ESF-EMBO Symposium 2010 (Emergent Properties of the Cytoskeleton: Molecules to Cells)

The cytoskeletal field is fast moving and changing very quickly. As well as new discoveries in how proteins are assembled, regulated and interact to contribute to cell behaviour and function, there are new developments in imaging technology, and in chemical biology that are pushing forward the frontiers of research into the cytoskeleton and cell behaviour. Indeed, cytoskeletal research often works as a paradigm for the development of new imaging techniques and experimental approaches, because of its well characterized cellular structure.

This conference will address the best and the newest developments in this research area. It brings together researchers from a broad range of scientific backgrounds, but with a common aim of understanding the basic properties of the cytoskeleton, and how it is organised and utilised by cells and tissues.

This meeting intends to capitalize on the cross-fertilization of ideas between researchers from different experimental backgrounds to generate new collaborations and ideas. The topics to be covered include subjects from passive mechanical properties of the cytoskeleton, to how the cytoskeleton acts as tracks for motors and the behaviour of single molecules that move along these tracks, and how the cytoskeleton and motors are regulated inside cells. It will cover emerging and state-of-the-art techniques used to investigate the properties of these molecules in vitro ranging from biochemical approaches to optical trapping and AFM, and it will showcase how experimental work is increasingly integrating what we know from studies of isolated molecules to how macromolecular assemblies interact and function in cells, providing a molecular understanding for complex systems.

We particularly want to encourage young researchers to attend, and become involved in this exciting and challenging area of research.

Conference format
Lectures by invited high level speakers
Short talks by young & early stage researchers
Poster sessions, round table and open discussion periods
Forward look panel discussion about future developments

Invited speakers will include:
Plenary Lecture on Photo-Activated Localization Microscopy
Jennifer Lippincott Schwartz - NIH, US

Cytoskeletal Motors
Stan Burgess - Leeds University, UK
Anne Houdusse - Institute Curie, FR
Carolyn Moores - Birkbeck, London, UK

Understanding the Cytoskeleton in the Test Tube
Patricia Bassereau - Institut Curie, FR
Marie-France Carlier - CNRS, FR
Jan Faix - University of Hannover, DE
Jo Howard - Max Planck Institute, DE

Single Molecules and Forces
Marileen Dogterom - AMOLF-Amsterdam, NL
Matthias Rief - University of Munich, DE
Claudia Veigel - NIMR, UK

Actin Dynamics and Regulation in the Cell
Pekka Lappalainen - Institute of Biotechnology, SF
Anne Ridley - King s College London, UK
Klemens Rottner - Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, DE

Microtubule Dynamics and Regulation in the Cell
Anna Akhmanova - EMC Department of Cell Biology, NL
Erika Holzbaur - University of Pennsylvania, US
Gero Steinberg - University of Exeter, UK

Cytoskeleton and Mechano-Sensing
Sasha Bershadsky - Weizmann Institute, IL
Pierre-Francois Lenne - IBDML, FR
Christoph Schmidt - Georg-August-Universit t , DE

Seeing More New Microscopical Approaches
Gerard Marriott - University of California, Berkeley, US
Justin Molloy - NIMR, UK
Peter Rosenthal - NIMR, UK

Chair: Michelle Peckham, University of Leeds, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centre for Human Biology, UK
Co-Chair: Claudia Veigel, National Institute of Medical Research, Physical Biochemistry Department, UK