NEWS FROM THE EMBO COMMUNITY Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences The Frankfurt Institute for Molecular Life Sciences is now the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences. The change in name coincides with a significant donation from Frankfurt businessman JOSEF BUCHMANN to the activities of Goethe University. The institute was founded in 2009 as a multidisciplinary center of excellence for the study of biological macromolecules. Further information on the activities of the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences are available in the winter 2011/2012 issue of EMBOencounters (page 13). Joining forces for better vaccines Immunization is one of the most important health advances in history. It is a proven tool for controlling and even eliminating infectious diseases like measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and many others. Despite the huge progress, new immunization technologies are needed that can lead to the development of safe and more effective vaccines. Anew high-impact project called ADITEC (Advanced Immunization Technologies) has been founded to accelerate the devel- opment of immunization technologies for human vaccines. ADITEC is a 30 million Euro, five-year project funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework (FP7) Programme. It brings together some of the most competitive European research groups from public institutions and biotechnology companies and top US groups working on systems biology and adjuvants. EMBO Member Rino Rappuoli from Novartis Vaccines for Global Health and Sclavo Vaccines Association is the project coordinator. Studies will investigate the effect of adjuvants, vectors, formulations, delivery devices, routes of immunization, immunization schedules, as well as the impact of host factors such as age, gender, genetics and pathologies. A systems biol- ogy approach will be used to study licensed and experimental vaccines in patient characterization studies and clinical trials. Pre-clinical models will complement human studies to select novel immunization technologies to be advanced to the clinic. More information can be found on www.aditecproject.eu or in the April issue of Science Translational Medicine. Evolution in the time of genomics The EMBO Workshop Evolution in the time of genomics took place in Venice, Italy, in May 2012. The availability of full genome sequences has provided new possibilities for the investigation of evolution. In many cases, bioin- formatics tools can be used to investigate evolu- tionary changes in more detail with even greater precision. The workshop included talks from international scientists interested in using the latest genomics approaches to look at evolution. Topics for discussion ranged from the inheritance of acquired characteristics, mobile elements and genome evolution, and mitochondrial evolution to gene expression and genome variation, as well as approaches for directing evolution. A full meet- ing report by Eugene Koonin will be published in the August issue of EMBO Reports. EMBO Workshop Barcelona Chromatin Club founded Today, Barcelona is considered a desirable address for researchers working on chroma- tin and epigenetics (see also EMBOencounters Summer 2011). The number of Barcelona-based research groups with interests in at least some aspects of chromatin and epigenetics amounts to almost one hundred. So it does not come as a surprise that Spanish life scientists have now founded the Barcelona Chromatin Club (BCC). The club launched its activities by organizing a series of six-monthly symposia, co-sponsored by the Institute for Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC). The kick-off symposium that took place in mid-June discussed DNA methylation in cancer – chal- lenges and opportunities. Topics planned for later sessions include chromatin in pluripoten- cy, epigenetic regulation of tissue development and regeneration, and novel ways to modify the chromatin building block. According to Marcus Buschbeck, EMBO Fellow and BCC coordina- tor, the symposia offer a unique opportunity for local and international groups to discuss a hot topic during a one-day symposium. PhD students and postdoctoral researchers are an important target group: for them, the BCC provides awards for short talks at each of the symposia and also covers the costs of hotel accommodation. To find out more about upcoming BCC events go to www.imppc.org. 16 EMBOencounters | Summer 2012 | communications@embo.org ©2012 EMBO O Practica Course The programme for this event was reviewed and approved by the EMBO Course Committee. EMBO Workshop The programme for this event was reviewed and approved by the EMBO Course Committee. EMB Global Exchange Lecture Series The programme for this event was reviewed and approved by the EMBO Global Exchange Committee. EMBO Global Excha Lecture Cou The programme for th reviewed and app Global Ex EMBO | FEBS Lecture Course he programme for this event viewed and approved by the ourse Committee and the Advanced Courses ommittee. EMBO | EMBL Symposium he programme for this event reviewed and approved by EMBO|EMBL Symposia Committee. EMBO Conference The programme for this event was reviewed and approved by the EMBO Course Committee. © 2011 | Angelina Mitschke