Tuesday, July 12, 2011
omics at vib - VIB International Postdoc Program
VIB is a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium. With more than 1200 scientists from over 60 countries, we perform basic research into the molecular foundations of life.
VIB is an excellence-based entrepreneurial institute that focuses on translating basic scientific results into pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial applications.
VIB works in close partnership with four universities − UGent, K.U.Leuven, University of Antwerp and Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is funded by the Flemish government.
VIB develops and disseminates a wide range of science-based information about all aspects of biotechnology.
VIB offers international fellowships to integrative biology postdocs who have advanced skills in omics technologies.
The omics at VIB postdoc program offers a highly stimulating and multicultural environment. Embedded in excellent research groups, you will be working on breakthrough science, with access to cutting-edge technologies, three year secured funding and personal career assistance.
We expect you to propose your own integrative biology project, focusing on the use or the introduction of ‘omics’ (bioinformatics, metagenomics, genomics, proteomics...) in the research topic of your choice.
Step 1
Step 2
Enter your contact details and download the Application Form here
Step 4
Get in touch with the group leader(s) of interest to discuss your project ideas. It is extremely important at this stage to prepare an excellent project concept in order to convince the group leader(s) that you are the ideal candidate for this project!
Step 5
Prepare your project in accordance to the Detailed Application Guidelines.
- Make sure all required paragraphs are included and do not exceed the indicated page limits.
- Save the document in PDF, titled “your name – VIB 2011”.
- Use this title also as the footer on each page of this document and add page numbers.
- Collect the signature of your VIB group leader on the pdf document before you upload it.
Upload your project proposal and the other documents here. Success!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
China to spend $308B, gain 1M new jobs in 5-year biotech plan
The Chinese Government will work to further combine biotechnology with economic development and with improving ordinary people's livelihood, Liu said.
"The development priorities of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) - biopharmacy, bio-engineering, bio-agriculture and biomanufacturing - will bring benefits to Chinese people."
In the next five years, China will further use biotechnology to prevent disasters or alleviate the harm caused by them, to protect the environment, to employ "green" construction methods and to control climate change. Meanwhile, the latest innovations in biotechnology should be relied on to guarantee domestic standards are met for nutrition, hygiene, healthcare, food and drug safety and disease diagnosis and prevention, Liu stressed.
Liu's opinion was echoed by Percy W. Misika, a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in China. Misika contended that the energy shortage is getting increasingly severe in the world. Biotechnology should be employed in campaigns to make food safer and to combat climate change.
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese Government will spend 20 billion yuan on innovative medicine, on the cultivation of new varieties of genetically modified organisms and on the prevention and control of viral hepatitis and other infectious diseases, according to Ma Hongjian, deputy director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development.
Biotechnology has become a strategic pillar industry for China. From 2011 to 2015, it is expected to generate 1 million jobs, extend people's life expectancies by one year and reduce the infant mortality rate to 12 percent, as well as reduce emissions of the most common pollutants by 10 percent, Ma elaborated.
Huang Xingguo, mayor of Tianjin municipality, said the city has become a center for the production of biotechnology products in China.
Bio Eco 2011 is being held in Tianjin from Sunday to Tuesday. Sponsored by both the Tianjin Municipal government and 14 state ministries, the conference has the motto: "Develop the bio-economy, improve people's livelihoods".
By Wang Yu and Li Xiang (China Daily)
Boston’s Top Academic Medical Centers Join Pfizer’s Centers For Therapeutic Innovation
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. today announced its network of translational research partnerships, called the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, has launched in Boston with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard University, Partners HealthCare, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, as well as University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. These organizations follow on previously announced partnerships with academic medical institutions in California and New York City.
Additionally, Pfizer announced that it has signed a lease for laboratory space at the Center for Life Science in the Longwood Medical Area, where it will co-locate with its academic medical center partners. Pfizer will develop the space inside the Center for Life Science Boston, which is surrounded by top-tier life science research institutions. This space will serve as the world headquarters of Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, complementing existing offices in Cambridge, Mass.
“We are thrilled that Pfizer has chosen Boston as the location for its newest Center for Therapeutic Innovation -- which will also serve as the program’s world headquarters,” said Mass. Governor Deval Patrick. “Pfizer’s decision to increase its investments in Massachusetts is further confirmation of the kind of world-class expertise our state can offer the life sciences industry.”
“Pfizer has chosen the perfect location for its new Center for Therapeutic Innovation. Boston is leading the life sciences revolution because of the collaboration that happens between our prestigious medical, academic and research institutions,” Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “The City is committed to supporting this industry because of the critical role drug discovery plays in our society. We couldn’t be happier that Pfizer is further expanding its presence in Massachusetts to tap into all that Longwood Medical area has to offer.”
“The Centers for Therapeutic Innovation is a network of partnerships between Pfizer and academic medical centers that aims to accelerate and transform drug discovery and development,” said Jose Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos, Ph.D, senior vice president and head of BioTherapeutics Research and Development for Pfizer. “These partnerships allow leading medical and clinical experts to join with Pfizer’s highly-skilled scientists and advanced drug development capabilities to speed the translation of innovative science into medicines for patients. Our ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and the delivery of promising candidates to the pipeline.”
“Academic medical centers play an integral role in the early discovery process that leads to drug development,” said Eric Buehrens, Interim president and chief executive officer of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). “But moving these discoveries from the laboratory into the clinic has proven to be exceptionally challenging and costly. That’s why we’re so pleased to be part of this unique collaboration with Pfizer. Through the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, scientists at BIDMC and throughout Boston will be able to see their research translated into potential therapies that can make a difference to the lives of patients.”
Pfizer anticipates investing approximately $100 million in the Boston Centers for Therapeutic Innovation over the next five years. This sum is a total of the estimated support for research programs, potential milestone payments to partners for successful projects, and the cost to lease and operate the planned site in the Longwood Medical Area.
“We believe the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation are an industry-leading model of collaboration and innovation,” said Anthony Coyle, Ph.D., vice president - Pfizer Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. “Boston, with its wealth of scientific and medical expertise, is well-suited to serve as headquarters for CTI. We are excited to work with these outstanding academic medical institutions with the objective of developing the next generation of medicines.”
Monday, July 4, 2011
2011 Plant Science Program HHMI-GBMF Investigators
|  | Philip Benfey, Ph.D.
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Benfey is studying how plants control the form and function of their root systems. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Dominique Bergmann, Ph.D.
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| By studying the formation of the structures plants use to control the exchange of water and carbon dioxide, Bergmann is making fundamental discoveries about how cells acquire their fates and establish the patterns needed to build a complete organism. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Simon Chan, Ph.D.
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| By studying basic chromosome biology, Chan has made discoveries that have practical implications for making crop plants easier to breed. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Xuemei Chen, Ph.D.
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| Chen’s lab has two overlapping goals: deciphering the molecular programs that control flower formation, and determining how small RNAs control gene activity in plants. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Jeff Dangl, Ph.D.
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| Plants are confronted by a daunting range of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Dangl is working to understand how plants recognize beneficial versus pathogenic microbes. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Xinnian Dong, Ph.D.
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| Dong is investigating how plant defense genes promote resistance to pathogens. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Jorge Dubcovsky, Ph.D.
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| Dubcovsky’s investigations of wheat genetics have enabled him to boost the plant’s nutritional content, increase yield, and optimize the growing cycle for particular climates. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Joseph Ecker, Ph.D.
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| Ecker is trying to understand how plants perceive and respond to gases required for stress protection, seed germination and fruit ripening. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Mark Estelle, Ph.D.
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| Estelle is investigating how hormones help plants respond to alter their growth in response to changes in including light, temperature, water, and nutrient availability. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Sheng Yang He, Ph.D.
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| He works to identify the techniques that bacteria use to attack plants and make them more susceptible to disease, which has implications for both crops and human health. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Robert Martienssen, Ph.D.
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| The gene silencing methods studied in Martienssen’s lab keep mobile genetic elements under control and are critical to normal plant reproduction and development. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Elliot Meyerowitz, Ph.D.
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| One of the questions that interests Meyerowitz is how plant cells recognize and respond to chemical and mechanical signals. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Krishna Niyogi, Ph.D.
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| Niyogi has spent two decades delving into photosynthesis and has made fundamental discoveries that help scientists understand the strategies plants use to adapt to their environment. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Craig Pikaard, Ph.D.
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| One of the major research interests in Pikaard’s lab is understanding how plant genes are silenced. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| | Keiko Torii, Ph.D.
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| Torii’s lab studies how plant cells coordinate proliferation and differentiation during organ morphogenesis to generate beautiful, orderly patterns. More | ||||||||||||||||||||
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