On September 15-17, the VIB-KU Leuven Laboratory of Ion Channel Research organized for the 4th time an international meeting in Leuven, devoted to the superfamily of Transient Receptor potential (TRP) channels. The organization of the 4th edition was a bumpy road - originally scheduled for September 2020, COVID-19 forced us to postpone the meeting with one year.
To allow participation of researchers from all around the world, irrespective of travel restriction, we opted for a challenging hybrid onsite/online format. About 140 researchers, half of which in Leuven and the other half online, participated in a very lively meeting, featuring 20 invited speakers and 60 virtual poster presentations.
New insights into TRP research
In the Opening Keynote Lecture on Wednesday evening, David Julius (UC San Francisco) beautifully illustrated the powerful combination of natural products and cryo-EM technology to obtain detailed snap-shots of the gating mechanism of TRPV1. In the stimulating hybrid sessions on Thursday and Friday, we witnessed a broad palette of TRP channel research, from detailed molecular structures of TRP channels, over new insights into their role in a variety of physiological processes, to breakthroughs towards new therapies for hereditary and acquired human diseases.
In addition, we learned about the role of TRP channels in other organisms than the obligatory mice and man, including choanoflagellates, flies, mosquitos and the most cute Syrian hamster. In the Closing Keynote Lecture, Craig Montell (UC Santa Barbara) provided intriguing new insights into the interplay between TRP channels and rhodopsins in various aspects of sensory perception.
Nobel Prize for Medicine: David Julius
Just two weeks after the meeting, we received the exciting news that our opening speaker, David Julius, received the 2021 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his groundbreaking discovery of TRPV1 as a key molecular sensor for temperature. Notably, David shares the Nobel Prize with Ardem Patapoutian (Scripps) who presented his awarded research on the mechanosensitive Piezo-channels at our 2nd TRP channel meeting in 2010.
The VIB-KU Leuven Laboratory of Ion Channel Research wishes to heartily congratulate David and Ardem, and all researchers that have contributed to the many great advances in the field, many of which featured during the first four editions of the Leuven TRP channel meetings.
Considering the tremendous progress and expansion of the TRP channel field, we can hardly wait for the 5th Leuven TRP channel meeting in 2025!
