News

LEAPS Meets Life Sciences Conference

Chair: Caterina Biscari (ALBA/LEAPS)

Scientific Chairs: Gebhard Schertler (PSI) Kristina Djinovic-Carugo (EMBL)

LEAPS, the League of European Accelerator based-Photon Sources, is organizing its 2023 Conference: LEAPS Meets Life Sciences.  

During five residential days, the frontiers of Life Sciences meet the cutting-edge developments of Large Research Facilities. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from a slate of inspiring, thought, and research leaders in the areas of New Biology, Unmet Medical Needs, Bioimaging, Computational Biology and Modern Methods in Structural Biology and Dynamics, Drug Discovery and Strategy of Large Research Facilities. The participants will also contribute to the scientific discussion with selected talks and posters.

Biology, MedTech and Medical research are changing very rapidly and will become major drivers for future needs in large research facilities.  The LEAPS Meets Life Sciences Conference aims at bringing together the European Large Facilities and representatives of Life Sciences to define aligned strategies for large facilities in life science challenges. The development of instrumentation in electron microscopy as well as progress in computational methods and machine learning are opening new opportunities. The use of synchrotron radiation at storage rings, and recently Free Electron Lasers (FELs) at large facilities have boosted research in structural biology and imaging of biological samples at a wide range of length scales in the last decade. Several facilities are upgrading their high-energy rings to emittances approaching the diffraction-limit, which enables them to focus on defining dynamic processes in soft materials and life sciences.

The goals of the conference are to:

• Present an overview of the state-of-the-art scientific and technological achievements and how current X-ray probes and large facilities contribute to this field.
• Create a platform for the interaction of different communities to interact and define needs and challenges for the decade to come.
• Devote tutorial sessions on emerging biology and emerging technology implementations at large facilities.
• Motivate the next generation of scientists and engineers to use extensively the outstanding opportunities at the large facilities within the LEAPS Consortium.
• Initiate an open discussion between life sciences and large facilities to guide a European-wide strategy.

The program will allow for lively interactions among the participants of all career stages, in particular of young researchers with “mentors”. Social events and excursions in the near surroundings of the stunning conference venue will foster the network between engineers, physicists, and life scientists.

To encourage the participation of the future generation of researchers LEAPS and the ERNEST GPCR Network are offering a limited number of grants (covering all expenses, including travel) for students and young researchers submitting their work.

Participation/Contributions

The conference has a limited number of places. A pre-registration will be required from all interested participants who will be required to submit an abstract (to be reviewed) or inform the reason for attendance. Contributions will be presented as posters. Selected outstanding contributions will be presented as talks during the program.

Pre-registration/Abstract Submission Deadline: February 06 2023!

Registration Fee:  800 EUR

Including: all meals and social events (welcome cocktail, lunches, dinners, cheese and wine during poster session, coffee breaks), excursions, shuttle buses and ferry tickets in the transfer to and from La Biodola.

Hotel Accommodation (not included in the registration fee)

The Conference will take place at the five stars Hotel Hermitage located in La Biodola, Isola d’Elba, Italy. Participants will be accommodated either in Hotel Hermitage or in the nearby Hotel Biodola.

Each participant must pay directly the accommodation costs, which are not included in the fee.

Please follow the following links to find key info about the conference:

• Confirmed speakers
• Scientific topics
• Call for Abstracts/Submissions
• Preliminary program
• Pre-Registration
• Hotel Accommodation
• Student Grants
• Conference Chairs, scientific and organizing committee