PhD Training Course
Hotel Aquino, BERLIN, Germany
9-12 September 2010

The 2010 PhD training course in Berlin is now fully subscribed and registration is CLOSED.  If you would like to put your name on a waiting list in case of cancellations, please email admin@ectsoc.org

Exhibitors and sponsors
Aims and Learning Outcomes
Programme
Venue

EXHIBITORS AND SPONSORS

The ECTS is grateful to the following companies for their support:

• Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH
• Keyence Deutschland GmbH
• LI-COR Biosciences GmbH
• Novartis Pharma AG
  

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Aims:

• To increase knowledge about physiology and pathology of mineralized tissues
• To disseminate knowledge about key methods in bone research
• To promote networking between PhD students in the bone field

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course, the PhD student should:

• Have a greater understanding of bone biology, bone metabolism, and a range of important bone diseases
• Understand the mechanism of systemic calcium regulation and local calcification
• Have knowledge of important aspects of transcriptional regulation in bone and stem cell biology and of novel genetic analysis methods
• Understand how transgenic animal models are generated and can be used to study bone biology and bone disease
• Be able to present and discuss their own PhD project and critically appraise projects of fellow students

PROGRAMME

Thursday 9 September 2010
Arrival, registration, sessions (from 14.00), dinner and overnight accommodation

Visit to Berliner medizinhistorisches MUSEUM DER CHARITÉ (generously supported by Novartis Pharma AG)

Friday 10 September 2010
Sessions (08.30-17.00), lunch, dinner and overnight accommodation

Saturday 11 September 2010
Sessions (08.30-17.30), lunch, dinner and overnight accommodation

Sunday 12 September 2010
Sessions (08.30-13.00), lunch and depart

Thursday September 9th

Introductory course (open to all, but tailored specifically to first time attendees)

14.00    Bone development (Stefan Mundlos, Berlin)

14.30    Osteoclasts (Anna Teti, L’Aquila, IT)

15.00    Osteoblasts and osteocytes (Pierre Marie, Paris, FR)

15.45    Coffee/tea break

16.15    Bone metabolism and calciotropic hormones (Mark Cooper, Birmingham, UK)

16.45    Osteoporosis (Bente Landahl, Åarhus, DK)

17.15    Break

17.45    Visit to Berliner medizinhistorisches MUSEUM DER CHARITÉ (generously supported by Novartis Pharma AG)

19.00    Dinner

Friday September 10th

Session 1 -  In vivo models and methodologies for analysis             

8.30       Transgenic models of (bone) disease, methodologies, analysis and interpretation (Paul Saftig, Kiel, DE)

Session 2  - Pediatric bone diseases, clinical features and treatment

9.15      Osteopetrosis and other rare skeletal dysplasias (Uwe Kornak, Berlin, DE)
10.00    Coffee break       

10.30    Osteogenesis imperfecta (Nick Bishop, Sheffield, UK)

Session 3 - Final year student presentations  

11.15    Role of immune sensors in bone resorption (Roberta Scianaro, L’Aquila, IT)
(10 minutes + 5 minutes discussion)

ECTS final year students (20 minutes + 5 minutes discussion)                  
11.30    Generation and characterization of a ClC7 knock-in mouse as a model of autosomal dominant osteopetrosis (ADO) Marta Capannolo (L’Aquila, IT) ECTS funded student in final year

11.55    Identification of genes involved in bone metabolism (Bram Perdu, Antwerp, BE) ECTS funded student in final year

12.20    Lunch                   

13.15    Student presentations, 2 parallel sessions with 20 students per room. 
First year students 5 minutes + 3 minutes discussion      

14.30    General poster viewing, posters not attended. Structured discussion will follow on Saturday.
                          
15.00    Coffee/tea break               

Session 2 (cont) – Pediatric bone diseases, clinical features and treatment

15.30    Genetic diseases of metabolism that impact on the skeleton (Cystic Fibrosis, Shwachman Diamond e.a.) (Taco Kuijpers, Amsterdam, NL)

16.15    Regulation of osteoblast differentiation, a systems approach (Hans van Leeuwen, Rotterdam, NL)

17.00    Close of day         
 
18.15    Dinner                       

Saturday September 11th

Session 5  - Anabolic factors
              
8.30       Parathyroid Hormone  in treatment of osteoporosis (Jan Štěpán, Prague, CZ)

9.15       Finding new anabolics for bone; how does the pharmaceutical industry work?" (Jürg Andreas Gasser, Basel, CH)

10.00    Coffee break                       
              
Session 6  - Techniques   

10.30    Genetics of bone disease, focus on GWAS and SNP analysis, methods and interpretation (Omar Albagha, Edinburgh, UK)

11.15    Pluripotent stem cells (ES,iPS): tools to study bone development, lineage commitment and applications to treatment (Agi Grigoriadis, London, UK)
                              
12.00    Lunch    
                              
13.00    Student presentations  - Student presentations - third or final year students

10 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion

14.20    Structured poster discussions, 4 parallel groups, 10 students per group, 3 minutes plus 5 minutes discussion per poster        

15.00    Coffee/Tea break               

Session 7 - Calcification   

15.30    Mineralisation of bone, role of phosphate (Colin Farquharson, Edinburgh, UK)

16.15    Calcium homeostasis and bone mass, new insights from animal studies (Michael Amling, Hamburg, DE)

17.00    Short break         

17.15    Discussion session: "What can the ECTS do for you once you are a postdoc/new investigator?" (Chair: Miep Helfrich, Aberdeen, UK)

17.45    Close of day

18.15    Dinner

Sunday September 12th

Session 8  - The musculoskeletal system   

9.30       The musculoskeletal system: a systems approach to understanding pathology and treatment (Bettina Willie, Berlin, DE)

10.00    Methods for in vivo imaging of the musculoskeletal system (Kate Ward, Cambridge, UK)

Session 4 (continued) – Transcriptional regulation of bone cells

10.30    Transcriptional regulation of osteoclast formation, role of LIP, LAP and mTOR (Jeske Smink, Berlin, DE)

11.00    Coffee break               

11.30    Rheumatoid arthritis, mechanisms of joint desctruction and risk factors  (Edith Buzás, Budapest, HU)

Session 9 - Metabolic disorders and inflammatory disorders that impact on the skeleton

11.30    Rheumatoid arthritis, mechanisms of joint destruction and risk factors (Edith Buzás, Budapest, HU)

Session 10 - European resources and opportunities            

12.00    Central resources for animal models of (bone) disease, EMMA , EUCOMM, EUMODIC e.a. (Martin Hrabé de Angelis, München, DE)

12.30    Funding Through European Framework Programs: What you should know! (Jürg Andreas Gasser, Basel, CH)
                              
13.00    Lunch    

14.00    Depart                              

VENUE

The course and accommodation will be at the Hotel Aquino, Berlin.  Full details can be viewed at www.hotel-aquino.de

Berlin is a fascinating city and a monument of living history. The Berlin Wall was dismantled in 1989, but the East and West district of the city still show signs of the political, cultural and physical divide that existed for almost 30 years. There is plenty to see - from graffiti covered remnants of the wall itself to Hitler's bunker and the new Neues Museum. Berlin is by no means stifled by its extraordinary past - it is hurtling headfirst into the future with hip bars attracting a trendy young crowd in the Mitte district, within walking distance from the course venue.

REGISTRATION

The registration fee of €250 (if sharing a room with another paying delegate) or €350 for a single room
includes bed and breakfast from Thursday 9 September to Sunday 12 September (3 nights), lunch from Thursday 9 September to Sunday 12 September (3 lunches), and evening dinner from Thursday 9 September to Saturday 11 September (3 dinners).  As the course is heavily subsidized by ECTS, there is no reduced fee for those who do not require accommodation or meals.

Eligibility to attend

• PhD student
• Member of ECTS
• PhD project must involve research in the field of bone or calcium metabolism

PhD students will be required to prepare either a short oral or poster presentation.  After registration, the organizers will inform students on their presentation method.