Website: [custom_field field=wpcf-eventwebsite this_post=1 /]

The focus of ICCP is on ribosomally synthesized circular proteins, which were unknown just 20 years ago but have since then been discovered in all kingdom of life from bacteria, cyanobacteria, plants, and animals. Circular proteins have been overlooked in the past due to the difficulty to detect them, but they are now known to be phylogenetically widespread, sequentially diverse and numerous. Circular proteins are usually more stable than their acyclic counterparts, and this enhanced stability attracts considerable interest in drug design.

The first International Conference on Circular Proteins ICCP2009 was held on Heron Island, on the Great Barrier Reef, in October 2009. The delegates of ICCP2009 were treated to a fascinating collection of talks from world’s leading experts on cyclic peptides and circular proteins. Some of the exciting themes of research were related to circular protein biosynthesis, discoveries, evolution and their use in drug design. Some of the work presented in the conference were published in a special issue of Biopolymers Peptide Science in 2010.

The success of the first edition of ICCP and the exciting discoveries that were made in the past three years prompted us to organise a new gathering that we hope would help in sharing views on circular proteins, generate collaborations and stimulate novel groundbreaking research.