PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal requests partial support for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on autophagy to be held in Barga, Italy, March 10-14, 2024. Autophagy is a fundamental cellular homeostatic mechanism affecting many developmental processes, as well numerous age-related human diseases such as neurodegeneration and inflammation. Growing evidence also suggests autophagy as a major molecular mechanism of aging, warranting its mechanistic study. The broad and long-term goal of this GRC series is to highlight the expanding role and regulation of autophagy in physiological and pathological processes that underlie human aging and diseases. The specific aims of the 2024 GRC meeting will be to convene 40 invited speakers and discussion leaders in key areas of autophagy research along with 200 participants for a five-day conference. The GRC will be preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) designed to enhance the participation of junior investigators. The program will include a keynote session with keynote address from three world leaders who have made seminal connections between molecular mechanisms and physiological processes. The conference will also feature eight sessions that address current issues relating to aging, neurodegeneration, cancer, inflammation, immunity, bulk and selective autophagy mechanisms, membrane dynamics, and lysosomal secretion and repair. In addition, 20 short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts and GRS presentations, and two poster sessions will permit all participants to contribute to these topics. The significance of this application is that the GRC on autophagy has become the most important venue that critically influences, directs and drives research in the international community of autophagy researchers. GRC meetings bring together a broad group of investigators who are at the forefront of the autophagy research and allied fields, and provide ample opportunities for junior scientists and trainees to present their work and exchange ideas with leaders in the field, thus nurturing the next generation of autophagy research leaders, following in the footsteps of the 2016 Nobel Prize winner Yoshinori Ohsumi, who discovered the molecular mechanisms of autophagy. The health relatedness of this application is that autophagy directly impacts a wide spectrum of human health and diseases related to aging, such chronic inflammation and neurodegeneration. The research highlighted by GRC meetings on autophagy will lead to a greater molecular understanding of a critical process and help develop new approaches to treat age-related diseases and improve healthspan.