SUBJECT: Friday, April 10, is early registration deadline for Arthropod Genomics Symposium
~~~Register by Friday, April 10, for reduced early-bird rates!~~~
~New information added: Genome Train Workshop!~
*-*-*-*-* Ninth Annual Arthropod Genomics Symposium*-*-*-*-*June 17, 2015 to June 19, 2015
K-State Alumni Center, Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas
Symposium Website: www.ksu.edu/agc
REGISTRATION DEADLINES
Please register online at the Symposium website, www.k-state.edu/agc!
Friday, April 10, is the early bird deadline for reduced fees.
June 5 is the deadline for general registration.
ABSTRACT DEADLINES
Wednesday, May 20 - If you DO wish to present a poster during the Symposium.
Wednesday, May 20 - If you DO wish your abstract to be considered for a poster presentation at the
IGTRCN pre-meeting workshop.
(March 9 was the deadline for abstracts to be considered for oral presentations at the symposium.)
SPEAKERS (Presentation titles are on the Speaker page of the website.)
Keynote Speaker: David A. O’Brochta, Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research & Department of
Entomology, University of Maryland College Park
Featured Speakers:
+Michelle Cilia, USDA-ARS, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University, USA
+Martin J. Donnelly, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK
+Rosemary G. Gillespie, University of California, Berkeley, USA
+Sijun Liu, Iowa State University, USA
+Frank Lyko, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
+Duane McKenna, University of Memphis, USA
+Armin P. Moczek, Indiana University, USA
+Amanda J. Moehring, Western University, Ontario, Canada
+Daniel E. Neafsey, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, USA
+Greg Ragland, Kansas State University, USA
+Anne-Nathalie Volkoff, INRA (UMR1333), Montpellier 1 University, France
The symposium focuses on new insights gleaned from analyzing arthropod genomes and is designed for
scientists interested in genomic studies of Arthropods, both model organisms and those of agricultural or
health relevance. The program will include platform presentations, welcome reception, Genome Train
Workshop, Annotation Café, and arthropod genomics-related poster sessions. A few poster abstract
submissions will be selected for platform presentations. Postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students
are also encouraged to attend. Sessions conclude Friday evening, followed by an optional evening at Konza
Prairie with dinner and live music by the Red State Blues Band.
TENTATIVE PROGRAM for SYMPOSIUM & WORKSHOPS
Wednesday, June 17 – Workshop: Insect Genetic Technology Research Coordination Network (IGT-RCN)
Wednesday evening, June 17, 7:30 pm - Arthropod Genomics Symposium begins with keynote presentation and welcome
reception
Thursday, June 18 – Symposium Platform Sessions until 5:40 p.m.; Poster Session from 1:15 – 2:30.
Thursday evening, June 18, 7:00 to 8:30 pm – Genome Train Workshop
Thursday evening, June 18, 8:00 to 10:00 pm – After dinner on your own, return to view posters and network with other
scientists.
Friday, June 19 – Symposium Platform Sessions, tentatively concluding at 5:00 p.m.; Poster Session 1:15-2:30.
Friday evening, June 19 – Optional dinner at Konza Prairie Biological Station with nature hikes, bison viewing, opportunity
to collect insects, and entertainment by the Red State Blues Band.
*-*-*-*-* Pre-Symposium Workshop *-*-*-*-*INSECT GENETIC TECHNOLOGY workshop
June 17, 2015 (Wednesday morning and afternoon)
Robust protocols to manipulate genes and genomes have not yet been developed for most insects other than
Drosophila melanogaster, and this shortfall is limiting research progress in many aspects of arthropod
genomics. The NSF-RCN on Insect Genetic Technologies (IGTRCN: 2014-2019; igtrcn.org) seeks to remedy
this problem by facilitating the communication of best practice and new techniques among arthropod
genomicists.
This IGTRCN-sponsored workshop will comprise (1) talks that showcase the latest genetic technologies, (2)
discussion sessions for exchange of ideas and solutions for effective insect genetic engineering, and (3)
posters. Proposals from the workshop will be integrated into the IGTRCN program of hands-on practical
workshops, fellowships, and the IGTRCN KnowledgeBase. Early-career researchers are particularly
encouraged to present their research at this workshop. A limited number of travel grants to attend the
workshop are available for early stage investigators. Application deadline was March 9. For more
information on poster abstract and travel grant submission for the workshop, go to http://www.kstate.edu/agc/symposium_level/workshop/index.html.
GENOME TRAIN WORKSHOP
Join us for a journey on The Genome Train on Thursday, June 18th, 7:00 pm to 8:30 p.m.
Genome Train is a participatory workshop on genomics training where we will first introduce the main
considerations for each stage of a genome sequencing project and then break off into groups to focus on:
[1] experimental design,
[2] genome assembly & quality assessment,
[3] automated genome annotation,
[4] manual curation of gene models,
[5] automated & manual assessment of gene function,
[6] dissemination, maintenance & improvement of genome resources.
We will then reconvene to compare notes and finish off by focusing on
station [4] to lead logically on to the Annotation Café. Please sign up here.
ANNOTATION CAFÉ
The i5k Workspace@NAL and the Web Apollo development team are hosting an Annotation Café during
poster sessions where both experienced and novice annotators can ask questions to an expert, share curation
advice with other annotators, or chat with scientists from the National Agricultural Library and Web Apollo
teams about the annotation services they provide.
VENUE: The 2015 Symposium is being hosted by the Arthropod Genomics Center at Kansas State University
in Manhattan, Kansas. Symposium sessions will be held at the K-State Alumni Center on campus located at
the corner of Anderson and 17th Street. If you are arranging travel/flights, try MHK first to fly directly into
Manhattan. Manhattan is approximately a 2 ½-hour drive west from Kansas City International airport (MCI).
HOTEL/DORM ROOMS: A block of rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn Manhattan at the Campus.
Reservation deadline for the room block discounted price is May 20.
Campus dormitory rooms are also available. Please send an e-mail to dmerrill@ksu.edu if you want to stay in
a dorm. She will notify you when the online reservation system is ready to accept reservations.
QUESTIONS: Contact Doris Merrill at dmerrill@ksu.edu.
If you would like to join the ArthropodNews listserv to ensure receiving future notices, please send an e-mail
with your name and e-mail address to dmerrill@ksu.edu.
PLEASE SHARE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WITH COLLEAGUES AND STUDENTS!
SPONSORS:
*Arthropod Genomics Center, Kansas State University
*Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame
*Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CORPORATE SPONSORS:
BASF Corporation
Monsanto Company
2015 SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:
At Kansas State University:
Susan J. Brown, Chair, Professor in the Division of Biology and Director, Arthropod Genomics Center
Kristin Michel, Division of Biology
Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan, Department of Biochemistry
Yoonseong Park, Department of Entomology
Gregory Ragland, Department of Entomology
Anna Whitfield, Department of Plant Pathology
At University of Notre Dame:
Mary Ann McDowell, Department of Biological Sciences, Eck Institute for Global Health
Molly Duman Scheel, Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend, Eck Institute for Global Health
At University of Illinois: Hugh Robertson, Department of Entomology
4/7/15