Henrik Bringmann
Biotechnology Center
Germany
Overview
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Course overview
C. elegans is a popular experimental model that combines transparency, reproducible anatomy, traceable cell lineage, sequenced genome and facile genetics, allowing to dissect animal development, physiology, and behaviour across scales of genes, cells and tissues. This 7-day course will present experimental practices in C. elegans research, while introducing historic and up-to-date findings in various research topics.
Each day includes lectures, practicals, student poster presentations and interactive discussions with faculty. Various methodologies commonly employed in C. elegans research will be presented in parallel practicals with rotating student groups by relevant experts. These experimental techniques span forward and reverse genetics, genome editing, lineaging, imaging approaches for live and fixed samples using light and electron microscopy, computational image analysis and other useful web resources. Meanwhile, lectures by internationally established researchers will present a variety of C. elegans research topics, spanning studies of the genome and epigenome, through cell cycle and death, to tissue specification, connectivity, and function. A combination of senior and junior speakers will ensure a balanced view of pioneer breakthroughs and recent advances in the topics presented as well as the students’ interactions with researchers of different topics and career levels.
Audience
This practical course will be aimed at early career scientists, mostly postdocs and advanced graduate students with an interest in C. elegans. We will target both, participants with little or no prior experience in working with C. elegans who want to use this model organism to advance their research, as well as experienced C. elegans researchers who want to expand their tool set. The course will cover state-of-the-art techniques that are – or will become – essential for a broad range of research topics and we will therefore target participants with diverse research interests.
Modules/resources
The course lectures and practical modules develop in three axes of genes, cells, tissues. It will cover the following modules:
Lectures:
- Genome and epigenome: structure, function, silencing, environment interactions
- Cell cycle, division, symmetry breaking, cell biomechanics
- Cell death and degeneration in development, aging (and genome instability) in disease
- Tissue specification, transcriptome dynamics, morphogenesis
- Tissue morphogenesis, cell lineage tracing and forces
- Tissue assembly, connectivity, activity, cell interactions
Practicals:
- Web resources for C.elegans research
- C. elegans handling and genetic manipulations
- Imaging (fixed/live) cells and molecules
- Image analysis (deconvolution, EM image analysis, optogenetics, tracing, and lineaging approaches)
Learning outcomes
After this course you should know:
- The advantages of C. elegans for your research
- Handling and maintenance of C. elegans
- Staging and C. elegans life cycle
- Designing and performing forward and reverse genetics experiments
- Principles of generating transgenic animals
- The potential of C. elegans imaging – from live imaging to high-resolution imaging, EM, and optogenetics
- Options for analysis of light and EM images, optogenetics, cell tracing
What past participants say about the course
“The c.elegans from genome editing to imaging is one of the best C.elegans practical courses and I would strongly recommend C.elegans researchers in their early careers to attend this course.” – Somarani Dash, Institute of advanced study in science and technology, Guwahati, Assam, India.
“This course far exceeded my expectations: it was the perfect mixture of theory, hands-onexperiments and networking. An incredible opportunity not only to learn but also to meet peoplefrom all over the world. ” – Antonella Lavatellai, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Barcelona, Spain.
The course has a recommendation rate of 100% from previous attendees.
Please see EMBL’s COVID-19 safety recommendations for testing and other requirements to attend this on-site course.
Speakers
Speakers, trainers, and staff
Scientific organisers
Event organisers
Maria Bacadare
Course and Conference Manager
EMBL Heidelberg
Germany
Swetlana Krez
Training Lab Technician
EMBL Heidelberg
Germany
Preliminary Programme
Are you on social media? Post using #EMBOCelegans and don’t forget to tag @EMBLEvents.
- Some pre-course work (such as watching pre-recordings, protocol reading and computational exercises) with estimated time 0-10 hours will be required and will be shared in advance of the course.
- Some speakers may need to join virtually to give their lecture or Q&A, and the programme is subject to change.
Day 0 (Onboarding) – Monday 29 May 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14:30 – 16:00 | Onboarding session (access to eCampus learning platform), introduction on Zoom – introduction to the course – materials to be used and expectations from the participants – overview of the tools used during the course | EMBL eCampus |
Day 1 – Sunday 9 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 09:45 – 10:00 | Bus from hotel to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Health and safety briefing | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:30 – 13:30 | Optional Bootcamp A or B Option A: Basic C. elegans methodology: maintenance, propagation, decontamination Trainers: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Francesca Caroti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Option B: Basic principles for image analysis Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA | |
| 13:45 – 14:00 | Bus from EMBL ATC Entrance to hotel | ATC Entrance |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | ISG Hotel registration | ISG Hotel |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Welcome Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | ISG Hotel |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | Flash talks (1 min per participant) | ISG Hotel |
| 16:15 – 17:15 | Challenges & expectations for the course (all participants) | ISG Hotel |
| 17:15 – 17:30 | Coffee break | ISG Hotel |
| 17:30 – 17:45 | Course overview Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | ISG Hotel |
| 17:45 – 18:45 | Introduction to useful web resources and databases for C.elegans research Introduction on responsible conduct of research Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | ISG Hotel |
| 18:45 – 19:00 | Break | ISG Hotel |
| 19:00 | Dinner | ISG Hotel |
Day 2 – Monday 10 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:40 – 08:50 | Bus to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 08:55 – 09:00 | Overview of the day | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Lecture: Functional organisation of the nucleus Susan Gasser – University of Lausanne and ISREC Foundation, Switzerland | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Lecture: Genome silencing Christian Frøkjær-Jensen – King Abdullah University, Saudi Arabia | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Lecture: Evolution of C. elegans Marie-Anne Félix – Institut Biologie Ecole Normale Superieure, France | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:30 – 11:45 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Health and safety briefing | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 12:15 – 13:15 | Lunch break | EMBL Canteen |
| 13:15 – 19:30 | Practical: Methods of genome manipulation Station 1: Screening RNAi / mutagenesis Trainer: Francesca Caroti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 2: Transgenesis (sample preparation, injection) Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 3: Design for CRISPRs, MoSCIs, arrays Trainer: Christian Frœkjær-Jensen – King Abdullah University, Saudi Arabia Alex Paix – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 4: In silico Lineaging / Transcriptomics – design, analysis Trainer: Priya Sivaramakrishnan – University of Pennsylvania, USA helper on site | |
| 19:30 – 20:30 | Dinner with guided discussion on “Publishing” and “Grant writing” | EMBL Canteen |
| 20:30 | Bus to ISG Hotel | ATC Entrance |
Day 3 – Tuesday 11 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:40 – 08:55 | Bus to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 08:55 – 09:00 | Overview of the day | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Lecture: Self-organization in meiosis Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Lecture: Cell fate and the cell cycle of the early embryo Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:00 – 12:45 | Practical: Methods of genome manipulation Station 1: Screening RNAi / mutagenesis Trainer: Francesca Caroti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 2: Transgenesis (sample preparation, injection) Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 3: Design for CRISPRs, MoSCIs, arrays Trainer: Christian Frœkjær-Jensen – King Abdullah University, Saudi Arabia Alex Paix – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 4: In silico Lineaging / Transcriptomics – design, analysis Trainer: Priya Sivaramakrishnan – University of Pennsylvania, USA helper on site | |
| 12:45 – 13:45 | Lunch break with guided discussion on “Choosing a postdoc”, “Getting a research PI position” | EMBL Canteen |
| 13:45 – 16:45 | Practical: Imaging cells and molecules Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging Trainer: Francesca Caroti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA Station 2: Expansion Microscopy Trainer: Yangning Lu – MIT McGovern Institute, USA Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 3: Basics in Optogenetics Trainer: Inka Busack – Biotechnology Center, Germany helper Station 4: Electron Microscopy Trainer: Mandy Boermel – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Rachel Mellwig – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Paolo Ronchi – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | |
| 16:45 – 17:15 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 17:15 – 17:45 | Lecture: Expansion microscopy of C. elegans Ed Boyden – MIT McGovern Institute, USA (Virtual Speaker) | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 17:45 – 18:00 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 18:00 – 18:15 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 18:15 – 19:15 | Poster session 1 (odd numbers) | Helix A |
| 19:15 – 20:45 | Dinner with poster networking (All posters) | Helix A |
| 20:45 | Bus to ISG Hotel | ATC Entrance |
Day 4 – Wednesday 12 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:40 – 08:55 | Bus to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 08:55 – 09:00 | Overview of the day | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Lecture: Cell division and differentiation Sander van den Heuvel – Utrecht University, The Netherland | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Lecture: Genotype-to-phenotype relationship Michalis Barkoulas – Imperial College, UK | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Lecture: Molecular Promotion of Healthy Aging Monica Driscoll – Rutgers University, USA | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Poster session 2 (even numbers) | Helix A |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Lunch break with guided discussion on “Science policy & communication”, “Choosing a postdoc” | EMBL Canteen |
| 12:30 – 19:00 | Practical: Imaging cells and molecules Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging Trainer: Francesca Caroti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA Station 2: Expansion Microscopy Trainer: Yangning Lu – MIT McGovern Institute, USA Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 3: Basics in Optogenetics Trainer: Inka Busack – Biotechnology Center, Germany helper Station 4: Electron Microscopy Trainer: Mandy Boermel – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Rachel Mellwig – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Paolo Ronchi – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Dinner with poster networking (All posters) | Helix A |
| 20:30 | Bus to ISG Hotel | ATC Entrance |
Day 5 – Thursday 13 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:40 – 08:55 | Bus to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 08:55 – 09:00 | Overview of the day | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:00 – 12:00 | Practical: Imaging cells and molecules – Part 3: 1 of 4 stations. Students rotate in 4 independent stations of 3 h each, all stations provided for 2 days, 2 trainers per station; 4 students per station) Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging Trainer: Francesca Caroti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA Station 2: Expansion Microscopy Trainer: Yangning Lu – MIT McGovern Institute, USA Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 3: Basics in Optogenetics Trainer: Inka Busack – Biotechnology Center, Germany helper Station 4: Electron Microscopy Trainer: Mandy Boermel – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Rachel Mellwig – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Paolo Ronchi – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch break with guided discussion on “Starting a junior PI position”, “Positions in PUI institutions” | EMBL Canteen |
| 13:00 – 16:00 | Practical: Advanced image analysis tools (Part 1) Station 1: Deconvolution Trainer: Marko Lampe – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 3: Lineage tracing & analysis Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA Station 4: Image analysis for optogenetics Trainer: Inka Busack – Biotechnology Center, Germany Station 5: Analysis of EM imaging Trainer: Ben Mulcahy – Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Canada (Virtual speaker) | |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Lecture: Signal transduction during C. elegans development Alex Hajnal – University of Zurich, Switzerland (Virtual speaker) | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 17:00 – 17:15 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 17:15 – 17:45 | Lecture: Neurogenetics of sensory behaviors Piali Sengupta – Brandeis University, USA (Virtual Speaker) | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 17:45 – 18:00 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 18:00 – 18:30 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 18:30 – 19:00 | Lecture: Cytoskeletal assembly and dynamics in neurodevelopment Dhanya Cheerambathur The University of Edinburgh, UK | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 19:00 – 19:15 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 19:15 – 20:15 | Dinner | EMBL Canteen |
| 20:15 | Bus to ISG Hotel | ATC Entrance |
Day 6 – Friday 14 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:40 – 08:55 | Bus to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 08:55 – 09:00 | Overview of the day | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 09:00 – 12:00 | Practical: Advanced image analysis tools (Part 2) Station 1: Deconvolution Trainer: Marko Lampe – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 2: Automated membrane tracing Trainer: Zhongying Zhao Station 3: Lineage tracing & analysis Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA Station 4: Image analysis for optogenetics Trainer: Inka Busack – Biotechnology Center, Germany | |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch | EMBL Canteen |
| 13:00 – 13:30 | Lecture: Generation of neuronal diversity Oliver Hobert – Columbia University, USA | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 13:30 – 13:45 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 13:45 – 14:15 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 14:15 – 16:45 | Practical: Advanced image analysis tools (Part 3) Station 1: Deconvolution Trainer: Marko Lampe – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Station 2: Automated membrane tracing Trainer: Zhongying Zhao – Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong (Virtual speaker) Station 3: Lineage tracing & analysis Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA Station 4: Image analysis for optogenetics Trainer: Inka Busack – Biotechnology Center, Germany Station 5: Analysis of EM imaging Trainer: Ben Mulcahy – Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Canada (Virtual speaker) | |
| 16:45 – 17:15 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 17:15 – 17:30 | Bus to downtown | ATC Entrance |
| 17:30 – 19:00 | Free evening | |
| 19:00 | Dinner downtown |
Day 7 – Saturday 15 June 2024
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 09:40 – 09:55 | Bus to EMBL ATC Entrance | ISG Hotel bus stop |
| 09:55 – 10:00 | Overview of the day | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Lecture: Optogenetic manipulation of tissue activity Henrik Bringmann – Biotechnology Center, Germany | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Coffee break | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Lecture: Glia & neuron interactions in nervous system assembly Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 11:45 – 12:00 | Q&A after the lecture | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 12:00 – 12:30 | Feedback session and closing remarks | Courtyard Room A & B |
| 12:30 | Bus from EMBL to Heidelberg city center/train station or Walk to ISG | ATC Entrance |
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Media kit
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Date: 9 - 15 Jun 2024
Location: EMBL Heidelberg
Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre
Organisers:
-
Henrik Bringmann
Biotechnology Center, Germany -
Simone Köhler
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany -
Georgia Rapti
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany -
Pavak Shah
University of California, Los Angeles, USA -
Contact: Maria Bacadare
