Meetings/Workshops on Genomics and Bioinformatics in Germany

WE-Heraeus foundation, Physikzentrum Bad Honnef

Populations of cancer cells are not static, but keep evolving over the different stages of the disease. This complex evolutionary dynamics is shaped by inherently stochastic contributions (such as mutations and reproductive fluctuations) as well as deterministic components (such as selection for faster growth). For this reason, statistical models are key to modelling and analyzing the evolution of tumours. Over the last decades, the sequencing of DNA from cancer biopsies has fundamentally changed our understanding of the evolution of cancer. Genomic data sampled across different patients and over time allows to address fundamental questions on how tumours develop, which genetic changes lead to rapid growth, or how a population of diverse tumour cells evolves under cancer therapy. Answering such questions on the basis of empirical data requires statistical models of cancer evolution, both to infer the past dynamics from current data and to derive predictions, for instance on the response to therapy. This seminar will give an overview over the current state of cancer evolution research and the statistical models used to understand cancer genomic data. It will include tutorials on statistical physics and inference, cancer evolution, and cancer genomics, as well as lectures on the current state of the field by international specialists. The seminar is for MSc and PhD students and young researchers in physics (in particular statistical physics and biophysics), population genetics, and evolutionary biology.

cancer evolution, cancer genomics, population dynamics modeling and inference, multi-region sequencing, targeted therapy

Oncology,    Systems Biology and Computational Biology

The EMBL Transcription and Chromatin meeting has a long-standing tradition in shaping the field of transcriptional regulation. The meeting brings together leading experts covering all aspects of transcription including cis-regulatory function, long range regulation, 3-dimensional looping, the basal transcriptional machinery, RNA polymerase regulation and function, nucleosome positioning, chromatin modifications, chromatin remodelling and epigenetic inheritance of transcriptional silencing. The meeting contains many talks selected from the abstracts that are interspersed with invited speakers, discussing the latest breakthroughs in transcriptional regulation. The conference is designed to promote interactive discussions at both the talks and poster sessions. Given the excellent line up of speakers and the meeting’s outstanding reputation, this is a ‘must’ attend for anyone interested in cutting edge research in transcription.

Course and Conference Office;     Email: events@embl.de

Activators, enhancer function, evolution and modelling, Long range transcriptional regulation and enhancers, General basal transcriptional machinery, Pol II function, pausing and the role of RNA in transcription, Chromatin modifications and transcription, Transcriptional regulation during cell fate decisions – stem cell reprogramming and normal embryonic development, Genome topology and three-dimensional regulation, Single cell quantification

EMBO | EMBL

The study of population genetic variation and the sequencing of ancient DNA represent promising new avenues for investigating human history and our evolutionary past. Population-scale sequencing projects investigating human diversity have provided us with more than a million genome wide datasets that allowed new insights into patterns of human variation and mobility, while others have obtained genome wide data from thousands of ancient human skeletons, allowing the investigation of human evolution in action and providing direct insights into population genetic dynamics in situ. Large-scale genetic variation data sets can now be integrated with genomics data from ancient remains and history records to provide novel insights into human history, cultural evolution and the genetic history of societies. Ancient DNA was furthermore used to reconstruct genomic variation of historic pathogens as well as oral and gut microbiomes in order to provide molecular fossils to study microbial evolution through time. This meeting will involve scientists from genomics, bioinformatics, microbiology, anthropology, archaeology and historians and may initiate future interactions in this exciting and timely new research area that has the potential to change the way we think about our human past and how we might study genetic variation in the future.

Email: events@embl.de

EMBO | EMBL

Before the genetic information stored in DNA can be used to direct cell growth and metabolism, it has to be transferred into RNA. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that code for proteins and noncoding RNAs are key components in the transmission of genetic information in all life forms – from viruses to complex mammalian organisms. Exciting recent findings now reveal a new layer of information added to RNAs in the form of chemical marks (the epitranscriptome) that play a critical role in gene expression control. Following the great success of the virtual 2020 edition of this long-standing symposium, we are looking forward to returning to an in-person meeting for 2022, bringing together leaders in the RNA field, post-docs and students, with the aim of disseminating and discussing the most recent results. The program will include, among others, sessions on transcription, RNA processing and modification, mRNA export and localisation, mRNA surveillance and decay, translation and the control of mRNA expression by microRNAs.

Email: events@embl.de

Transcription, RNA processing, Export and localisation, mRNA surveillance and decay, Translation and the control of mRNA expression by microRNAs, RNA modifications Non-coding RNAs