Invited Lecture – Matthew Freeman

Rhomboids are intramembrane serine proteases that are conserved throughout evolution. There is much speculation about their potential medical relevance in diseases as diverse as cancer, diabetes and parasite infection. Rhomboids have become one of the most extensively characterised family of intramembrane proteases, but many fundamental questions remain about their function and biological importance. Our group is studying both mechanistic and physiological aspects of rhomboid biology. We have recently focused on non-catalytic members of the rhomboid-like family. These pseudoproteases are well conserved, endoplasmic reticulum localised proteins that unexpectedly link the cellular quality control machinery with intercellular signalling.