EMBO Conference Series - Microtubules: Structure, Regulation and Functions

http://www.embl.de/training/events/2012/MSF12-01/index.html
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Wednesday 23 May - Saturday 26 May 2012
Why You Should Attend
Summary
The microtubule cytoskeleton exerts a wide variety of essential functions in all eukaryotic cells. It is involved in chromosome segregation, directed vesicle and organelle transport, and is also required for cell motility and cell polarity. Furthermore, several human diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders result from impaired microtubule functions.

In the 1980s, advances in light microscopy and the discovery of kinesins catalyzed the expansion of microtubule research.
In the 1990s the discovery of GFP revolutionized the visualization of dynamic cytoskeletal processes inside cells.
In the 2000s, the use of large-scale screens together with genomics and proteomic approaches led to the identification of new microtubule interactors.

Moreover, the scientific community became strongly interdisciplinary and started to combine technologies ranging from cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology to mathematical modelling. Thus, the combination of interdisciplinary approaches has a tremendous impact on the research in the microtubule field.

In addition, knowledge resulting from the exchange of newly developed concepts using different cellular model systems such as unicellular organisms, plants, and invertebrate or vertebrate animal models, has been increasingly applied to understand the diverse activities of microtubules at the cellular and organism level.

The aim of the first conference of this series was to gather established and young researchers from all over the world who have substantially contributed to the microtubule field in recent years. This first meeting was a great success in generating exciting scientific discussions and the exchange of concepts and ideas, also because it brought together scientists that use different approaches to study microtubules.

The generation of an integrative perspective that assembles different scientific approaches around the microtubule field is again the goal of the 2012 microtubule meeting. To keep the conference series highly dynamic and attractive, a new scientific topic was added to the program and only scientists who did not speak at the first conference were invited.Topics Complex Microtubule assemblies
Microtubule based transport
Microtubule dynamics
Landmarks in Microtubule research
Microtubule spindle, centrosomes and kinetochores
Microtubules in nerve cells
Microtubules in disease mechanisms
Microtubule organisation in the mitotic spindle