2 dates for your diary:

30th June 2009
Frozen Cells and Automated Cell Culture
Hinxton Hall, Cambridge

7th / 8th September 2009
DRUG DISCOVERY: 2009
BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

ELRIG Meetings are Free to Register and Free to Attend
www.ELRIG.org

Meeting Overview
The automation of cell culture has for a number years been an important part of the growth in the arena of cell based assays. The need to provide more cells in more plates has driven the need to automate the process. This has been done very successfully and we will hear of examples of this. More recently there has been a lot of research carried out to see if the alternative for providing cells for screening fresh from cultivations can be replaced by using frozen cells. This conference will bring together experts from both sides to debate and discuss the progress and issues facing both processes. Also with the explosion in Stem Cell research there is a growing need to automate some of the cell maintenance processes, this is needed to remove variations that can be encountered if this work is carried out manually by different people.

Who Should Attend
This conference will be of interest to scientists from Academia, Research Institutes, Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical companies working in the field of Cell biology.

Program Chairs
Adrian Kinkaid - Lectus Therapeutics
Steve Rees - GlaxoSmithKline
Stephen Hill - Nottingham University

Conference Overview
Going from strength to strength ELRIG (European Laboratory and Robotics Interest Group) are pleased to announce the 3rd Drug Discovery Symposium in collaboration with SBS the (Society of Biomolecular Sciences). Following the great success of the 2008 event, we are pleased to also be joined by BPS (British Pharmacological Society) for the 2009 event.

Our meeting will be held at the BT Convention Centre Liverpool, UK on 7th and 8th September 2009. This event will be the premier event for academic and industrial scientists involved in early-phase drug discovery offering opportunities for communication, networking and education.

The Drug Discovery Symposium will encompass seven scientific sessions and one technical workshop. Scientific sessions will focus on many aspects of early-phase Drug Discovery. Two sessions will focus on novel aspects of Enzyme and G-protein coupled receptor pharmacology and the opportunities these create for the identification of novel drugs. To address the challenges in compound screening, we plan sessions focused on Sample Management, Assay Development and Screening, Automation and Detection Systems, Structural Biology and Rational Drug Design. The meeting will also contain a session on Biopharmaceutical Drug Discovery and a Robotics Workshop.

As with our highly successful meeting in 2008, attendees will hear world class speakers discussing the challenges facing the drug discovery scientist. The scientific sessions will be complemented by plenary keynote presentations, a poster session and a vendor exhibition with over 80 exhibitors. Delegates will be able to register for the event, Free of Charge at www.elrig.org early in the new year.

Scientific Sessions:
1. Drug Discovery for GPCR Targets
2. Structural Biology & Rational Drug Design
3. Assay Development and Screening
4. ELRIG Robotics Workshop
5. Drug Discovery for Enzyme Targets
6. Automation & Detection Systems
7. Sample Management
8. Biopharmaceuticals

Who Should Attend:
Scientists from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and from academia who are interested in hearing top speakers describe the challenges in identifying novel technology and leads through the use of the techniques of automated drug discovery.

Call for Abstracts:
This is a call for Papers for both oral and poster abstracts. Abstracts should be submitted to Adrian.kinkaid@lab-robotics.org OR Jackie.howard@lab-robotics.org
All submissions will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and you will be notified by them directly.

For further information please view our website at http://www.elrig.org, contact Jackie Howard on Jackie.howard@lab-robotics.org, OR call +44 (0) 7879 050 555. We look forward to seeing you in 2009.

For an on behalf of the European LRIG,
Robin Grimwood

L.A.B. - the trade fair and conference for analysis, bio and laboratory equipment in the UK - will be held for the second time from 27-29 October 2009. Held every two years, L.A.B. is the only platform of its kind in the UK for the European laboratory and analysis sector - and will take place in 2009 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.

The L.A.B. exhibition is aimed at manufacturers and users of analysis equipment from industry, R&D and public bodies. Analysis, bioscience and laboratory equipment is used in a wide range of applications, including the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, food and tobacco companies, as well as in medicine and environmental engineering. The exhibition at L.A.B. is accompanied by a conference featuring top-level speakers and presentations on relevant industrial issues.

For more information on L.A.B. 2009, please email info@lab-uk.co.uk , call
+49 341 678 8195 or alternatively please visit www.lab-uk.co.uk.

Waters UK LC/MS Symposium 2009

Date(s): 15 September 2009 - 16 September 2009
Time: Daily
Location: Walton, Warwick
Language: English

Waters are pleased to invite you to the Waters UK LC/MS Symposium 2009. The Symposium will include several presentations from Waters users and you will also hear from Waters Specialists about our new technologies and applications. The aim of this meeting is to discover the recent advances in Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry, as well as encouraging discussion and collaboration between scientists from around the UK.

Discussion Forums:

Choose from seven discussion forums to tailor a program that best suits your needs and makes the most of your time at the meeting.

Who should attend:

This meeting is designed for experienced Waters users, customers new to our products and also for those non Waters users who are interested in understanding how Waters technologies are being successfully used today across a range of scientific applications.

Cost:

The fee for the meeting is £165.00 excluding VAT. This fee includes 1 night's hotel accommodation, breakfast and lunches.

A conference dinner will be provided on the night of 15th September with the compliments of Waters.

Special Guest After Dinner Speaker:

Bruce Grobbelaar, former Liverpool FC goalkeeper, who played during their dominant 1980's period.  Bruce has also recently appeared in ITV's "Hells Kitchen".

To find out more and to register visit www.waters.com

JIB 2009 – 54ème édition des Journées Internationales de Biologie
54th International Days of Biology

Dates: 3-6 November 2009
Location: CNIT, Paris La Défense, France
Contact: jib@reedexpo.fr          
Website: www.jib-sdbio.fr

Combining a growing trade fair and a top level scientific congress, the International Biology Days welcome each year in the same place a growing number of liberal and hospital biologists, companies, researchers, technicians, intern.

They were about 10,000 to meet at the 2008 edition (with 23% international attendees) to get information, share their experience and discover technical innovations of 178 exhibitors (suppliers of material and reagents for laboratories, computer service providers or associations…).