Final Consensus Conference
RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research
From: Sunday 22 February 2009
The Conference starts with a welcome dinner at 19.00 hrs
To: Monday 23 February 2009
The Conference ends with a dinner at 19.30 hrs
Venue: Instituto de Parasitologia y Biomedicina "Lopez-Neyra", CSIC, Granada, Spain
Rationale
The Forward Look RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research aims to integrate several RNA research areas, not only within eukaryotic but also prokaryotic RNA research. Through a series of three thematic workshops and a consensus conference this foresight activity endeavours to investigate the status quo of the field, to determine European strengths and weak-nesses and to establish a 5-10 year outlook. Workshops and the conference are conside-red stepping stones towards a planned report that is designed to give advice to research funding and research performing institutions.
The consensus conference in Granada is by invitation only and will involve contributions and discussions about the future of RNA research among scientists from academia and industry as well as policy makers, represent-tatives of national funding institutions and the European Commission. Recommendations on how to strengthen RNA research in Europe which resulted from the three thematic workshops entitled: Methodologies for RNA Discovery; RNA Interaction Partners; and RNA Therapeutics will be discussed and challenged.
Foresight studies, referred to as ESF Forward Looks, represent the flagship activity within ESF’s strategic portfolio. Forward Looks enable Europe’s scientific community, in interaction with policy makers, to develop medium to long-term views and analyses of future research developments with the aim of defining research agendas at the national and European level. Forward Looks are driven by ESF’s Member Organisations and by the European research community.
Conference Programme
Chairs:
Lars Thelander (Chair), Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umea University, Umea (SE)
Jörg Vogel (Co-chair), Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin (DE)
Annick Harel-Bellan (Co-chair), Institut André Lwoff, CNRS, Villejuif (FR)
Confirmed Speakers:
René Bernards, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, NL
Thomas H. Cech, Keynote Speaker
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
Reinhard Lührman, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, DE
Marja Makarow, ESF Chief Executive, Strasbourg, FR (excused)
Markus Stoffel, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, Zürich, CH
Olivier Voinnet, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, University of Strasbourg, FR (excused)
Witold Filipowicz, Friedrich Miescher Institut for Biomedical Research, Basel, CH
Eric Westhof, Université Louis Pasteur, CNRS, Strasbourg, FR
Mihaela Zavolan, University of Basel, Basel, CH
Programme
Click on Programme (pdf) (18 February 2009)
List of Participants
Please click here for the Final List of Participants
Registration (closed)
Please note that there is no registration fee and that participants (except speakers and special guests) are required to cover for their own travel and accommodation costs.
All invited participants are kindly expected to confirm their attendance by filling an online registration form by 20 January 2009 - extended to 1st February 2009.
Registration to the conference is now open, please click on the link below to acces the registration form. Please note that you will need your personal IdAdd and password, sent with your invitation letter to register.
