EMBL Symposium: Networks in the Life Sciences

We are pleased to announce the 14th EMBL International PhD symposium which will take place in Heidelberg, Germany on 25th-27th October 2012. The emphasis of this series of symposia is on PhD students: they are organised by students, for students, and the 2012 symposium – Networks in the Life Sciences – is no exception.

The past 20 years have seen a massive increase in the volume of biological data. Molecules and cells once studied in isolation are now being analyzed as components of genomes, proteomes, pathways and tissues. Our symposium will feature talks by PhD students and investigators who use an integrative, yet predictive and rigorous strategy to understand these immensely complex biological systems.

Everyone is welcome to attend, and PhD students in particular are encouraged to do so. Please register as soon as possible to be guaranteed a place, using the following link: http://phdsymposium.embl.org/register. Registration closes on the 6th of September and the deadline for abstract submission in on the 20th of August.

Recent Updates:

We are happy to announce that we have more confirmed speakers: Dr. Amos Bairoch, Prof. Alexander Hoffman, Dr. Ben Lehner and Dr. Matthieu Piel.

This year’s program will also include workshops to introduce the students with cutting-edge research tools. We will have two workshops given by Genomics and Proteomics Core Facilities in EMBL.

The best poster will be awarded a cash prize of 200 euros. More information can be found on our website.

Further details:

The symposium will comprise three core sessions:

Day 1: Focus on Genomics

The attempt to interpret the ever-increasing flood of genomic data requires the integration not only of disparate biological fields, but also cross-field collaboration. Our speakers will represent experts from both the public and private sector and will discuss recent advances in, and the future implications of, genomics technology for research and society at large.

Eminent speakers: Dr. Richard Durbin, Dr. Nicholas Eriksson

Day 2: Focus on Proteomics

Proteomics, like genomics, is a field undergoing a revolution. Our speakers will discuss developments in the field with applications ranging from research and synthetic biology to medical diagnosis.

Eminent speakers: Prof. Luis Serrano, Prof. Ruedi Aebersold, Prof. Juri Rappsilber

Day 3: Focus on networks and interactions

Our last day will highlight attempts to model even higher-level systems such as the regulatory networks and cell-cell interactions that determine cell fate in development. Our speakers will discuss the value of the systems approach in these high level systems, and the challenges to be overcome in applying it.

Eminent speakers: Prof. Andreas Schuppert, Prof. Dagmar Iber, Dr. Eugenia Piddini

Participants will have the opportunity to:

- Give a short talk in any of the three sessions

- Present and participate in the poster competition

- Attend workshops run by our industrial sponsors

More information, including the complete list of speakers, can be found on our symposium website: http://phdsymposium.embl.org. Also note that there will be a traditional symposium party on the last day of our symposium!

Please find attached the symposium poster in addition to a brochure of supplementary information about EMBL and the beautiful city of Heidelberg which might interest you.

We look forward to meeting many of you in Heidelberg!

——

Nirupama Ramanathan
On behalf of the PR team
14th International EMBL PhD Symposium
http://phdsymposium.embl.org
phdsymposium2012@embl.de
EMBL, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Fax: +49 6221 387-8306