Trilateral WEAVE meeting on ALPH1

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to have a joint meeting for our WEAVE project consortium:

Targeting a unique mRNA decapping enzyme for trypanosomatid infectious disease drug discovery, chemical biology and biotechnology applications

• Susanne Kramer team, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany (funded by DFG)
• Martin Zoltner team, Charles University in Prague, BIOCEV, Prague, Czechia (funded by GAČR)
• Maria Górna team, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland (funded by NCN)

We met on 10-12 July 2024 in Lisna for a scientific workshop. We held discussions of the ongoing work and plans for the nearest future in several scientific sessions: Structure of ALPH1 and the ALPH1 complex; In vitro activity of ALPH1: different assay types and what to conclude; updates on the drug discovery screen; brainstorming and further ideas. This was accompanied by team-building activities such as our favourite "Bake your project" contest.

A big thank you to all participants for the joint scientific adventures and to our funding agencies for the support making it all possible.

Below: GROUP PHOTO and the competing entries in the "Bake your project" contest.

1st place: ALPH1 SEC purification (BOTTOM, 2nd left)

2nd place: Nuclear mRNA export (top right corner)

3rd place: ALPH1 enzymatic assay (top left corner)