Workshop on "The Computational Challenges of the Next Generation DNA Sequencing" - Uppsala, Sweden - 15-16 January 2009
Convenors: Philipp Bucher (CH) and Jan Komorowski (SE)
New sequencing technologies have started to generate a new burst of biological data of different types. To manage and analyse these data, new computational methods and infrastructures will be required which are not yet ready. To identify the challenges and bottlenecks in ultra-high-throughput sequence analysis, we will organise a European meeting that will bring together the leading bioinformatics and computational biology experts with first-hand experience in this field.
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Workshop on "Affinity Proteomics: 4th ESF Workshop on Ligand Binders Against the Human Proteome" - Alpbach, Austria - 23-25 March 2009
Convenors: Cheryl Smythe (UK), Oda Stoevestandt (UK) and Mike Taussig (UK)
The aims will be to review state-of-the-art technologies for European and worldwide affinity proteomics programmes. Previous meetings funded by the ESF Functional Genomics Programme have been highly influential in defining the field, leading to the EC ProteomeBinders coordination action and practically focused follow-on projects, which will all be represented at and co-fund the workshop.
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Workshop on "Harmonised Biobank Research: Maximising Value - Maximising Use" - Brussels, Belgium - 25-27 March 2009
Convenor: Jennifer Harris (NO)
Many countries have made substantial investments in biobanking and intense activity has been targeted at building a harmonised network of biobanks to support large-scale genomics. Several of these countries envision that biobanks will become part of their medical research and healthcare infrastructure and biomedicine will benefit greatly from building synergies between diverse sources of health information. A range of funded initiatives are serving to create a biobanking infrastructure, the scope of these projects spans a wide array of designs, including population-based and special populations, disease-specific, tissue banks and those with specific ELSI focus. The collective output from these projects includes harmonisation tools and technologies related to the design and management of biobanks, development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for sample handling, cataloguing and comparing information, coordinating development of compatible bioinformatics, and mapping ethico-legal frameworks. An important consequence of harmonisation activities is that a new reservoir of knowledge, experience, and expertise is emerging that is crucial to share with the biobanking community at large in order to maximise scientific value and use of biomolecular resources.
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Conference on "Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease" - Oslo, Norway - 8-12 June 2009
Convenors: Patrik Brundin (SE), Ole Petter Ottersen (NO) and Leena Peltonen (FI)
Technology innovation drives biomedical sciences rapidly. With the right resources (continuous updating on the techniques, availability and applicability), genomics and imaging can be applied to dissect major processes related to human health and disease. Our joint initiative will allow researchers not only to get an overview of what the new technologies can offer but will also provide them with a forum that promotes interdisciplinary research. This event includes two concurrent 2-day training courses and a 3-day symposium.
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Workshop on "Innovative Mouse Models IMM2009" - Leiden, Netherlands - 25-26 June 2009
Convenors: Jos Jonkers (NL), Paul Krimpenfort (NL), Werner Muller (UK), Els Robanus-Maandag (NL), Hein te Riele (NL), Marian van Roon (NL) and Sjef Verbeek (NL)
On June 25-26 2009 the 5th Workshop on Innovative Mouse Models was held in the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. The first IMM was held in 2003, followed by workshops in 2004, 2005, 2007 and now in 2009. The primary goal of this two-day workshop has always been to bring together a diverse group of scientists interested in advanced genome alteration approaches in the mouse, including key developers of emerging technologies as well as researchers who wish to apply and assess these new approaches. The workshop encourages an in-depth and unvarnished discussion of these technologies and novel developments in a very open and informal way, easy accessable for young and senior researchers. The organising committee consisting of Jos Jonkers (NKI, Amsterdam , Netherlands ), Paul Krimpenfort (NKI, Amsterdam , Netherlands ), Werner Müller ( University of Manchester , UK ), Els Robanus Maandag (LUMC, Leiden , Netherlands ), Hein te Riele (NKI, Amsterdam, Netherlands), Marian van Roon (AMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Sjef Verbeek (LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands) all, except for Werner Müller, participated in the group of Anton Berns, NKI, Amsterdam and got acquainted with transgenic technologies and mouse models in his lab. From 2003 onwards they decided to bring together all researchers in these fields in the characteristic informal, but outstanding workshops on IMM. The workshops grew from a European meeting to an international workshop, bringing together 150-200 scientists. (see workshop.nki.nl). This year, during the first lustrum, topics included: induced Pluripotent Stemcells, Sleeping Beauty transposon mutagenesis, large scale generation of conditional knockouts, in vivo RNAi and mosaic mouse models.The topics were covered during the first day of the workshop by excellent and outstanding keynote speakers, while the second day the same topics were discussed by young scientists in high quality, short presentations. The workshop closed with an interactive forum discussion, moderated professionally by Hein te Riele.
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Workshop on "Quest for Orthologs" - Hinxton, United Kingdom - 3-5 July 2009
Convenors: Michael Ashburner (UK) and Erik Sonnhammer (SE)
Orthologs are genes in different organisms that originate from a single gene in the last common ancestral species. It is vital to accurately and comprehensively identify orthologs between all organisms that have been completely sequenced, currently some 40 eukaryotes and 400 prokaryotes. This workshop will bring together the main ortholog database providers and model organism databases, with the goal to exchange ideas and improve interoperability between them.
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Workshop on "Computational Methods for RNA Analysis" - Benasque, Spain - 26 July-8 August 2009
Convenors: Elena Rivas (US) and Eric Westhof (FR)
This workshop intends to bring together the most qualified scientists in the field of RNA bioinformatics. The major objective is to discuss the state of RNA computational biology, to identify the needs of the field, and to propose the new algorithms needed to be able to characterise RNA genes.
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Summer School "European Summer Institute of Statistical Genetics" - Liège, Belgium - 31 August-9 September 2009
Convenor: Michel Georges (BE)
The Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics is a world re-knowned advanced course in statistical genetics. The objectives are to introduce biologists to statistical analysis of genomic data and to introduce statisticians to statistical problems arising in modern genomics. The programme is composed of a series of 2 1/2 day modules covering evolving topics in biostatistics and bioinformatics.
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14th European Congress on "Biotechnology: systems biology and technology" - Barcelona, Spain - 13-16 September 2009
Convenors: Mike Taussig (UK), Joost Teixeira de Mattos (NL), Mathias Uhlen (SE) and Hans Westerhoff (UK)
The European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) has recognised that Systems Biology is a mature discipline that is now of paramount importance to biotechnology. Hence, one of the 4 Stream Programmes of the upcoming 14th European Congress on Biotechnology (ECB-14) is fully dedicated to Systems Biology & Technology. The aims will be to review the current genomic technologies including Functional Genomics and their present and future impact.
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3rd Central and Eastern Europe Proteomic Conference - Budapest, Hungary - 6-9 October 2009
Convenors: G. Allmaier (AT), L. Drahos (HU), T. Janáky (HU), H. Kovárová (CZ) and A. Svatos (DE)
This 3rd Central and Eastern European Proteomic Conference (CEEPC) in Budapest, Hungary, in 2009 follows previous meetings in Jena, Germany (2008) and that of Prague, Czech Republic (2007). The conference will bring together people interested in proteomics; will accelerate the diffusion and exchange of information among people in a region, where proteomics is not yet fully developed.
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Workshop on "Quality Control in Proteomics" - Hinxton, United Kingdom - 25-27 November 2009
Convenors: Henning Hermjakob (UK) and Lennart Martens (UK)
The workshop objective is to assemble a critical mass of international participants from academia, industry and scientific journals on the topic of quality control procedures for proteomics experiments. A whitepaper on the state of the art on quality control in proteomics will be delivered, and a Proteomics Quality Control Consortium will be established to take on the task of creating quality control procedures, and educating researchers in the field.
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