WELCOME
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Takeshi Tsubata Organizer Professor, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan |
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Maja Köhn Organizer Professor, University of Freiburg, Germany |
On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to welcome you to "Workshop on Frontiers in Phosphatase Research and Drug Discovery". This conference will be held at Akio Suzuki Memorial Hall, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) in Tokyo from October 23th (Tue) to 25th (Thr), 2018.
In the past two decades, Japanese Association for Protein Phosphatase Research (JAPPR) organized international conferences on protein phosphatase (ICPP) every two years. For further development, we are organizing this workshop on phosphatase research this year as a bilateral seminar supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and German Research Foundation (Deutche Forschungsgemeinshaft: DFG). We also invite international participants by obtaining support from JAPPR and TMDU. We are welcoming scientists working on phosphatase research from all over the world.
Phosphatases are structurally more diverse than kinases, and development of inhibitors and determination of phosphatase substrates are more difficult than those of kinases. These properties have delayed phosphatase research compared to kinase research. However, it is now established that phosphatases are tightly regulated and that they show a degree of substrate specificity similar to that of kinases. New developments regarding the roles of phosphatases in various diseases and the emergence of resistance against kinase inhibitors in cancer underscore the importance of phosphatases in cellular processes and as potential drug targets. In this workshop, physiological and pathological functions of phosphatases at the molecular, cellular and organ levels are discussed for better understanding of functions of phosphatases, and to identify suitable target molecules for drug discovery. Moreover, actual experiences in drug discovery will also be exchanged. International networks and collaborations initialized by this workshop will further promote phosphatase research and drug discovery, which will be a major topic in the coming decade.