FEBS feedback

There wasn’t much opportunity to obtain internet access at this years FEBS 2009 conference.  We had a busy schedule of lectures from 8.30am to 10ish, followed by practical workshops, blackboard sessions, and discusson groups until lunch time.  We were given a break from 1-4pm to take in the local scenery, particularly the ski slopes after which we returned for lectures and discussion sessions until 6pm.  The evenings involved a meal until 7pm after which we returned for poster sessions and group discussions until 11pm.  This was a challenging schedule and crammed an enormous amount of science into each day.

I particularly enjoyed the talks from Roger Brent from Berkeley, CA and Ron Weiss of Princeton as these were particularly relevant to my work in synthetic biology.  The electrical engineering approach of Ron Weiss was very useful in conceptualising the design of synthetic gene circuitry and his work in mamalian cells was inspiring.  Roger Brent provided some practical methods of measuring outputs of gene circuits and some useful open source software tools and lab methods that will greatly benefit my project.

There was also some very good talks from Eda Klipp on the mathematical modelling of biological pathways, and combined with practical copasi sessions with Frank Bruggerman modelling MAPK signaling pathways.  There was a lot of practical worked examples combining wet lab experimentation with mathematical modelling that gave a real incite into the development of systems biology and the application of it’s approach.

Denis Noble popped in for a keynote lecture on his development of the heart model and provided a unique opportunity to gain an understanding of the processes he went through in building one of the pioneering projects in systems biology.  There was also a nice opportunity to meet with him and we received a signed copy of his book - the music of life.  It is always an inspiration to hear Denis Noble speak and I would recommend any scientist to take a look at his talks on youtube.

I will update more info as I get time, as it’s full steam ahead on my return to Manchester.