VPH NoE Study Group : REGISTRATION DEADLINE extended until the 17th of May
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The Centre for Mathematical Medicine and Biology (CMMB) at the University of Nottingham, representatives of the VPH NoE, are currently organising the first VPH study group to take place in Nottingham (29th June - 3rd July, 2009) as part of the interdisciplinary/integrative training activities of this network. |
What is a Study Group?
Study groups are workshops promoting the interaction between modellers and academic and industrial experimentalists working within the life sciences. Researchers from experimental and industrial laboratories are invited to present technical problems for study in working sessions with leading modellers from the academic community. Problems may come from a variety of subject areas, but should be amenable to mathematical/computational modelling and analysis. In a week of brainstorming and mathematical/computational modelling there is usually enough time to generate and assess many ideas for solving the problem, and usually some of the ideas are checked in more detail. Typical outcomes therefore include new theoretical models, which may result in journal publications, and the initiation of multidisciplinary collaborations that are often taken forward into applications for funding.
The subject for the prospective study group is chosen to be that of regenerative medicine with a focus on epithelial cells across different organs (e.g. skin, bladder, gut, lungs, heart, breast etc). Ideally, five-six different problems (one from each organ) will be presented on the first day and groups comprised of theoretical modellers and experimentalists will spend the rest of the week tackling the particular problem.The long-term goal of these study groups is to stimulate ideas and lead to further research and collaborations. The most common types of follow-up activities are i) follow up meetings on problems which had a promising start, ii) research output which lead to either publications or clinical/industrial uptake, iii) ongoing collaborations and grant proposals for funding for further work.
An interesting aspect of the epithelial cells is the different properties they exhibit depending on their environment. Thus a novel additional feature of this study group will be to promote a discussion to explore the commonalities and differences of epithelial cells across the body.
Biological Problems:
1. Alveolar Epithelial Cell Injury and Repair in Fibrotic Lung Disease.
Prof. M Spiteri (Keele University).
Dr Z Li, Dr P Appleton, Prof I Näthke (University of Dundee).
3. Quantifying radiation-mediated damage to the gastrointestinal epithelium: Applications to cancer radiotherapy.Prof. A Munro and Dr. I. van Leeuwen (University of Dundee).
4. Tensegrity as a main determinant of tissue morphogenesis
Prof. A. M. Soto (Tufts University & University of Ulster),
Prof. C. Sonnenschein (Tufts University),
Dr. K. Saetzler (University of Ulster),
How to participate:
If you would like to get involved in this exciting event please attend and apply your analytical and modelling skills to this exciting domain, or contribute your biological/medical knowledge. Please complete the registration form by 30th of April, 2009, to ensure that you'll be considered for subsidization.
The deadline for guaranteed subsidized registration in now extended until the 17th of May
Further Info:
Timetable (NEW)Travel (NEW)
Arrival Info (NEW)
There will be no registration fee for this meeting. The following will be subsidized
* Accommodation if required (bed and breakfast Sunday-Thursday).
* Lunch and refreshments provided in the Pope Building Monday - Friday
* Dinner in the Ancaster Hall Sunday - Thursday (except Tuesday - conference dinner in Trent Building)
Please note that travel expenses and accommodation for participants staying on other nights than the specified above will not be covered. However, for extra nights for accommodation please contact us as we can make a reservation for you.
Contact
Dr Margarita Zachariou
Research Fellow
email:
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tel: + 44 (0) 115 84 67916
School of Mathematical Sciences
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
UK, NG7 2RD