Daphnia Genomics Consortium (DGC) Meeting 2010

First announcement:

When: 26th trough 30th of March, 2010
Where: Leuven, Belgium

http://bio.kuleuven.be/DGCmeeting2010.html

The Daphnia Genomics Consortium (DGC) is an international network of scientists with a common goal to foster the freshwater crustacean Daphnia as a premier model system for genomics in ecology, evolution and the environmental sciences.

This meeting aims to bring together the members of the consortium at large, to facilitate the exchange of information on recent developments and results obtained from the ongoing investigations into the genome biology of Daphnia. Additionally, we welcome researchers working with Daphnia who are not yet DGC participants and researchers working with other model or non-model organisms in the field of ecological genomics.

The DGC meeting will have a significant impact on the future development of the research groups involved in the consortium. By this time, we will have finalized our initial investigations of the draft D. pulex genome sequence, and we will begin the work of exploring data obtained from the D. magna genome sequencing project. This upcoming meeting continues the tradition of also promoting collaborations between researchers working within related disciplines, including limnology, ecotoxicology, quantitative and population genetics, systematics, molecular biology and evolution, developmental biology, genomics and bioinformatics.

The meeting will have plenary lectures from keynote speakers in several research fields related to Daphnia and other organisms, and will offer young investigators the chance to discuss their research with more experienced senior researchers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Our meeting is organized as a series of symposia touching on several research topics:

• Ecology & Evolutionary Genomics
• Toxicology & Environmental Genomics of Natural and Human Stressors
• Genotype by Environment Interactions
• Comparative Genomics & Development
• Gene Expression and Gene Function

Plan to also learn about the latest open source bioinformatic and high-throughput research tools, including databases, expression and genotyping microarrays, mapping panels for trait locus mapping, molecular genetic protocols and services.

The venue is at the five century-old Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium. Leuven is a beautiful medieval town that combines a rich historical patrimonium with a cheerful, flourishing city culture and a creative atmosphere for lively exchanges and debates.

Registration begins on November 15, 2009

Abstracts for poster and platform presentations are due by January 15, 2010.

Details for registration will be sent with the second announcement and at the following web-page:

http://bio.kuleuven.be/DGCmeeting2010.html

We look forward to welcoming you in Leuven

The local organization committee (Luc De Meester, Luisa Orsini, Ellen Decaestecker, Kevin Pauwels, Mieke Jansen, Joost Vanoverbeke) and the co-organizers (Dries Knapen and Wim De Coen (University of Antwerp), Karel De Schamphelaere and Colin Janssen (University of Gent), and John Colbourne (Indiana University)