About EWCD

The History

Nature articles about the meeting:

EWCD started up in 1998 with ”Death on the Rocks” in L’Aquila, Italy as a response to the established meetings that were expensive and where PI’s and invited speakers were at the centre.
It was organized by four postdocs Vincenzo De Laurenzi, Michael Hahne, Jan Paul Medema and Henning Walczak, with the aim to enable students and post-docs to attend a scientific meeting of high standard that was affordable, and where all participants were equal (i.e. no invited speakers and participants were selected solely on the quality of their submitted abstract).
This is still the corner stone of EWCD and the workshop series is now among the most recognized and popular meetings in the field of cell death research.

The Mission

EWCD meetings are held bi-annually and have proved increasingly successful among the international cell death research community. Each one is held in a different European location, which is selected for its unique atmosphere. The EWCD is a broad spectrum scientific conference focussing on all aspects of cell death and lasts for four days in the spring/summer of every second year.

Past topics have included caspases and their regulation, anti- and pro-apoptotic signalling mechanisms, TNF family members, ubiquitin-dependent signalling, clinical aspects of apoptosis and alternative modes of cell death, including autophagy and necroptosis. The vast majority of participants give oral presentations and are usually PhD students or post-docs, some of which can participate free of charge due to the availability of scholarships.

The selection criteria for presentation of data are based solely on the quality and novelty of research and there are no invited speakers. This means that the ambience of the meeting is particularly special. Although the science is taken very seriously and the sessions are formal the overall atmosphere is very friendly and non-intimidating. This unique environment is reflected in the increasing popularity of the EWCD series.