MaCuMBA Summer School 2015: 'Sampling, Isolation & Cultivation of Marine Microorganisms'
The course will be held from Monday 13 – Friday 24 July 2015. Participants will arrive on Sunday 12 July and depart on the afternoon of Friday 24 July.
Course description
Morning lectures will be given by leading microbiologists who will present their ideas about the design of culture media, single cell isolation techniques, identification, and screening for bioactive compounds and their application by the biotechnology industry.
Demonstrations and hands-on practical work related to these topics will be carried out in the afternoons. In small groups, the participants will discuss and practice different isolation techniques for microbes including open seawater, marine sediments and substrates (e.g. seaweeds). A matrix of different marine systems, isolation techniques and culturing methods will be offered to the participants. Participants will design appropriate cultivation media and growth circumstances for photoautotrophic and chemoauto- and heterotrophic microorganisms. Enrichment cultures, dilution to extinction, batch and continuous cultivation, plate and cellto-cell communication will be part of the training. Aerobic and anaerobic cultivation will be possible under different environmental conditions. State-of-the-art identification techniques will be available for processing the samples.
Target audience
Technicians, PhD students and Postdoctoral scientists with background knowledge in microbiology (required) are invited to apply. The course is open to both MaCuMBA project partners and external applicants.
Location & Accommodation
The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ, www.nioz.nl) will host the MaCuMBA summer school at its site in Texel, an island in the north of the Netherlands.
The participants will be accommodated in Hotel de Pelikaan: www.depelikaan.nl The participants will be accommodated in Hotel de Pelikaan (www.depelikaan.nl).
Registration & fee
Please email Mrs. Frida Kraanen (Frida.kraanen@nioz.nl) to apply. Applications should include: your name, address, institute affiliation, e-mail address, phone number, short CV and a short description of your research interests (max. one page). We ask applicants from outside the MaCuMBA project to include one reference letter.
Registration deadline: 16 March 2015.
The selection committee will notify all successful and non-successful applicants before 20 March 2015.
The registration fee of €975 includes:
• €100 admission fee
• Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and breaks)
• Transportation by bicycles
• Social activities on arrival closing night
• Accommodation in apartments of Hotel de Pelikaan
Course participants are expected to arrange their own travel.
Travel
The island Texel can be easily reached via the town of Den Helder, which is located about 60 km north of Amsterdam. From Schiphol airport, trains run to Den Helder via Amsterdam Sloterdijk (for timetables visit www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home). From Den Helder you take the ferry (bus takes you from railway station to ferry port) across the ‘Marsdiep’ tidal inlet to the island of Texel (departure every hour from 6.30AM to 9.30PM). The crossing takes about 20 minutes (more information on www.teso.nl). The venue (NIOZ) can be found directly to the right of the ferry (5 min walk).
Contact
For inquiries and registration: Frida Kraanen (Frida.Kraanen@nioz.nl)