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Techniques for mammary gland research – Course and Conference Office

EMBO Practical Course

Techniques for mammary gland research

Overview
Speakers
Programme
Practical information
Sponsors
Media kit

Please see EMBL’s COVID-19 safety policy for testing and other requirements to attend this on-site course.

Course overview

The mammary epithelium is a unique organ in that the majority of its development occurs postnatally. This, combined with ease of experimental access and a stereotypical growth pattern, make it an ideal tissue for studying cellular homeostasis, branching morphogenesis, hormonal effects, stem cell biology and breast cancer. This theoretical and practical course will present techniques for the dissection and dissociation of different subpopulations of both mouse and human mammary cells, including stem/progenitor cells. It will also include flow cytometry to separate single cell populations for the consequent in vitro (mammosphere and 3D cultures) and in vivo (mouse mammary fat-pad clearing and cell transplantation) analysis to assess stem cell activity and gene function.

Audience

This course targets PhD students, post-docs and other scientists entering the field of mammary gland biology and breast cancer or those who wish to complement their knowledge using mouse or human methods.

Modules/ resources

Introduction to mouse and human mammary gland biology, including experimental techniques (e.g. histology, mammosphere cultures, imaging)
Fat pad clearing and transplantations (mouse, demonstration and hands-on)
Mammary gland harvest and Carmine staining (mouse, demonstration and hands-on)
Mammary gland digestion and 2D/3D culture (mouse, demonstration and hands-on)
FACS staining/analysis (mouse and human, demonstration and hands-on)
Intraductal injections (mouse, demonstration and hands-on)

Learning outcomes

The participants will learn about the complete workflow for mammary gland studies and gain an understanding about possibilities and limitations of working with mouse and human systems.

Keynote speaker

Jane Visvader

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Australia

(Virtual Speaker)

Speakers, trainers, and staff

Richard Iggo

Bordeaux Institute of Oncology

France

Martin Jechlinger

EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute

Germany

Bethan Lloyd-Lewis

University of Bristol

Monika Löschinger

Luxendo, Bruker Fluorescence Microscopy

Germany

Philip Mbonu

MOLIT Institute

Germany

Diana Ordonez

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Matthew Smalley

Cardiff University

(Virtual Speaker)

Stefan Terjung

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Renée van Amerongen

University of Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Maria dM Vivanco

CIC bioGUNE – Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences

Spain

Malte Wachsmuth

Luxendo, Bruker Fluorescence Microscopy

Germany

Scientific organisers

Martin Jechlinger

EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute

Germany

Renée van Amerongen

University of Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Maria dM Vivanco

CIC bioGUNE – Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences

Spain

Course organisers

Charlotte Courtney

Course and Conference Officer

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Ernesto de la Cueva

Head of Laboratory Animal Resources

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Irena Provaznikova

Training Lab Technician

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Programme

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Some pre-course work (such as watching pre-recordings, protocol reading and computational exercises) with estimated time 0-10 hours may be required and if so, 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 1 – Sunday 5 March 2023

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session and speakers	Location
15:30 – 16:00	Registration	ISG Hotel
16:00 – 16:15	Welcome and house notes EMBL Course and Conference Office Team	ISG Hotel
16:15 – 17:00	Course Overview María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	ISG Hotel
17:00 – 19:30	Presentations Short talks by participants (4 mins each)	ISG Hotel
19:30 – 20:30	Dinner	ISG Hotel restaurant
20:30 – 21:00	Networking and drinks	ISG Hotel restaurant

Day 2 – Monday 6 March 2023

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session and speakers	Location
08:40	Bus departure from ISG Hotel to EMBL Heidelberg	ISG Hotel entrance
09:00 – 09:10	Overview of the day María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
09:10 – 09:20	Introduction to lab safety EMBL Course and Conference Office Team	Courtyard Room A & B
09:20 – 10:00	Lecture 1: Introduction to mouse mammary gland techniques Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Courtyard Room A & B
10:00 – 10:40	Lecture 2: Introduction to human mammary gland María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain	Courtyard Room A & B
10:40 – 12:40	Practical session 1: Demo mammary fat pad clearing Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
12:40 – 13:40	Lunch	EMBL Canteen
13:40 – 14:25	Lecture 3: FACS introduction María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Courtyard Room A & B
14:25 – 15:55	Practical Session 2: Mammary gland harvest for Carmine stain and overnight digestion for FACS & 3D culture Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
15:55 – 16:10	Coffee break	Courtyard Room A & B
16:10 – 17:40	Practical Session 2: Mammary gland harvest for Carmine stain and overnight digestion (continuation) Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
17:40 – 18:10	Practical discussion with discussion leader Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Courtyard Room A & B
18:10 – 19:10	Organisation of the grant writing exercise María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
19:10 – 20:10	Dinner	EMBL ATC Rooftop Lounge
20:10 – 22:10	Poster session 1 (odd numbers)	Helix B near the EMBL ATC Rooftop Lounge
22:15	Bus departure from EMBL Heidelberg to ISG Hotel	EMBL ATC Entrance

Day 3 – Tuesday 7 March 2023

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session and speakers	Location
08:40	Bus departure from ISG Hotel to EMBL Heidelberg	ISG Hotel
09:00 – 09:10	Overview of the day María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
09:10 – 10:25	Virtual Lecture 4: Keynote lecture on Stem cells, mammary gland development and breast cancer Jane Visvader (VIRTUAL SPEAKER) – The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia	Courtyard Room A & B
10:25 – 12:10	Practical session 3: Digest organoids to single cells and seeding on 2D Philip Mbonu – MOLIT Institute, Germany María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
12:10 – 13:10	Lunch	EMBL Canteen
13:10 – 13:55	Lecture 5: FACS analysis for practicals María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain	Courtyard Room A & B
13:55 – 15:55	Practical session 4: Mouse stain for FACS Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Diana Ordonez – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Practical Session 5: Human staining for ALDH and FACS María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Training Lab A & B
15:55 – 16:05	Coffee break	Courtyard Room A & B
16:05 – 18:05	Practical session 4: Mouse stain for FACS (continued) Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Diana Ordonez – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Practical session 5: Human staining for ALDH and FACS (continued) María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Training Lab A & B
18:05 – 19:05	Lecture 6: MIND intro Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France	Courtyard Room A & B
19:05 – 19:35	Practical discussion with discussion leader Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Courtyard Room A & B
19:35 – 20:35	Dinner	EMBL Canteen
20:45	Bus departure from EMBL Heidelberg to ISG Hotel	EMBL ATC Entrance

Day 4 – Wednesday 8 March 2023

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session and speakers	Location
08:40	Bus departure from ISG Hotel to EMBL Heidelberg	ISG Hotel
09:00 – 09:10	Overview of the day María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
09:10 – 11:10	Practical session 6: Seeding 3D cultures Philip Mbonu – MOLIT Institute, Germany María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Practical session 7: MIND practicals and Mammary gland Carmine processing Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
11:10 – 11:20	Group photo	Meet at Courtyard Room A & B
11:20 – 13:20	Practical session 6: Seeding 3D cultures (continued) Philip Mbonu – MOLIT Institute, Germany María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Practical session 7: MIND practicals and Mammary gland Carmine processing (continued) Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
13:20 – 14:20	Lunch	EMBL Canteen
14:20 – 14:50	Lecture 7: 3D cultures Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
14:50 – 15:20	Lecture 8: Mammosphere cultures María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain	Courtyard Room A & B
15:20 – 15:50	Coffee break	Courtyard Room A & B
15:50 – 16:20	Practical discussion with discussion leaders Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
16:20 – 17:20	Group activity: Group work on grant writing	Courtyard Room A & B
17:20 – 19:20	Poster session 2 (even numbers)	Helix B near the EMBL ATC Rooftop Lounge
19:20 – 20:20	Dinner	EMBL Canteen
20:35	Bus departure from EMBL Heidelberg to ISG Hotel	ATC Entrance

Day 5 – Thursday 9 March 2023

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session and speakers	Location
08:40	Bus departure from ISG Hotel to EMBL Heidelberg	ISG Hotel entrance
09:10 – 09:55	Lecture 9: Lecture on tumour histology Matt Smalley (VIRTUAL SPEAKER) – Cardiff University, UK	Courtyard Room A & B
09:55 – 11:25	Practical session 8: Mounting Carmine / Analysing group work on grant writing Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Training Lab A & B
11:25 – 12:10	Lecture 10: Imaging Bethan Lloyd-Lewis – University of Bristol, UK	Courtyard Room A & B
12:10 – 12:40	Lecture 11: Microscopy Stefan Terjung – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
12:40 – 13:10	Lunch	Courtyard Room A & B
13:10 – 13:40	Lecture 12: SPIM imaging Malte Wachsmuth – Bruker and Luxendo, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
13:40 – 17:10	Practical Session 9: SPIM Malte Wachsmuth – Bruker and Luxendo, Germany Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Practical Session 10: Continuation analysis and discussion María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Group activity: Group work on grant writing ALMF facility tour	Training Lab A & B
13:40 – 17:10	Coffee break available throughout rotations	Courtyard Room A & B
13:40 – 17:10	Rotations continued. Practical Session 9: SPIM Malte Wachsmuth – Bruker and Luxendo, Germany Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Practical Session 10: Continuation analysis and discussion María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France Group activity: Group work on grant writing ALMF facility tour	Training Lab A & B
17:10 – 18:50	Presentation of the group projects	Courtyard Room A & B
18:55 – 19:05	Bus departure from EMBL Heidelberg to ISG Hotel	EMBL ATC Entrance
19:05 – 19:20	Time at ISG Hotel to drop personal items/change	ISG Hotel
19:20	Bus to city centre	ISG Hotel entrance
19:45	Final course dinner	Oskar restaurant
	Taxis back to the ISG hotel after dinner	City centre

Day 6 – Friday 10 March 2023

Time (Europe/Berlin)	Session and speakers	Location
08:40	Bus from hotel to EMBL ATC Entrance	ISG Hotel
09:00 – 09:10	Overview of the day María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany	Courtyard Room A & B
09:10 – 10:40	Practical Session 11: Analyzing and photographing 3D cultures, wrap up carmine staining analysis if needed María dM Vivanco – CIC bioGUNE, Spain Renée van Amerongen – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Jechlinger – EMBL Heidelberg and MOLIT Institute, Germany Richard Iggo – Bordeaux Institute of Oncology, France	Training Lab A & B
10:40 – 11:10	Group activity: Results of grant writing projects	Courtyard Room A & B
11:10 – 12:10	Final panel discussion: Analysis, troubleshooting for projects with trainers, wrap up	Courtyard Room A & B
12:10 – 13:10	Lunch	EMBL Canteen
13:30 – 14:00	Bus departure to Heidelberg main train station & city centre	EMBL ATC Entrance

Practical information

Registration fees and motivation letter

The course is limited to 20 participants. For selection purposes, please note that your application will not be considered without a letter of motivation.

Registration

Registration fees include admission, course materials, COVID-19 safety measures, meals and coffee breaks. This EMBO course includes accommodation and transportation to and from the ISG Hotel to the venue.

Academia	€500
PhD Student	€500
Industry	€1000

NO visa support letters will be issued until payment of the registration fee is confirmed.

Confirmation and payment

The registration fee should be paid only after acceptance to the course. The results will be announced approximately 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.

Motivation letter submission

After you have logged in and successfully registered, you will receive an email asking you to submit your motivation letter. Click on the link provided and enter your motivation letter in the text box provided. Alternatively you can submit your motivation letter by clicking on the link on the confirmation page directly after registering.

Instructions

Include your relevant skills, experience and qualifications showing why you would be suitable for the course.
Explain why you would like to attend, including what you can contribute and how you think you will benefit from the course.

Please note:

The limit of 2000 characters refers to manually typed text and excludes spaces. If an error occurs try using a different web browser (preferably Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).
If you copy-paste the text into the form, hidden formatting might still be included which may cause the text to exceed the 2,000 character limit resulting in an error message. We recommend you clear all formatting before pasting in the text.
If you have special symbols in your text, make sure you are using Unicode characters, otherwise these will not be recognised.

For detailed instructions, please watch our video on how to submit a course motivation letter.

Further details

For further information about registration and motivation letter submission please refer to the FAQ page.

Financial assistance

Limited financial assistance is provided by the EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme and EMBO in the form of both registration fee waivers and travel grants. Availability is limited to participants attending on-site EMBL Courses and virtual or on-site EMBO Practical Courses in Heidelberg, and will be indicated during the motivation letter submission process.

Your place in the course is only confirmed by paying the registration fee, which is mandatory even when receiving a fee waiver.

Registration fee waiver

The fee waiver will cover the registration sum that you have paid to attend the course.

Travel grant

The travel grant will cover the cost of travel (airfare, train, bus, taxi, accommodation, visa, and/or registration fees*) and is provided up to specified caps which are normally as follows:

– up to €400 for participants travelling to an EMBL Course within Europe.

– up to €1000 for participants travelling to an EMBL Course from outside Europe.

– up to €500 for any participant travelling to an EMBO Practical Course.

– up to €1000 for any participant working in Chile, India, Singapore or Taiwan travelling to an EMBO Practical Course.

– up to €700 for any participant working in Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, and Turkey travelling to an EMBO Practical Course.

*Registration fees are only covered for EMBO Practical Courses

The organisers may reduce the grant cap to accommodate more participants. Recipients will be notified of their travel cap amount when they are informed of the outcome of their application. Original receipts must be provided with your signature for all costs incurred within two months of completion of travel. Scanned copies cannot be accepted.

Childcare grant (EMBO Practical Courses only)

For EMBO Practical Course participants with children, there is the possibility to apply for a childcare grant to offset child care costs incurred by participants or speakers when participating at a course. Eligible costs include fees for a babysitter or child-care facility, travel costs for a caregiver, or travel costs for taking the child to the meeting etc. Please note that priority will be given to early-stage researchers. A maximum amount of €500 can be awarded per participant applying for an EMBO childcare grant.

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds travel grant

Applies to selected courses only. Availability will be indicated during the motivation letter submission process.

This grant covers costs related to your attendance at the course (registration, travel and accommodation costs). The grant is restricted to PhD students and postdocs who conduct basic biomedical research.

Whether you are eligible to apply for a travel grant, depends on when you received your university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur, A-Levels, High School Diploma, Final State Examination):

– for PhD and MD students, as well as graduates, the university entrance qualification must not have been obtained more than 11 years ago at the time of the envisaged course

– for postdocs, the university entrance qualification must not have been obtained more than 13 years ago at the time of the envisaged course

Application

You may apply for financial assistance when submitting your motivation letter for courses. In your application, you will be asked to answer questions regarding why your lab cannot fund your attendance and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

For the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Travel Grant, there is a pre-application question during the motivation letter submission process, and if selected you will be requested to complete a standard form and documentation consisting of your travel expense estimation.

Selection

The scientific organisers will select the recipients of all financial assistance during the motivation letter selection process. Results will be announced approximately 6-8 weeks before the event start date, however for some events this may be delayed. Selection results do not impact your admission to the course. Selection is based on scientific merit, your current work or study location, the reasons for needing financial support, and the impact this event will have on your career.

Reimbursement

Costs will be reimbursed after the meeting only once a reimbursement form and original receipts (from travel costs) have been received.

Further details

See our list of external funding opportunities and for further information about financial assistance please refer to the FAQ page.

Accommodation and shuttles

Hotel

The registration fee includes accommodation for 5 nights (checking in 5 March 2023, checking out 10 March 2023) at the ISG Hotel in a single room, including breakfast. Any additional nights need to be booked and paid for by you to the hotel. We recommend that all course participants stay at the ISG Hotel, which is the dedicated hotel for the course.

Local transport

Shuttle buses will go from the ISG Hotel to EMBL and back, mornings and evenings. A bus schedule and location of the bus stops will be made available prior to the meeting.

Further details

Address: EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

For further information on getting to EMBL Heidelberg visit our Travel Information page.

For enquiries about accommodation and local transportation please refer to the FAQ page .

Event software

The EMBL eCampus learning platform will be used to collaborate, communicate and network with all of the course participants. All participants will receive information on how to join shortly before the course. We recommend using Chrome, Safari or Mozilla Firefox browsers for eCampus.

Additional information

Please find additional information including FAQs, terms and conditions, COVID-19 safety policy and travelling to EMBL on our Information for Participants page.

COVID-19 related questions

COVID-19 information for on-site events at EMBL Heidelberg can be found in our COVID-19 FAQs.

Media kit

Want to let others know you’re attending this event? Take a look at our shareable media and feel free to use them in your social media channels or presentations.