“The meeting provided an overview of methods to define biological and chemical space, which are the long-term dimensions... More > of drug discovery. The meeting reviewed methods of exploring their relationship through the definition of interactions between proteins and small chemical entities. Finally it discussed examples of application in drug discovery in various organisms”. Meeting’s Chair: Sir Professor Tom Blundell, University of Cambridge, UK. < Less

Parasite survival and reproduction reflects their ability to modulate the hosts’ immune systems and the ultimate... More > development of immunity to some parasites requires the host to overcome these defences. The molecules and strategies parasites and hosts use in this interplay are now being explored using a range of technologies. The information gained from these analyses will be used in the treatment of both parasitic disease and potentially other disorders, for example the treatment of anti-inflammatory disease using peptide mimetics of parasite molecules as drugs. Recent advances in parasite genome analysis, functional genomics, proteomics and cell culture have stimulated intense interest and research in this area. < Less

Dendritic cells (DC) continue to provoke much interest amongst immunologists by virtue of their key role in a number of... More > aspects of the immune response. This meeting addressed some of these and covered topics such as: types of DC, DC markers and maturation, the importance of DC in innate and adaptive immunity and their use in immunotherapy. There were opportunities for speakers, audience and commercial companies to interact throughout the day. Meeting’s Chair: Dr Catherine Derry, Science Communicator. < Less

The innate immune system employs pattern recognition receptors in order to identify pathogen associated motifs or... More > signatures. The main family of pattern recognition receptors are the Toll-like receptor family. Members of the TLR family are able to sense a wide range of motifs and trigger innate immune responses. This meeting bought together experts in the field of innate immunity covering different members of the TLR family as well as different microbial ligands. Meeting’s Chairs: Dr Martha Triantafilou and Dr Kathy Triantafilou, University of Sussex, UK. < Less

“The main goal of this meeting was to get together clinical and basic immunologists trying to gather insights into the... More > pathogenic mechanisms of human diseases and immunotherapy. Due to the limitations of the human system, these investigations often rely on the use of animal models developing spontaneous diseases. In this meeting we evaluated the pros and cons of some of the most used and valuable animal models of disease and some new models, which will open new therapeutic ways to treat human diseases”. Dr Sonia Quaratino, Reader in Immunology, Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre, University of Southampton < Less

"Plant biotechnology offers an unprecendented opportunity to produce modern, recombinant pharmaceutical proteins at scale,... More > quickly and at low cost. In essence, a “low-tech high technology”, it has the potential to address many of the global health issues that cannot be solved using conventional technologies. This meeting followed on from the first Molecular Farming meeting in January 2006, and visited the latest advances and enabling technologies, and reviewed the progress that is being made towards the first commercial products." Chair: Professor Julian Ma, St Georges Hospital, University of London, UK. < Less

“Nitric oxide (NO), generated by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) plays a key role in a diverse range of... More > physiological and pathophysiological conditions within the cardiovascular, immune, reproductive and nervous systems. Since NO is a small, diffusible, highly reactive free radical with a short half-life, and is present in low concentrations, real-time detection of NO is extremely difficult. This meeting examined methods used to detect and visualise NO-producing cells. Furthermore, direct and indirect techniques used to measure NO were examined, including among others, the measurement of NOS enzymatic activity, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and NO-sensitive electrodes. Finally, tools that facilitate NO research, such as NOS inhibitors will be examined”. Meeting's Chair: Dr Nicholas Warrick – University of Oxford < Less

“The diversity of T cell subsets and functions makes it imperative that they can be identified,
characterised, propagated,... More > traced in vivo and their function elucidated effectively. This one
day EuroSciCon meeting provided the ideal opportunity to hear both the commercial
companies presenting new techniques and academics highlighting their latest findings in this
area. Similarly, there were opportunities throughout the day for the audience to interact with these speakers and discuss their results in an informal setting." Chair- Dr Catherine Derry, Science Communicator < Less

“Recent technological advances in molecular biology and proteomics have enabled the development of a number of important... More > new clinical tools for the diagnosis and treatment of companion animal diseases. The aim of this one day meeting was to provide an opportunity for clinicians and veterinary scientists to discuss the technologies that are already moving from the bench and into practice, and to highlight the emerging veterinary clinical research questions that will shape the future of veterinary medicine.” Meeting’s Chair: Professor Michael Day, University of Bristol, UK. < Less

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