Deadline for Lecture Abstracts: 1 March 2012 (expired)

Deadline for Posters: Poster Abstracts are still welcome

The view on the general roles and biological functions of lipids is changing rapidly. Although lipids have long been recognized as building blocks of biological membranes, they are no longer considered static structural components of lipid bilayers but are recognized as important dynamic modulators of the folding, organization, structure and function of membrane proteins as well as proteins reversibly interacting with membranes. Recent advances in lipid analysis have revealed an impressive structural complexity among membrane and storage lipids as well as novel metabolites and pathways. This diversity, collectively called the lipidome, may equal or exceed that of the proteome, underlining the importance to investigate cellular processes involved in lipid homeostasis.
 
Microorganisms have been used for a long time as model systems to study biochemical, cell biological and molecular biological processes to define general principles and concepts relevant to pro- and eukaryotic organisms. The advantages of microbial systems are obvious: microorganisms are, in general, easy to handle and can be used from small scale to industrial level. In addition, the genomes of many microorganisms have been sequenced, allowing the use of modern functional genomics. Furthermore, for many microorganisms, mutant cells lacking certain genes, or pathways, involved in lipid metabolism are often available, making theses systems ideal to study lipid biosynthesis, turnover, and degradation.
 
The points illustrated above demonstrate the importance of lipid research to understand biological processes and point out advantages of using microorganism for such studies. However, although the area of lipid research has recently gained access to many research conferences focusing on selected organisms, or processes, conferences specifically addressing lipid research of microorganisms have rarely been organized in the past. The workshop "Microbial Lipids: Diversity in Structure and Function" will focus on bacterial lipids, lipid topology, membrane trafficking, mitochondrial lipids, lipid-mediated signaling and analytical techniques. The meeting will be organized to provide optimal interactions between leading scientists from different fields and participants, in particular young scientists.
 
This conference represents the second event of a (hopefully) continuing series focusing on central aspects of lipids in cell biology. The first workshop entitled "Microbial Lipids: From Genomics to Lipidomics" was organized by Prof. Günther Daum (University of Graz, Austria) and took place in May 2010 in Vienna.
 
On behalf of the organizing committee, I'd like to kindly invite you to support this initiative by attending the conference and presenting your latest results in Bern.


Peter Bütikofer

Sponsorships/ Donations

The organisers offer three different packages to make your company visible in the framework of the congress.
For other requirements please contact amoneit@eurofedlipid.org

Benefit	Package 1	Package 2	Package 3
Complimentary congress registrations	Two	One	-
Additional representatives of the sponsor	25% discount for 2 persons	25% discount for 1 person	-
Company logo/link in all publications and on the congress webpage	Yes (cover placement)	Yes	Yes
Leaflet or information brochure in all congress bags. Insert to be produced by the sponsor.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Announcement of the sponsor during the official opening of the conference	Yes	Yes	-
Advertisement during breaks (presentation or video)	Yes	Yes	-
Advertisement banner  (max. 60 x 200 cm) in the conference room or/and in the lobby	Yes	-	-
Opportunity to place a sponsors stand (2 x 1,5m) in the venue	Yes	-	-
Package cost	2500 EUR + VAT	1500 EUR + VAT	500 EUR + VAT

Another option to support the congress is a donation.  Euro Fed Lipid is licensed by German authorities  to issue certificates making the donations  tax deductible (in Germany only).

To confirm your sponsorship/donation please contact the headquarters
Euro Fed Lipid
Varrentrappstr. 40-42
60486 Frankfurt, Germany
Phone: +49 69 7917 345
Fax +49 69 7917 564
amoneit@eurofedlipid.org

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