Meeting reports

This Biochemical Society event, sponsored by Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), Cure Parkinson’s Trust and Parkinson’s UK, took place in London from 26 to 27 November 2024. It brought together approximately 120 participants across four continents to mark the 20th anniversary of the discovery of PINK1 mutations linked to Parkinson’s disease in London in 2004.

The meeting combined past discoveries in the field including historical videos of the original Sicilian PINK1 families affected with Parkinson’s to translational talks, notably an update of Phase I clinical data from the USP30 deubiquitinase inhibitor trial initiated in Parkinson’s patients in 2024. Plenary talks were given by Nicholas Wood (UCL, UK) who discovered PINK1 mutations and Richard Youle (NIH, USA) who discovered the role of PINK1 and Parkin in mitophagy. Other invited speakers comprised leaders in the field who presented cutting-edge research in cell biology, proteomics, structural biology, models of disease and translation. A plethora of exciting new findings in the field were presented by younger scientists through flash-talks and an engaging poster session coupled with networking sessions at breaks and a conference dinner. A highlight of the meeting was an inspiring talk by Star Tali who has Parkinson’s due to a PINK1 mutation and had travelled from New Zealand to share her lived experiences of the disease. She also discussed the high prevalence of PINK1 mutations amongst Pacific islanders and her hopes that research on the PINK1 gene will ultimately deliver a cure for the disease.

Poster prizes were awarded to Nafizul Kazi (MPI Dortmund, Germany), Wolfdieter Springer (Mayo Clinic, USA) and Ioanna Georgiou (Liverpool, UK), while many young researchers received travel bursaries. The meeting was co-organised by Miratul Muqit (Dundee, UK), Helene Plun-Favreau (UCL, UK) and Nicholas Wood. Additional support was received from Biochemical Journal, CliniSciences, LifeSensors and MRCPPU Reagents and Services.