Month: June 2012

On behalf of the Organizing Committee for the 11th Transgenic Technology (TT2013) meeting and of the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) it is my great pleasure to announce the launching of the official TT2013 meeting web site and, at the same time, inform that registration for the TT2013 meeting is now OPEN. After a very successful TT2011 meeting in Florida, the ISTT family travels to far-East, to China, to hold the 11th Transgenic Technology meeting in the city of Guangzhou, the largest city of the Guandong province in Southern China, on February 25-27, 2013. The TT2013 meeting is locally organized by the Southern Medical University, in Guangzhou, and the Chair of the Organizing Committee is Prof. Ming Zhao.

TT2013 meeting web site: http://www.tt2013.org

TT2013 meeting official email address: tt2013@transtechsociety.org

We welcome all attendees who are in the process of generating genetically-modified animals or who perform the experiments that follow to determine the corresponding phenotypes of such transgenic animals. The program should be of interest to scientists, group leaders, postdoctoral researchers, facility managers, technicians and PhD students working directly or indirectly with genetically-modified animals. We invite you to participate and contribute to this conference where we will discuss the latest technology developments, the newest applications and strategies in biology, biomedicine and biotechnology using transgenic animals. Companies and institutions with an interest in this field are kindly invited to participate and share their latest technologies. We encourage you to submit abstracts to be presented at the TT2013 meeting.

We have confirmed a wonderful list of excellent speakers and interesting topics for the animal transgenesis community. The list of invited speakers confirmed to attend the TT2013 meeting includes:

• Fernando Benavides (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, USA)
• Allan Bradley (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton/Cambridge, UK) ISTT Prize
• James Bussell (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton/Cambridge, UK)
• Shannon Byers (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA)
• Toni Cathomen (University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany)
• Alan Colman (Institute of Medical Biology, Singapore) Closing Talk
• Michael Dobbie (Australian Phenomics Facility, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia)
• Scott Fahrenkrug (Recombinetics, Minneapolis, MN, USA)
• Malcolm France (Sydney University, Sydney, Australia)
• Xiang Gao (Model Animal Research Center of Nanjing University, Nanjing, PR China)
• Alfonso Gutiérrez-Adán (Dep. Animal Reproduction, INIA, Madrid, Spain)
• Yann Herault (Institut Clinique de la Souris, ICS and IGBMC, Illkirch/Strasbourg, France)
• Benoît Kanzler (Max-Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany)
• Dietmar Kappes (Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA)
• Takashi Kohda (Department of Epigenetics, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan)
• Thomas Kolbe (Biomodels Austria and Institute for Biotechnology in Animal Production, IFA-Tulln, Austria)
• Takashi Kuramoto (Institute of Laboratory Animals, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan)
• Liangxue Lai (Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Science, Guangzhou, PR China)
• Jinsong Li (Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, PR China)
• Ning Li (State Key Laboratories for Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, PR China)
• Kent Lloyd (University of California, Davis, CA, USA)
• Shoukhrat Mitalipov (Oregon National Primate Research Center, OHSU, Beaverton, OR, USA)
• Naomi Nakagata (Center for Animal Resources and Development, Kumamoto University, Japan)
• Catheryn O’Brien (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Australia)
• Masaru Okabe (Genome Information Research Center Research, Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan)
• Jan Parker-Thornburg (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA)
• Xin-an Pu (The Ohio State University, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA)
• Ling Sun (Institute of Developmental Biology and Molecular Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China)
• Davor Solter (Institute of Medical Biology, Singapore) Opening Talk
• Zhu-Gang Wang (Shanghai Research Center for Model Organisms, Shanghai, PR China)
• Guoliang Xu (Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, PR China)
• Bo Zhang (College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, PR China)
• Qi Zhou (The State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China)

The list of topics that will be covered at the TT2013 meeting includes the following themes:

• Androgenetic haploid embryonic stem cells
• Sperm Cryopreservation and IVF
• KOMP ES cell clones performance
• Australian Phenomics Network Initiatives
• Epigenetics and Transgenesis
• Effects of in vitro culture on mammalian embryos
• Epigenetic alterations during mouse transgenesis and cloning
• Epigenetic reprogramming by oocytes
• Targeted nucleases, ZFNs and TALENs, in transgenesis
• Livestock Genome Editing with TALENS
• Transgenic mice and ZFNs
• KO pigs and ZFNs
• Zebrafish and TALENs
• Transgenic livestock
• Ethics, animal welfare and regulations
• Health monitoring protocols and transgenic facilities
• Animal welfare and international mouse consortia
• Impact of genetic background in mouse and rat models
• Assisted reproduction strategies in mice
• Non-rodent transgenesis
• Primate chimeras and ES cells
• Rat functional genomic initiatives
• National BioResource Project for the rat
• Animal models of human diseases
• ES and iPS cells
• transposon (PiggyBac)-mediated mutagenesis
• Round-table discussion: Running a transgenic facility
• Running a transgenic facility: The business aspect of running a transgenic unit
• Running a transgenic facility: managing errors, difficulties
• Running a transgenic facility: Staying on the cutting edge of technology while still maintaining basic services
• Rat/mouse chimeras and iPS/ES cells
• Overview of cre-transgenic mouse lines resources
• China/Asia/Oceania in the International Mouse Functional Genomics Consortia
• The Shanghai Research Center for Model Organisms

The TT2013 meeting will be held at the Baiyun International Convention Center-Oriental International Convention Hotel in Guangzhou, the largest comprehensive five-star hotel in Southern China, with an established record of hosting successful meetings and perfect supporting facilities. Located on the Baiyun Mountain, in the Baiyun New Town and overlooking the Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area and the Oriental Resort, this Convention Center is a fully equipped, self-contained meeting resort. More than 40 international air routes serve the new Baiyun International Airport, a 20 minute drive from the Baiyun International Convention Center.

After the TT2013 meeting, there will be a 3-days hands-on practical workshop on transgenic techniques, organized by Wenhao Xu (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA), Chair; Ming Zhao (Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China); Jing An (Cancer Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China) and Liangping Li (Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China). This workshop is limited to 30 participants. Instructors for the practical course will include: Wenhao Xu (USA), Xin-an Pu (USA), Anna Auerbach (USA), Lily Reed (USA), Xin Rairdan (USA), Barbara Stone (USA), Steven Xing (USA), Margaret Landis (USA), Katja Becker (Germany), Ronald Naumann (Germany). Techniques that will be discussed and demonstrated at this course include: basic microinjection techniques, piezo injection, laser-assisted application, non-surgical implantation, mouse colony management,… This practical course will be co-sponsored by Hamilton-Thorne, ParaTechs, Sutter/Primetech. Registration for this 3-days practical workshop must be done through tt2013@transtechsociety.org and the TT2013 meeting registration web page. Workshop cost: 400$ (USD).

Registration fee to attend the TT2013 meeting begins at 400$(USD) and extends up to 630$(USD). ISTT members and technician/student participants are entitled to reduced registration fees.

Accommodation is NOT included in the registration fee and lodging must be reserved independently at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center, where a limited number of rooms have been prebooked for participants attending the TT2013 meeting at convenient reduced prices (610 RMB-single/680 RMB-double room). Note: RMB are China Yuan Renminbi, 100 RMB ~ 16 USD/12 Euros. Please check for most updated currency exchange.

The International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) will be sponsoring several Registration Awards for ISTT members willing to attend the TT2013 meeting. Applications for ISTT Registration Awards to attend the TT2013 meeting will be accepted up to October 15, 2012. Please refer to instructions provided at the corresponding ISTT web page for ISTT Registration Awards.

The International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT), in collaboration with inGenious Targeting Laboratory (iTL), has establised the ISTT YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARDthat will be given at the Transgenic Technology (TT) Meetings. Nominations for the 2nd ISTT Young Investigator Award, for the TT2013 meeting, will be accepted up to October 15, 2012. Please refer to instructions provided at the corresponding ISTT web page for ISTT Young Investigator Awards.

Sponsoring companies willing to support the TT2013 meeting and to exhibit at the TT2013 meeting venue should contact TT2013 organizers through the TT2013 meeting email address (tt2013@transtechsociety.org). TT2013 meeting sponsorship opportunities are available at the meeting web site.

TT2013 meeting deadlines

Abstract submission deadline: October 15, 2012
Application for ISTT registration awards: October 15, 2012
Awards to be communicated by October 30, 2012
Early bird registration deadline: October 15, 2012
Standard fee registration deadline: January 31, 2013
Late registration fees & on-site registration: February 01, 2013

See you all in Guangzhou, at the TT2013 meeting!

Lluis Montoliu, PhD; President of the ISTT