7th NF-kB

International

Congress

Barcelona, October 7 to 9, 2026

Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Following the success of previous editions, the 7th International NF-kB Congress is set to bring together leading researchers from Europe and around the world. This year, the meeting will feature dedicated sessions exploring the central roles of NF-kB subunits and their key regulators in major biological processes, particularly those linked to stemness, cancer, and development.

So, welcome to the 7th NF-kB International Congress that will be held in Barcelona from
October 7 to 9, 2026.

About the Venue

The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) is one of the largest biomedical research hubs in southern Europe. Located next to the sea in the Barceloneta district of Barcelona, the PRBB brings together a community of over 1,400 researchers, students, and support staff working across multiple disciplines in life sciences and biomedicine.

Inaugurated in 2006, the PRBB is more than just a building—it is a scientific ecosystem designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and excellence in research. It houses several leading research centers, including the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences of Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory – Barcelona site (EMBL Barcelona), among others.

Research at the PRBB spans a broad range of topics, from genetics and cell biology to public health, epidemiology, and computational biology. This multidisciplinary environment encourages synergy between basic and clinical research, aiming to translate scientific discoveries into tangible benefits for human health.

The park also emphasizes training, outreach, and ethical research practices. It hosts graduate and postgraduate programs in collaboration with UPF and other academic institutions, and it actively engages with the public through events, open days, and science communication initiatives.

As a model of co-location and interdisciplinary cooperation, the PRBB has positioned itself as a key player in the European research landscape. Its unique architecture, open science philosophy, and commitment to cutting-edge research make it a vibrant center for scientific advancement and innovation.

Inaugurated in 2006, the PRBB is more than just a building—it is a scientific ecosystem designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and excellence in research. It houses several leading research centers, including the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences of Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory – Barcelona site (EMBL Barcelona), among others.

Program

Wednesday, October 7th

8:45h

On-site registration and welcome coffee.

9:20h

OPENING KEYNOTE LECTURE (Pr. Ranjan Sen)

SESSION I: TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION BY NF-κB

Chairs: Gourisankar Ghosh and Alexander Hoffmann

10:00h

Structure-based biochemical analyses of NF-κB regulation by IκB and IKK – Tom Huxford

10:25h

Functional analysis of NF-κB/RNA networks – Lienhard Schmitz

10:50h

Coffee Break

11:15h

The multifaceted role of NF-κB in hypoxia – Sonia Rocha

11:40h

Bcl3 condensate formation in transcriptional regulation – Vivien Wang

12:05h

Cancer-selective targeting of the NF-κB pathway: from target discovery to human trials – Guido Franzoso

Short Talks session

12:30h

Cell type-specific immune dysregulation in NFKB1-associated CVID – Hanna Norbäck

12:45h

Regulation of ZBP1 signaling by CYLD and SPATA2 – Ulrich Maurer

13:00h

LUNCH TIME AND POSTER VIEWING

SESSION II: NF-κB IN INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNITY Chairs: Claus Scheidereit and Raquel Espín-Palazón

14:30h

Zooming in on NF-κB to understand inflammation and aging – Myong-Hee Sung

14:55h

IKK/NF-κB and cell death signalling in inflammation: lessons from mouse models – Manolis Pasparakis

15:20h

The signalling pathways that control the cellular decision to initiate inflammation – Ruaidhri Carmody

15:45h

Coffee Break

16:10h

NF-κB and cell death in the aetiology of inflammatory disease – Henning Walczak

16:35h

NF-κB and B cell homeostasis –Matthew Cook

Short Talks session

17:00h

Regulation of CD8+T-cell responses to cancer by the NF-κB family of transcription factors – Yenkel Grinberg-Bleyer

Thursday, October 8th

SESSION III: NF-κB IN DEVELOPMENT AND CELL DIFFERENTIATION

Chairs: Anna Bigas and Manolis Pasparakis

10:00h

In vivo NF-κB dynamics and their significance during development – Raquel Espín-Palazón

10:25h

Novel inborn errors of the human alternative NF-κB pathway and their consequences – Alexis Maillard

10:50h

Structural determinants of the non-canonical NF-κB pathway – Emmanuel Dejardin

11:15h

Coffee Break

11:40h

Imbalances in the NF-κB System disrupt lympho- and myelo-poiesis – Alexander Hoffmann

12:05h

NFKB1 mutations in humans: genotype and phenotype – Bodo Grimbacher

12:30h

IκBα as a master regulator of pluripotency – Anna Bigas

12:55h

LUNCH TIME AND POSTER VIEWING

Short Talks session

14:15h

Notch/NF-κB crosstalk signaling controls SASP development in brain aging – Bernd Baumann

14:30h

CARD14 hyperactivation in intestinal epithelial cells promotes colorectal cancer – Inna Afonina

SESSION IV: NF-κB-REGULATORY ELEMENTS

Chairs: Tom Huxford and Vivien Wang

14:45h

Assembly and regulation of large p65/RELA enhanceosomes – Michael Kracht

15:10h

Ubiquitin ligases cooperate in balancing NF-κB activation in T cells – Daniel Krappmann

15:35h

Coffee Break

16:00h

Ubiquitin modulatory proteins in NF-κB signaling and disease – Rudi Beyaert

16:25h

Subcellular proteome mapping provides mechanistic insight into the nucleolar-NF-κB inflammatory pathway – Lesley Stark

Short Talks session

16:50h

Selective pharmacological disruption of IκBα interaction with NF-κB and chromatin – Ángela Montoto

17:05h

CYLD uncouples LUBAC-dependent NF-κB homeostasis from TNF-induced cell death – Irina Antoshkina

17:20h

UBE2L3 safeguards intestinal epithelial homeostasis and limits inflammation at the gut barrier – Femke DeMeyer

20:00h

CONGRESS DINNER (not included)

Friday, October 9th

SESSION V: NF-κB IN SOLID CANCERS, LEUKEMIAS & LYMPHOMAS

Chairs: Véronique Baud and Simon Mitchell

9:30h

RelB in metabolism and cancer – Véronique Baud

9:55h

Mechanism of IKK2 activation and its implication in neurological diseases and cancer – Gourisankar Ghosh

10:20h

Loss of IκBα reshapes chromatin in glioma – Markus Bredel and Daniel Álvarez-Villanueva

10:45h

Coffee Break

11:10h

The central role of NF-κB in mediating leukemic T cell interactions with the microenvironment – Nuno dos Santos

11:35h

NDP-heptose regulated NF-κB: infection, inflammation and cancer – Michael Naumann

Short Talks session

12:00h

IKKα mediates crosstalk between the NF-κB and MAPK pathways through dual-specific phosphatases 1 and 5 – Dina Harti

12:15h

Inhibitory-κB kinase as a therapeutic target in colorectal cancer – Kathryn Pennel

12:30h

NIK/MAP3K14 functions as a mitochondrial stress-immunity integrator and drives sex-polarized transcriptional outputs that govern glioblastoma pathogenesis – Raquel Sitcheran

12:45h

LUNCH TIME AND POSTER VIEWING

Short Talks session

14:15h

p52 inhibits anti-tumor immunity to promote glioblastoma growth – Bakhtiar Yamini

14:30h

NF-κB signalling dynamics define survival dependencies in aggressive lymphomas – Aimilia Vareli

SESSION VI: THERAPEUTIC TARGETING AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Chairs: Lesley Stark and Myong-Hee Sung

14:45h

Computational approaches to NF-κB: from dynamic signaling to personalized disease models – Jana Wolf

15:10h

Coffee Break

15:35h

Precision targeting of NF-κB in cancer with systems biology – Simon Mitchell

16:00h

The development of SU1644 – a potent and selective IKKα inhibitor with applications in prostate and colorectal cancer – Simon MacKay

16:25h

SHORT TALK AND POSTER PRIZES

17:00h

CLOSURE: Past, present and future of the NF-κB Congress – Neil Perkins

17:30h

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL NF-κB CONGRESS

Scientific committee

Veronique Baud

Université Paris Cité, Paris

Ruaidhri Carmody

University of Glasgow, UK

Nuno Dos Santos

University of Porto, Portugal

Raquel Espin-Palazon

Iowa State University, USA

Lluís Espinosa

Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Spain

Alexander Hoffmann

University of California Los Angeles, USA

Daniel Krappmann

Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Center (MTTC), Helmholtz Munich, Germany

Neil Perkins

Newcastle University, UK

Sonia Rocha

University of Liverpool, UK

Lienhard Schmitz

University Giessen, Germany

Laura Solé

Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Spain

Speakers

Daniel Álvarez

University of Miami

Veronique Baud

Université Paris Cité, France

Rudi Beyaert

Ghent University, Belgium

Anna Bigas

Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Spain

Markus Bredel

University of Miami, USA

Ruaidhri Carmody

University of Glasgow, UK

Matthew Cook

University of Cambridge, UK

Emmanuel Dejardin

University of Liège, GIGA-Institute, Belgium

Nuno Dos Santos

University of Porto, Portugal

Raquel Espin-Palazon

Iowa State University, USA

Guido Franzoso

Imperial College London, UK

Gourisankar Ghosh

UC San Diego, USA

Bodo Grimbacher

University of Freiburg, Germany

Alexander Hoffmann

University of California Los Angeles, USA

Tom Huxford

San Diego State University, California, USA

Michael Kracht

Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany

Daniel Krappmann

Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Center (MTTC), Helmholtz Munich, Germany

Simon MacKay

Strathclyde University, UK

Alexis Maillard

Imagine Institute/University of Paris, France

Simon Mitchell

Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK

Michael Naumann

Otto von Guericke University, Germany

Manolis Pasparakis

University of Cologne, Germany

Neil Perkins

Newcastle University, UK

Sonia Rocha

University of Liverpool, UK

Ranjan Sen

Biomedical Research Center, NIH, National Institute on Aging, USA

Lienhard Schmitz

University Giessen, Germany

Lesley Stark

University of Edinburgh, UK

Myong-Hee Sung

National Institute of Aging, NIH, USA

Henning Walczak

University of Cologne, Germany. University College London, UK

Vivien Wang

University of Macau, China

Jana Wolf

Max Delbrück Center, Germany

Contact

If you have any questions regarding registration, abstract submission, or general information about the NF-κB Congress 2026, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We are happy to assist you with any inquiries related to the scientific program, sponsorship opportunities, or logistical details of the event.

You can reach the Organizing Committee at:

contact@nfkbcongress.com

We will do our best to respond to your message as soon as possible.

Thank you for your interest in the NF-κB Congress, Barcelona 2026 — we look forward to welcoming you to our community of researchers!