2008 MedILS Summer School on Life in Extreme Conditions
August 3rd – 9th, 2008
Abstract:
The 2008 MedILS Summer School on Life in Extreme Conditions will provide a venue for Master students, doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and senior researchers from various scientific backgrounds to share their knowledge and develop new ideas and research projects in the field. The school will unite scientists from evolutionary and population biology, chemistry, physics, and astrobiology. The main focus of the school is on the evolution and maintenance of life in habitats such as eternal ice, hydrothermal vents, the bottom of the ocean, salt lakes, or other planets. Leading international lecturers will inform the participants about the latest developments and theories in the field. In order to foster interdisciplinary cooperation and stimulate creative ideas, the participants will work in mixed groups. The groups will work together to solve a given “grand challenge” problem. Each workgroup will focus on a certain aspect of the problem, combining researchers from various disciplines. All groups will be tutored and supervised by the lecturers in order to focus on novel ideas in the field, such as: horizontal gene transfer between organisms sharing the same habitat, evolution of robustness of life, or possibilities of finding life on other planets. Every day, all groups will get together and exchange their ideas in order to find new solutions to the proposed problem and eventually formulate new interdisciplinary research projects.
Speakers:
Andrew Pohorille, Biophysics, NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, USA
Miroslav Radman, Medical and Evolutionary Molecular Genetics, Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences, Split, Croatia, and INSERM U571, Paris, France
Eduardo Rocha, Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Université P.M. Curie, Paris VI, France
Ksenija Zahradka, Molecular Biology, Institut Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, Croatia
More information:
http://www.astrobiology.com/extreme.html
http://www.voyagesthroughtime.org/planetary/sample/media/movies/extreme.htm
Detailed workshop schedule to be announced.
Prerequisites:
This summer school is open to PhD and Master students as well as postdoctoral fellows working in the fields of biology, astrobiology, chemistry, or physics (or any discipline combined from or related to these). Candidates with prior experience in the field of life in extreme conditions will be given priority.
Fee:
300 EUR – subsidized fee (applications before June 1st)
500 EUR – full cost fee (for late registration)
The fee includes 6 days of full-board accommodation with 3 meals (+coffee/snacks) per day, as well as all course material and costs for social activities.
Lack of financial support should not prevent from applying! 10 travel stipends (250 EUR each) are available and will be awarded among the participants entering the competition.
Application:
Application documents should include a 1-2 page letter of motivation (highlighting your interest and prior knowledge in the school topic), an up-to-date CV, and 2 letters of recommendation. Please send your application to: extremelife@medils.hr
Among the applicants, 10 MedILS travel stipends of 250 EUR each will be awarded. Please indicate in your application whether you would like to be considered for such a stipend.
Please indicate any special dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, etc.) in your application.
Application deadline:
June 1st, 2008
Organizers:
Dr. Anita Kriško, Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences and INSERM U571
Prof. Dr. Ivo F. Sbalzarini, ETH Zürich and Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences
Sponsors:
NASA Astrobiology Institute