The Leuven Protein Aggregation Meeting (3rd edition)
9-11 September 2026, Leuven, Belgium
Supported by VIB Training & Conferences
Registration by invitation only.
The Leuven Protein Aggregation Meeting (3rd edition)
The Leuven Protein Aggregation Meeting (3rd edition)
Registration by invitation only. The selection deadline was 25 May. Submissions are now closed.
Keep me postedAdd to calendarWe are delighted to announce the third edition of The Leuven Protein Aggregation meeting, from 9th to 11th September 2026.
Once again, we will bring together leading scientists and inspiring speakers from around the world to share the latest breakthroughs in protein aggregation.
With 150 participants in an informal, interactive setting, the meeting offers a great opportunity for in-depth discussions and networking. The program will feature stimulating talks and poster sessions, ensuring that as many attendees as possible can contribute to the scientific exchange.
The meeting takes place again in the beautiful Great Beguinage of Leuven, a UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to the 13th century. In addition to the cutting-edge scientific program, participants will enjoy ample networking opportunities during poster sessions and the conference dinner.
New this year: Participants will be invited to register only after their abstracts have been reviewed, ensuring that those selected can attend. The abstract submission deadline was 25 May 2026. The review is currently ongoing.
We look forward to welcoming you to Leuven for another stimulating and inspiring meeting!
Campaign image copyright: Sandrine Da Cruz, VIB Center for Neuroscience Leuven
Confirmed speakers
Rubén Fernandez-Busnadiego
Rubén Fernandez-Busnadiego
Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, DE
Meytal Landau
Meytal Landau
CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), and Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), DE; Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, IL
Program
Day 1 - Wednesday, 09 September, 2026
13:00
14:00
Registration and welcome coffee
14:00
14:10
Welcome word
14:10
15:40
Session 1
14:10
14:40
Amyloid Polymorphism: More than the Fibril Core
Sheena E Radford
University of Leeds, UK
14:40
14:55
A chaperone/proteasome-based fragmentation machinery essential for aggrephagy
Mario Mauthe
University medical center Groningen (UMCG), NL
Selected from abstracts
14:55
15:10
Extracellular Vesicles From Parkinson’s Disease Stool Samples Exhibit Seed Amplification Activity
Livia Civitelli
University of Oxford, GB
Selected from abstracts
15:10
15:40
Tau condensation and aggregation
Markus Zweckstetter
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), DE
15:40
16:10
Coffee break
16:10
17:30
Session 2
16:10
16:25
Formation of GVBs: a protective neuron-specific response to protein aggregation
Wiep Scheper
Amsterdam UMC - Vriije Universiteit, NL
Selected from abstracts
16:25
16:40
Amyloid Folds as Compatibility Landscapes: From Polymorphism to Programmable Assemblies
Nikolaos Louros
UT Southwestern Medical Center, US
Selected from abstracts
16:40
17:10
Virulent and antimicrobial amyloids: structural plasticity and RNA regulation
Meytal Landau
CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), and Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), DE; Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, IL
17:10
17:15
Hasse Hedeby
Fidabio
Sponsored talk
17:15
17:20
Michael Thomas
Sysmex
Sponsored talk
17:20
17:25
Stefan Pellenz
Hologic Diagenode
Sponsored talk
17:25
17:30
Tobias Pusterla
BMG Labtech
Sponsored talk
17:30
19:30
Poster session 1 & reception with Belgian beers
Feel free to enjoy one of the many restaurants in the historic city of Leuven (not included in the registration fee)
Day 2 - Thursday, 10 September, 2026
08:30
09:00
Welcome coffee
09:00
10:30
Session 3
09:00
09:30
Bringing structure to pathological protein assembly in motor neuron diseases and associated dementias
Benjamin Ryskeldi-Falcon
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK
09:30
09:45
FibrilPaints: from amyloid binders to diagnostic tools
Françoise Dekker
Utrecht University, NL
Selected from abstracts
09:45
10:00
RNA interactions drive structural and functional diversification of α-synuclein fibrils
Gian Tartaglia
Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), IT
Selected from abstracts
10:00
10:30
Proteostasis dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative disease
Judith Frydman
Stanford University, US
10:30
11:00
Coffee break
11:00
12:30
Session 4
11:00
11:30
Prion strain conformations and their phenotypic consequences
Motomasa Tanaka
RIKEN Center for Brain Science, JP
11:30
11:45
The cellular phase of Alzheimer’s disease
Bart De Strooper
VIB-KU Leuven Center For Neuroscience, BE & UK Dementia Research Institute, UK
11:45
12:00
Sequence determinants of selective co-assembly in RHIM amyloids
Miguel Mompeán
Blas Cabrera Institute of Physical Chemistry, ES
Selected from abstracts
12:00
12:30
Mapping the Structural Landscape and Interactome of Amyloids
Frederic Rousseau
Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center For Neuroscience, BE
12:30
13:00
Lunch
13:00
15:00
Poster session 2
15:15
16:30
Session 5
15:15
15:45
Decoding compartment-specific mechanisms of TDP 43 and FUS proteinopathies
Sandrine Da Cruz
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience, BE
15:45
16:00
Mitochondrial protection against proteotoxicity of aggregate accumulation
Wolfgang Voos
Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Bonn, DE
Selected from abstracts
16:00
16:15
The roles of microenvironment and of an overloaded secretory pathway on amyloid aggregation: updates from ex vivo Cryo EM
Stefano Ricagno
University of Milan, IT
Selected from abstracts
16:15
16:30
Site-specific phosphorylation of Ser352 drives aggregation of Tau R4 under acidosis conditions
Assaf Friedler
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IL
Selected from abstracts
16:30
17:00
Coffee break
17:00
18:15
Session 6
17:00
17:30
Visualizing mitochondrial proteostasis under stress
Kenneth Ehses
Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, DE
17:30
17:45
Insoluble tau seeds found in cognitively normal cases differ by density from those occurring in Alzheimer's Disease
Diana Acosta Ingram
Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland OH, 44106, US
Selected from abstracts
17:45
18:00
3D atomic structure reveals evolution of prions in templated amplification in vitro
Jan Bieschke
UCL, GB
Selected from abstracts
18:00
18:15
Secondary nucleation of α-Synuclein drives Parkinson’s disease pathology
Suman De
University of Sheffield, GB
Selected from abstracts
18:30
22:00
Reception and conference dinner
additional fee
Day 3 - Friday, 11 September, 2026
08:30
09:00
Welcome coffee
09:00
10:30
Session 7
09:00
09:30
Molecular determinants and protective mechanisms against TDP-43 pathology
Magdalini Polymenidou
University of Zurich, CH
09:30
09:45
Molecular structure and self-assembly in functional bacterial amyloid
Daniel Otzen
iNANO and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK
Selected from abstracts
09:45
10:00
Allosteric amyloid catalysis by coiled coil fibrils
Sisira Mambram Kunnath
Ilse Katz Institute (IKI) for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. , IL; Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, IL
Selected from abstracts
10:00
10:30
Mechanistic and thermodynamic studies of alpha-synuclein lipid-binding and aggregation through systematic lysine to glutamine mutagenesis
Alexander Buell
Technical University of Denmark (DTU), DK
10:30
11:00
Coffee break
11:00
12:30
Session 8
11:00
11:30
Tau as a Molecular Clock of Brain Aging: PTM Stoichiometry Encodes Biological Age and Disease State
Judith Steen
Harvard Medical School & Boston Children's Hospital, US
11:30
11:45
Murine Brain Amyloid Fibrils and Lipid-Associated Fibrils
Gunnar Schroeder
Computational Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, DE
Selected from abstracts
11:45
12:00
Dynamics of the α-Synuclein fuzzy coat regulate fibril core accessibility and aggregation mechanisms
Jean Baum
Rutgers University, US
Selected from abstracts
12:00
12:30
Iatrogenic Alzheimer’s disease and its implications
John Collinge
University College London, UK
12:30
13:00
Closing words and poster prize ceremony
13:00
14:00
Lunch
Organizing committee
Filip Claes
Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center For Neuroscience, BE
Frederic Rousseau
Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center For Neuroscience, BE
Joost Schymkowitz
Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center For Neuroscience, BE
Hannah Wilkinson
Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center For Neuroscience, BE
Abstracts
The full list of abstracts will be available on 26-08-2026 until 11-12-2026
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
Attendees
The full list of attendees will be available on 26-08-2026 until 11-12-2026
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
Sponsors
Platinum
Platinum
Platinum
Bronze
Bronze
