Our Medicine at the Crick event series showcases major advances in biomedical science and raises awareness of the medical implications of major scientific advances. Interested members of the Crick and wider UK biomedical community are invited to attend. Members of the academic medical press are also invited. Each event comprises a series of talks and a panel discussion. 

Our seventh event, Autophagy and Medicine: Maintaining health and preventing disease, will be hosted by Dr Rupert Beale (The Francis Crick Institute/ UCL). 

Autophagy is a process by which cells engulf their own contents and digest them – literally self-eating. It plays multiple roles in maintaining homeostasis by for example generating nutrients, removing damaged cellular structures and targeting pathogens. Components of the autophagy machinery can be co-opted for other functions, including by pathogens. Despite its role in many pathophysiological processes, we are only just beginning to understand how it can be manipulated to enhance health and prevent disease. This Medicine at the Crick event presents an overview of autophagy and its functions, and a state of the art review of the roles of autophagy in neurodegeneration, infection and immunity.

Speakers include ​​​Dr Herbert (Skip) Virgin (Vir Biotechnology Inc), Dr Sharon Tooze (The Francis Crick Institute), Prof Katja Simon (University of Oxford) and Prof David Rubinsztein (University of Cambridge).