Co-sponsored by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Company of Biologists (CoB) and Journal of Cell Science, the European Microscopy Society (EMS) and the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS).
Application deadline Tuesday 15 January 2013. Now CLOSED for applications.
Practical Course Location:
The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory
Citadel Hill
Plymouth
PL1 2PB U.K.
Tel: +44 (0)1752-633337
Fax: +44(0)1752-262043
www.mba.ac.uk
Email: alexa@mba.ac.uk (Mrs Alexandra Street)
Website: http://www.mba.ac.uk/embopracticalcourse.php
Entry on the EMBO calendar at http://www.embo.org/events/calendar.html
The course takes place in the Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association from Wednesday 03 – Saturday 13 April 2013. Accommodation comprises bed and breakfast in local guesthouse (nights Wednesday 03 — Friday 12 April inclusive for Saturday mid-day departure), lunch in the MBA common room, and evening meals can be taken in local restaurants.
Timetable
There will be 2–3 lectures each day throughout. Lectures will cover topics from basic optics, detectors and light sources through to photochemistry involved in the development of novel fluorescent probes and the application of advanced super-resolution optical microscopy techniques. The first 3 days will be spent setting up microscopes for brightfield and epifluorescence microscopy, including polarisation and interference contrast methods. The final 6 days will be organised in rotations around the 9 experiments listed below. The experiments will be in the large classroom at the MBA and in rooms nearby. Use will be made of marine specimens where possible and student may have an opportunity to trawl for benthos and plankton, depending on weather and availability of the MBA research vessel.
For an idea of the teaching schedule, please see Draft timetable
Developmental Biology
Experiments with confocal imaging
CCD imaging and deconvolution, microinjection, genetically encoded probes, gene gun.
Cell Physiology
Confocal imaging with electrophysiology
CCD imaging with electrophysiology
Photolysis and photometry
Total internal reflection fluorescence imaging
Laser traps
Marine bioluminescence
Special demonstrations and hands-on exercises
Preparations
Preparations used will include: invertebrate preparations (tunicates, molluscan neurones), zebra fish, mammalian brain slices, Fucus, Arabidopsis, and cell lines.
Poster Session
Students at the course will be invited to display a small poster of their current research and time will be allocated for presentation and discussion.
Applications
There is usually a 3:1 ratio of applications to places, and there will be up to 20 places on the course.
Please submit the Application Form by email to alexa@mba.ac.uk (Mrs Alexandra Street), attaching your Curriculum Vitae and Research Project (giving a concise description of your research, your reasons for wishing to attend and your experience of techniques taught on the course).
Separately, by post, please send in original, a signed Letter of Recommendation from an academic referee, preferably PhD supervisor or Head of Laboratory. This letter should indicate how your research, the laboratory in which you work and the area of research that you intend to pursue will benefit from your participation on the course. Please send the original letter of recommendation to arrive no later than 15 January 2013. Please post to: Mrs Street, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, U.K.
Applicants who are visa dependent will need to apply for tourist visas. Letters will be provided to those in need of supporting visa documentation.
Fees
There will be a registration fee for students accepted on the course of 350 Euros, but it may be possible to waive this fee in case of difficulty in paying, particularly for students from Eastern Europe. Accommodation, breakfast and lunches are included. Students who wish to request help towards fees should clearly indicate this in their application, and in their covering letter. However, candidates from industry who are accepted as students will be required to pay 1000 euro to the MBA.
Travel Costs
A very limited amount of funding for students’ travel costs will be available. This will be distributed according to country of origin, following EMBO guidelines. Students who wish to claim travel expenses should clearly indicate this in their application.
Timetable
Each day, there will be two lectures in the morning (probably 9.00 and 11.00), then practical work, and a lecture in the early evening, probably 6 pm.
Enquiries can be directed to Mrs Alexandra Street at alexa@mba.ac.uk.
Pre-course reading
Dr Brad Amos’ lecture at the Royal Society (45 mins) on revolutionary microscopy: http://royalsociety.org/events/2012/optical-microscope/ (click ‘Watch the video’)
