1st iCeMS International Symposium - 11th International Membrane Research Forum
On February 20-22, 2008, right after the opening events of the iCeMS on the 19th, the above international symposium/forum will be held. Top-level researchers from around the world will get together in Kyoto, and will discuss the meso-scale interactions and meso-scale domains in the plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton, some in the context of developmental biology.
| Date | February 20-22, 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | Hotel Fujita Kyoto | |
| Program | February 20, 9:00-18:00 | Lectures+Discussions |
| 18:00-20:00 | Mixer | |
| February 21, 9:00-17:00 | Lectures+Discussions | |
| 17:30-19:30 | Poster Presentations | |
| February 22, 9:00-13:30 | Lectures+Discussions | |
 Full Program (PDF) |
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| Invited Keynote Speakers |  Davis, Simon |
Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine and Medical Research Council Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford |
| Heuser, John |
iCeMS (International Affiliate) / Washington University School of Medicine | |
| Kengaku, Mineko |
RIKEN Brain Institute | |
| Morris, Roger |
School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, King's College London | |
| Nabi, Ivan Robert |
Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences / Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia | |
| Ritchie, Ken P. |
Department of Physics, Purdue University | |
| Sasai, Yoshiki |
RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology | |
| Simons, Kai |
Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden | |
| Stowell, Michael H. B. |
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder | |
| Taunton, Jack |
Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco | |
| Watt, Fiona |
Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research / School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge | |
| Watts, Anthony |
Biomembrane Structure Unit, Biochemistry Department, University of Oxford | |
| Held by | iCeMS (Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences), Kyoto University Strategic International Cooperative Program of Japan Science & Technology Agency (JST) Membrane Mechanisms Project, ICORP-JST Cell Mechanosensing Project, SORST-JST The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, India |
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| Organizers | Committee for the International Membrane Research Forum: | |
| Contact at | singlemolecules111@kusumi.frontier.kyoto-u.ac.jp | |
Message from Director of the iCeMS
On behalf of all my colleagues at the iCeMS, Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences at Kyoto University, I welcome you to the First iCeMS International Symposium. iCeMS places a strong emphasis on international collaborations, and the iCeMS international symposium, to be held in a series, is one of our major means to develop our ties with international scientific communities.
We at the iCeMS strive to develop the fundamental understanding and control of molecular complexes in the meso-scale of 5-100 nm (meso-control), as the cell appeared to develop them through evolution. We consider these efforts critical for creating the science and technology of the next generation, and we intend to do these, with a strong focus on pluripotent stem (ES and iPS) cells. For this purpose, we make cross-disciplinary approaches to create: 1) new chemistry and physics of meso-space, 2) cellular meso-biophysics, and 3) stem-cell control by meso-engineering.
We are holding this First iCeMS Symposium, featuring the meso-scale molecular interactions in/on the cellular membranes of various cells, including stem cells, in collaboration with the Executive Committee of the International Membrane Research Forum, three branches of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences of Bangalore, India, one of our partner institutions. I hope that the subject matters discussed here will provide good examples for interesting and useful meso-scale molecular interactions that control cellular functions.
I would like to invite you to join us in this memorable occasion of the First iCeMS International Symposium, co-held as the Eleventh International Membrane Research Forum.
Norio Nakatsuji, D.Sc.
Director and Professor
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS)
Kyoto University
From Organizers: Invitation to
the First iCeMS International Symposium and
the Eleventh International Membrane Research Forum
This international conference will be held at Hotel Fujita Kyoto on February 20-22, 2008. In this symposium/forum, we are pleased to announce that we will have the following keynote speakers and speakers from abroad. Drs. Yong Chen, Simon Davis, John Heuser, Takashi Hiiragi, Mineko Kengaku, Roger Morris, Robert Nabi, Ken Ritchie, Yoshiki Sasai, Kai Simons, Mike Stowell, Jack Taunton, Mark Terasaki, Fiona Watt, and Tony Watts. It is a great pleasure for us to report that many other scientists expressed considerable interest in this forum, and volunteered to present their research results.
The membrane research forum is an attempt to bring together scientists from different research backgrounds, who are working on biological membranes. With this forum, we are trying to provide a common platform for scientists working on various aspects of membrane biology. The aim is "synthesis" rather than specialization. We believe that the time is ripe for synthesizing current biological and physical knowledge about the membranes, which may be used to better understand membrane functions.
This year, we hold the International Membrane Research Forum as the First iCeMS International Symposium, which gives two interesting key features to this year's forum. The first feature is the emphasis on the meso-scale (5-100 nm) molecular interactions in/on the cellular membranes. This is in line with our traditional emphasis on various membrane domains, or non-random assemblies of membrane molecules that may exhibit wide range of sizes and lifetimes. These assemblies include very small and transient domains made of several proteins or lipids, on the one hand, as well as large and stable assemblies such as cell-to-cell adhesion structures and the apical membrane of the epithelial cell, on the other hand. In addition, we will devote half a day for the sessions on membrane raft domains, and we will have many presentations discussing the cytoskeleton-membrane interactions, which would be very important for understanding membrane-related processes.
The second key feature is the developmental-biology aspect because of the iCeMS' emphasis on pluripotent stem cells. We should be able to learn a lot by being exposed to these development-related talks.
One of the points of emphasis is "new technology", which is being used or which may be useful in the future in membrane research. We place special emphasis on single-molecule and nano-meso technologies.
As always, we will try to give ample opportunities for personal interactions during these three days, perhaps with too many breaks. We hope that you will enjoy this meeting, and mingling with other scientists. We would like to emphasize this last point this year more than before, because the spectrum of the participants' backgrounds is much broader than that in previous meetings.