{"id":12721,"date":"2024-04-05T12:41:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T12:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/?p=12721"},"modified":"2024-05-03T09:28:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T09:28:44","slug":"flashback-friday-proteins-translate-into-embl-heidelbergs-biggest-ever-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/blog\/2024\/04\/flashback-friday-proteins-translate-into-embl-heidelbergs-biggest-ever-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashback Friday: Proteins translate into EMBL-Heidelberg\u2019s biggest-ever conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">EMBL celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, and in so doing, we\u2019re digging through the archives for some fascinating stories from EMBL\u2019s past publications to republish in this blog.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>EMBL is well known for hosting big, topical, and impactful conferences \u2013 very often with partners like EMBO, such as a recent<a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/course-and-conference-office\/events\/ees24-01\/\"> AI and Biology conference<\/a>. The following is an <\/em>EMBLetc.<em> article from issue 29 in October 2005 about what was the biggest-ever conference at that point in EMBL\u2019s history.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the registration deadline, over 320 scientists had signed up for the EMBO Conference on \u201cProtein Synthesis and Translational Control\u201d, held in mid-September at EMBL\u2019s main laboratory.&nbsp; That made it the largest conference ever held on the Heidelberg campus.&nbsp; \u201cThe high interest in the programme wasn\u2019t unexpected,\u201d says Matthias Hentze, co-organiser alongside Anne Ephrussi (EMBL), Venki Ramakrishnan (LMB) and Alan Hinnebusch (NIH). \u201cScientifically, this is one of the traditional topics in biology, and recently it has moved to centre stage as we\u2019ve discovered the crucial role it plays in processes such as development, the central nervous system, memory and disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 70 talks showcased how far molecular biologists have come in understanding nuances of the synthesis of proteins.&nbsp; An enormous amount has been learned about the structures and functions of translation initiation factors, the complexes they form and how their regulation influences events in development and the function of neurons. Sessions focused on the ribosome, nonsense-mediated decay and how viral RNAs deal with the cellular translation machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"vf-blockquote | vf-u-margin__bottom--600 vf-u-margin__top--600\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Anne-Ephrussi-headshot-300x300.jpg\" class=\"vf-profile__image vf-u-margin__right--600\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" itemprop=\"image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Anne-Ephrussi-headshot-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Anne-Ephrussi-headshot-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Anne-Ephrussi-headshot-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Anne-Ephrussi-headshot-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Anne-Ephrussi-headshot.jpg 1133w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>  <div class=\"vf-blockquote-has-image\">\n    <div>\n      <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere is a high interest in coming to Europe and coming to EMBL.\u00a0 That leads to new contacts and collaborations.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>    <\/div>\n    \n          <footer class=\"vf-u-margin__top--600\">\n      \n      <div class=\"vf-blockquote_author\">\n        \u2013 Anne Ephrussi, EMBL Developmental Biology Unit Head, 2007-2021, and director of the EMBL International Centre for Advanced Training, 2005-2023       <\/div>\n\n      \n      <div class=\"vf-blockquote_author__details\"><\/div>\n    <\/footer>\n      <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>A conference on this theme is held every two years at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the US, and it always draws a big crowd. Matthias says that the point behind organising another meeting in the alternate year, in Europe, wasn\u2019t to compete.&nbsp; Instead, it would permit many more Europeans to attend who might not be able to spare the time or airfare to travel to the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also brought the key players in the field to Heidelberg.&nbsp; Anne says: \u201cEven though speakers and everyone else had to pay their own expenses and registration fees, they came.&nbsp; It showed that there is a high interest in coming to Europe and coming to EMBL.&nbsp; That leads to new contacts and collaborations.&nbsp; We get to see what scientists from the US and other countries are doing, and they are exposed to European science \u2013 as well as EMBL \u2013 which can\u2019t be done very easily in another way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The more attendees, the merrier?\u00a0 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image  | vf-figure--align vf-figure--align-inline-start   size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"431\" height=\"343\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/conf_55FU9941_bw-wp.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo shows participants reviewing posters on displays in large tents\" class=\"wp-image-12731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/conf_55FU9941_bw-wp.jpg 431w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/conf_55FU9941_bw-wp-300x239.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px\" \/><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">Temporary tents were set up to accommodate the posters brought by nearly 200 participants. Credit: Maj. Britt Hansen\/EMBL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Opening the doors to a record number of participants required some fancy footwork on the part of the organisers and EMBL\u2019s conference team.\u00a0 The Operon, where talks would take place, only holds 300 people.\u00a0 And the 320 registrations didn\u2019t include staff from EMBL and EMBO, who could be counted to drop in on the talks. Doros Panayi and his team from the Photolab and Courses and Conferences office quickly arranged for the talks to be broadcast live to an overflow crowd in room 202.\u00a0 Additionally, nearly 200 participants brought along posters \u2013 in some cases more than one.\u00a0 There was no way they could be squeezed into the Operon Foyer, the usual poster display area, so Mustafa Uyguner and his crew from the Housekeeping Service quickly set up tents outside the main entrance. It made for five hectic days behind the scenes during the conference itself, on top of weeks of preparation, but in the end everything ran smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High numbers of young group leaders, postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows attended the event. \u201cConferences have always been an important part of EMBL\u2019s mission to provide advanced training,\u201d Anne says.&nbsp; \u201cHaving them in Europe promotes the participation of young European scientists, bringing them into contact with important people in the field. Cold Spring Harbor\u2019s activities have been a huge advantage for young American researchers, and Europe has lacked a training centre of comparable breadth and quality.&nbsp; We\u2019ve been doing these kinds of activities at EMBL, but we can do much more, and every bit of it will stimulate European science.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we could establish such a centre at EMBL, it could be virtually self-financing,\u201d Matthias says.&nbsp; \u201cThat\u2019s the model at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and if there were any doubts that the model would work in Europe, this event has laid them to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article was originally published in <\/em>EMBLetc<em>., issue 25 in October 2005. Later on, EMBL would go on to build its Advanced Training Centre (ATC), to hold far bigger conferences and other training events. Find more stories related to EMBL events <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/tag\/event\/#\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/behind-scenes-40-years-embl-courses-conferences\/\">40 years of courses and conferences<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/1605-event-app\/\">EMBL conferences go digital<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/1609-eberhard-bengsch\/\">Meet a serial EMBL conference attendee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EMBL is well known for hosting, impactful conferences. The following , from 2005 describes what was the biggest-ever conference at that point in EMBL\u2019s history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":12727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7894,10715,10677,10685,10713,8472,10711],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-12721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-archive","tag-conferences","tag-embl50","tag-embo","tag-events","tag-history","tag-training"],"acf":[],"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/conf_55FU9924_bw-wp.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12721"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13259,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12721\/revisions\/13259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12721"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=12721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}