Drosophila genetics and genomics

Overview

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Course overview

Drosophila as a model system has remained a powerful driver of biological research for over a century. Emergence of techniques like CRISPR-Cas9, next-generation sequencing, single-molecule(sm) FISH, and single-cell genomics have dramatically expanded the toolkit available for research in Drosophila. These techniques are now routinely applied to answer important knowledge gaps in developmental biology, cell biology, physiology, neurobiology, genome regulation, evolution, behavior and population genetics.

This course will cover the latest advances in this direction through a combination of lectures delivered by world-renowned experts and hands-on practical sessions on the above topics delivered by excellent trainers – to help the participants rapidly absorb knowledge towards application for their own research. This course will play a key role in fostering the next generation of Drosophila biologists through transfer of this knowledge built up for over a century, opportunities for excellent networking and developing collaborations and long term relationships. We have incorporated new speakers, trainers and refreshed the content where relevant to remain up-to-date.

Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback received from the 2023 course, which was 3-fold oversubscribed, we believe there is a strong argument to repeat this course to serve the large community of Drosophila biologists.

Audience

The course is aimed at PhD students and early stage post-doctoral researchers who want to start using or enhance their knowledge of Drosophila as a model organism.

Modules

The power of Drosophila as a model organism
Discerning function through genetic perturbation
Revealing new insights through live imaging
New views from single cell genomics
Drosophila diversity and evolution
Organismal interactions

Learning outcomes

Training sessions will familiarise attendees with classical and modern approaches to fruit fly genetics and genomics, including EMS screens and CRISPR gene editing, modern imaging methods, behavioural analysis, immunity assays, and handling wild-caught species.

What past participants say about this course

“The best course I have attended, in a beautiful place and with people who are really interested in teaching, speaking and helping to train us. In addition, the program was complete and covered all the existing techniques, from the most traditional to the newest. The topics covered are exciting. And besides, we spent a wonderful week with laughter, delicious food and long evenings.” – Genoveva Guerrero, Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Spain

“Great course, I enjoyed every bit of it! The course offered detailed insights into the field of Drosophila genetics, with hands-on practicals that help to bring the theory and practice into a broader picture so that we can start right away by incorporating new ideas into our own research. I also enjoyed the networking opportunity to connect with the current and future top-notch scientists of the Drosophila community.” – Hannah Dickmänken, Stein Aerts lab, Belgium

Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities

We offer a variety of event sponsoring possibilities, with the flexibility to select a set sponsorship package or combine individual sponsorship options to suit your event budget. Discounts are available for companies sponsoring multiple events at EMBL Heidelberg. View other conferences, or contact sponsorship@embl.de for further information.

If you are interested in becoming a media partner of this event, please visit our media partnerships webpage.

Media kit

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