4-10 March 2012
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Deadline for applications 4 November 2011
Course summary
This laboratory-based advanced course will give participants a working knowledge of and practical experience in cutting edge Plasmodium experimental genetics techniques, from designing gene targeting vectors and creating transgenic parasites to phenotyping the strains that result. The goal is to facilitate the participants' own research careers by exposing them to state-of-the-art experimental approaches, while discussing the advantages and limitations of each approach.
The week-long practical course will cover experimental approaches to both the human parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) and the rodent parasite (Plasmodium berghei). The practical work will include several novel technological approaches, including production of gene targeting constructs using recombineering, which eliminates the need for PCR and restriction enzyme based ligation, and advanced molecular phenotyping approaches including next generation RNA sequencing and comparative mass spectrometry. The laboratory-based programme will be complemented by specific lectures in topical areas as well as a panel of distinguished guest speakers, who will present the latest research in the field.
Programme
The overall strategy will be to follow a Plasmodium experimental genetics experiment from conception to completion, and will cover work with both P.berghei and P.falciparum. Topics to be covered will include:
Gene targeting vector construction
- recombineering-based approaches to vector construction
- consideration of the relative merits of different conditional expression approaches.
Transfection and genotyping
- mechanics of transfection in both P. berghei and P. falciparum
- verification of targeting using PCR and PFGE.
Molecular phenotyping
- imaging approaches
- comparative mass spectrometry
- application of next generation sequencing to transcriptional profiling
- flow cytometry-based phenotyping platforms.
Course instructors
Oliver Billker (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK)
Julian Rayner (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK)
Julian Rayner (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK)
Confirmed 2012 Guest speakers
Tim Gilberger (McMaster University, Canada)
Tony Holder (MRC National Institute for Medical Research, UK)
Taco Kooij (Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany)
Kai Matuschewski (Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany)
Andy Waters (University of Glasgow, UK)
Tony Holder (MRC National Institute for Medical Research, UK)
Taco Kooij (Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany)
Kai Matuschewski (Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany)
Andy Waters (University of Glasgow, UK)
Feedback from previous courses
"The opportunity of attending this meeting is a great fortune to me to learn from many researchers. The new techniques and idea from the course, I will bring back to progress my research."
"The course was very interactive and educative in all forms. The instructors and organiser have done a very wonderful job. This is about the best you would get from any such course."
"I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Its real strengths for me were the exposure to such a broad range of techniques and technologies."
How to apply
Prerequisites
Applicants should be postdoctoral scientists, PhD students or clinician scientists engaged in, or soon to commence, relevant research.
Applicants should be postdoctoral scientists, PhD students or clinician scientists engaged in, or soon to commence, relevant research.
Cost
The course tuition fees are subsidised by The Wellcome Trust for scientists based in non-commercial institutions anywhere in the world. This is a residential course, without exception, and there is a fee of £750 towards board and lodging for non-commercial applicants. The fee for commercial applicants is £3550.
The course tuition fees are subsidised by The Wellcome Trust for scientists based in non-commercial institutions anywhere in the world. This is a residential course, without exception, and there is a fee of £750 towards board and lodging for non-commercial applicants. The fee for commercial applicants is £3550.
Bursaries
Bursary funding is provided by The Wellcome Trust and the European Virtual Institute of Malaria Research ( EVIMalaR). Limited bursaries are available for non-commercial applicants to cover up to 100% of the course fee. Funding is also available to assist with travel costs. Please note that bursaries are awarded on merit. To apply, download a bursary application form.
Bursary funding is provided by The Wellcome Trust and the European Virtual Institute of Malaria Research ( EVIMalaR). Limited bursaries are available for non-commercial applicants to cover up to 100% of the course fee. Funding is also available to assist with travel costs. Please note that bursaries are awarded on merit. To apply, download a bursary application form.
Applications
Applicants will be required to complete an application form containing a 300-word outline of the relevance of the course to their research/clinical work. Please note that documentation supporting their application will be required from the applicant's supervisor/head of department.
Applicants will be required to complete an application form containing a 300-word outline of the relevance of the course to their research/clinical work. Please note that documentation supporting their application will be required from the applicant's supervisor/head of department.
To submit an application, please either:
- email for an application form to advancedcourses@hinxton.wellcome.ac.uk
- download the form [Word 116KB] and our terms and conditions [Word 28KB].
Applications can be accepted by post or email. Sponsors' supporting letters must be returned, signed, by fax or post under separate cover. Please note: Incomplete applications will be rejected.
Applications and letters of support should be sent to:
Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Hinxton
Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA
UK
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Hinxton
Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA
UK
Deadlines
Deadline for applications 4 November 2011
Deadline for applications 4 November 2011
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