH Zürich
Pup Proteasome System and Mycobacterial Stress Responses		  
  Yogesh Kulathu, University of Dundee
UFM1 in Ribosome Control		  
  Reuven Wiener, Hebrew University
Short Talk: E2 Enzymes Think Outside the HPN Box: New Insights into Ubiquitin-like Conjugation		  
  Alexandra Whiteley, University of Colorado, Boulder
Short Talk: A Model of Ubiquilin Function Relevant to Human Disease: UBQLN2, ALS, and the Virus-Like Protein PEG10		  
  Xing Liu, Purdue University
Short Talk: Regulation of Cullin-RING Ubiquitin Ligases by CAND Proteins		  
  Coco Dong, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Short Talk: Branching Out: Coordinated E3-Driven K29/K48 Ubiquitination Enables Efficient PROTAC-Induced Proteolysis		  
7:00–8:00 PM Social Hour with Dinner President's Hall
7:30–10:00 PM Poster Session 2 Van Horne C
Thursday, February 26, 2026
7:00–8:00 AM Breakfast President's Hall
8:00–11:00 AM Learning from the Clinic Van Horne B
  * Ruben A Tommasi, Entact Bio
Session Chair		  
  Gwenn M Hansen, Nurix Therapeutics
Establishing a New Clinical Standard: Emerging Data for Targeted Protein Degraders		  
  Ingrid E Wertz, Lyterian Therapeutics
Co-opting the Ubiquitin System for Therapeutic Benefit		  
  Shuying He, John Hopkins Medicine
SUMO2 Promotes Histone Pre-mRNA Processing		  
  Stephen Hinshaw, Stanford University
Molecular Glues for Non-Cullin Ubiquitin Ligases		  
  Madel Tutor, AstraZeneca
Short Talk: Decoding Endogenous Cereblon Functions and PROTAC Impact in Prostate and Breast Cancer Cells		  
  Daniela Rotin, Hospital for Sick Children
Short Talk: Inactivating Mutations in NEDD4L Cause Liddle Syndrome with NDI and Deafness (LiNDID)		  
9:00–9:20 AM Coffee Break Van Horne Foyer
11:00–5:00 PM On Own for Lunch
4:30–5:00 PM Coffee Available Van Horne Foyer
5:00–6:30 PM Ubiquitin at the Crossroads of Infection and Immunology Van Horne B
  * Karin Goldberg, Weizmann Institute of Science
Session Chair		  
  * Elijah Mena, UT Southwestern
Session Chair		  
  Bekky Feltham, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
From Maps to Models, E3-ome and in vivo Degron-tag Resources		  
  Aaron T Whiteley, University of Colorado Boulder
Ubiquitin Transferase-Like Proteins in Bacterial Phage Resistance		  
  Ivan Dikic, Goethe University Medical School
Non-Conventional Ubiquitylation		  
6:30–7:15 PM Closing Keynote Address Van Horne B
  * Bekky Feltham, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Session Chair		  
  Vishva M. Dixit, Genentech, Inc.
Virulence Factors Mediate Ubiquitin-Dependent Immunomodulation		  
7:15–7:30 PM Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers) Van Horne B
7:30–8:30 PM Social Hour with Dinner President's Hall
8:30–9:30 PM Entertainment President's Hall
Friday, February 27, 2026
12:00–11:59 PM Departure