C3a: 2008, September 12-18, EMBO Course: Ubiquitin and Sumo, Split, Croatia (»Add to Infobox)

Melchior Frauke

Frauke Melchior's Group

The objective of this course was to teach a wide range of state of the art methods for the in vitro and in vivo functional analysis of ubiquitylation and sumoylation.

1. General Summary Twenty PhD students and post-docs, selected from more than 70 applicants, participated in the EMBO practical course on Ubiquitin and SUMO that took place at the Mediterranean Institute of Life Sciences (MedIls) in Split, Croatia. The course was aimed for participants who came across SUMO and/or ubiquitin in the context of their specific cell biological questions, and want (or have started) to address the functional significance of this. Organizers and guest speakers, all of which are internationally recognized experts in the field, offered an intense training program that included 10 lectures, 5 experiments, poster sessions and free discussion rounds. A detailed script with theoretical background and step by step protocols was sent in advance to the participants. During the course, participants could test their own samples. Moreover, they received plasmids that enable them to set up the experimental systems at their home lab. Based on the responses from the participants, our aim to transfer theoretical and practical knowledge, and to inspire young researchers to follow this line of investigations was successfully accomplished. Teachers, lecturers and assistants have also enjoyed the course and are willing to participate in future courses as well. 2. Scientific highlights For the course, which covered a wide range of topics in the field of Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin related modifiers, we could recruit internationally leading experts of the field as lecturers, including the Nobel Laureate Aaron Ciechanover. He not only gave an excellent scientific lecture during the course, but also gave a very inspiring public lecture on one of the evenings in the City of Split, which we integrated into our program. Other invited speakers included Maria Massucci, Harald Stenmark, Kay Hofmann and Claudio Joazeiro. Together with the organizers, all of which are recognized experts in the field (Simona Polo, Ivan Dikic, Helle Ulrich, Frauke Melchior), they offered a very attractive lecture program that was very well received by the participants. Highlights of the practical program were experiments during which participants could test/analyze their own proteins. This included, e.g., the bioinformatics course, which led to many follow up discussions and data analyses between individual participants and Kay Hofmann, who like most speakers was available throughout the course. Seven participants brought their own samples to be tested for in vivo or in vitro modification. Not only did this lead to a general feeling of excitement during the lab course, two participants indeed received positive results and several participants have already started to set up experiments in their labs that we taught during the course. 3. Organisation and reaction of the participants A) Organisation: The major advantage of the MedILS campus is that speakers and participants were situated in the same complex, where both work and leisure time was organized together. The institute is rather new and all facilities, particularly laboratory, computer room, rooms for accommodation, food and leisure facilities, were very good. Excellent support by the staff at MedILS in all aspects of course organization, including, e.g., ordering of reagents and disposables, catering, transportation, and accommodation, ensured a very smooth execution of the program. B) Reaction of the Participants: Oral and written comments were very positive. The overall course evaluation was excellent. 4. Forward Look Not only was the course very much appreciated by the selected 20 participants, it also was highly overbooked. Due to the still increasing awareness of the Ubiquitin/Ubl system, we feel that there will be an even higher demand for similar courses in the near future. Consequently, the organizers would like to offer an other course in 2010, and all invited speakers enthusiastically agreed to come again.

MEMBERS (1/1)

Melchior Frauke (Principal Investigator / Frauke Melchior's Group)