Germ Cells
October 1 - 5, 2008
Abstract Deadline: July 9, 2008

Organizers:
Anne Ephrussi, EMBL, Germany
Renee Reijo Pera, Stanford University School of Medicine
David Zarkower, University of Minnesota

past programs

You are cordially invited to participate in the sixth biennial meeting on Germ Cells to be held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island, New York. The meeting will begin with dinner and the first session on the evening of Wednesday, October 1 and will conclude after lunch on Sunday, October 5, 2008. The specific goals of this conference are to bring together a diverse group of scientists studying various molecular, cellular and genetic aspects of germ line and gamete development. This meeting is intended to provide a format for the exchange of ideas and information, to discuss the latest research findings and technical advances, and to facilitate the intellectual unification of research on germ cells and related disease states in diverse systems.

Keynote speaker:
John Gurdon, University of Cambridge, UK

Topics & Discussion Leaders:
Themes in Germ Cell Biology
Cassandra Extavour, David Page, Alan Spradling, Azim Surani

Reprogramming and the Oocyte to Embryo Transition
Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Mylene Yao

Germ Cell Patterning & Specification
Ruth Lehmann, Phil Newmark, Yumiko Saga

Germ Cell Formation In Vivo and In Vitro
Wolfgang Engel, Toshiaki Noce, Asako Sugimoto

Germ Line Stem Cells
Steve DiNardo, Judith Kimble, Shosei Yoshida

Epigenetic Regulation
Wolf Reik, Susan Strome

Post-Transcriptional Regulation of
Germ Cell Development
Greg Hannon, Joel Richter, Tim Schedl

Germline Programs
John Eppig, David Greenstein, Scott Hawley,
Mariana Wolffner, Eugene Xu

The format of the meeting will include seven oral sessions consisting of invited and short talks, chosen from the submitted abstracts, and one poster session. All speakers and chairs are strongly encouraged to stay for the entire meeting. The organizers will decide the suitability of each abstract for oral or poster presentation, but please specify if you prefer a poster.

Abstracts should contain only new and unpublished material and must be submitted electronically by the abstract deadline. Selection of material for oral and poster presentation will be made by the organizers and individual session chairs. Status (talk/poster) of abstracts will be posted on our web site as soon as decisions have been made by the organizers.

We are eager to have as many young people as possible attend since they are likely to benefit most from this meeting. We have applied for funds from government and industry to partially support graduate students and postdocs. Apply in writing to beavers@cshl.edu stating need for financial support - preference is given to those submitting abstracts.

We look forward to seeing you at Cold Spring Harbor in October.

Support requested from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the The Lalor Foundation and the the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation

We have funds to provide partial scholarships for individuals who are US citizens/permanent residents from minority groups under-represented in the life sciences. Please provide justification in writing to meetings@cshl.edu and state your financial needs. Preference will be given to those applying who submit abstracts to the meeting.

Pricing
Academic Package $1150
Graduate/PhD Student Package $960
Corporate Package $1475
Academic/Student No-Housing Package $780
Corporate No-Housing Package $990
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Regular packages are all inclusive and cover registration, food, housing, parking, wine-and-cheese party, lobster banquet, etc. No Housing packages include all costs except housing. Full payment is due 4 weeks prior to the meeting.