Target Validation using Genomics and Informatics

In association with EMBL, we are pleased to announce this new conference
on Target Validation using Genomics and Informatics.

In the past few years, exceptional progress has been made in the
application of genetics- and genomics-based technologies in biomedical
research. There are currently thousands of DNA variants that are robustly
associated with clinically relevant human traits. Although these should
provide a rich source of molecular starting points for drug discovery,
and a deeper understanding of their role in human physiology, the
translation of these data from large-scale projects has been slow to
influence the selection and validation of new targets in drug discovery
and development programmes.

This meeting will bring together researchers based in academia and
industry to focus on the opportunities and challenges for genomics in
drug discovery. Epidemiology, molecular biology and computational
approaches will be covered with a focus on contributions these methods
can offer to the development of new therapies to treat patients. The
potential of human cellular assays that can be perturbed genetically (by
RNAi or CRISPR) or chemically will also be emphasised.

This is the first meeting in our EMBL-Wellcome Genome Campus
collaboration; for more information on future meetings in this series,
visit EMBL.

The conference will start at approximately 12.30 on Tuesday, 8 December and close at approximately 16.00 on Thursday, 10 December 2015.

Topics will include:

• Common and rare
  diseases
• Genetic epidemiology
• Phenotypic
  screens
• Functional studies
• Target
  deconvolution
• Cellular cohorts
• Human
  knockouts
• Informatics

Scientific programme committee
Ewan Birney EMBL-EBI, UK
Michael Ferguson University of Dundee, UK
Sally John Biogen, USA
Robert Plenge Merck, USA

Keynote speakers
Sally Davies Department of Health, UK
Mene Pangalos AstraZeneca, UK

Confirmed speakers
Jeff Barrett Centre of Therapeutic Target
Validation, UK
Ewan Birney EMBL-EBI, UK
Tim Behrens Genentech, USA
John Carulli Biogen, USA
John Danesh University of Cambridge, UK
George Davey Smith University of
Bristol, UK
Edith Hessel GlaxoSmithKline, UK
Andrew Hopkins University of Dundee, UK
Daniel MacArthur Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT,
USA
Mark McCarthy University of Oxford, UK
Mads Melbye National Health Surveillance and Research,
Denmark
Nicole Soranzo Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK
Richard Tremath King’s College London, UK

Conference organiser
Lucy Criddle Wellcome Genome Campus, UK

Registration Fees:

The registration fee includes entrance to the lectures and poster
sessions, an abstract book, meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments
during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have
booked accommodation.

Registration deadline: Closed

Accommodation
Accommodation is provided for the nights of 8 and 9 December 2015. Please
note: on site (single) accommodation is now fully booked. The nearest
offsite accommodation is the Holiday Inn, at Whittlesford.

If you wish to book on site accommodation either side of the conference
dates, please contact the Conference Centre directly.

Travel visas
Please contact the conference organiser if you require a letter to
support a travel visa application. Note that letters will be provided to
confirmed registrants.

Non-European Economic Area or Swiss nationals may be required to have a
visa to enter the UK.
Early application is strongly advised, as this process can take 6-8 weeks
or longer.

Please visit the following websites for further information:
UK Border Agency website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/

Information for general visitors and business visitors: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/business/business-activities/

A limited number of registration bursaries are available for PhD students
to attend this conference (up to 50% of the registration fee) from
Wellcome Genome Campus Scientific Conferences.

The following documents will need to be provided:

• Abstract
• CV
• Covering letter
• Letter from supervisor

To apply, please contact the conference organiser.

Bursary deadline: Closed

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the
meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral
presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted.

Please register prior to submitting your abstract. Please note: abstracts
will only be considered from registered delegates.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the
deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been
selected for an oral or poster presentation.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-
portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the
conference programme book and poster boards will be allocated at the
conference.

Abstract deadline: Closed

Abstract guidelines

• Format & Font: Prepare your abstract in Microsoft Word in 11-point Ariel Font.
• Title: The title should be concise and be in bold, sentence case.
• Author names: The presenting author’s name must be the first name to appear on the list of authors. Underline the name of the presenting author. For each author give the forename followed by the surname.
• Affiliations: Please list the authors and affiliations directly under the title, separated by one empty line, and followed on additional lines as necessary. Indicate each author’s affiliation with a superscript numeral following the surname.
• Abstract length: should not exceed one 1.5-spaced page. The total word limit is 400 words (to include title, authors, affiliations and abstract narrative).
• Abstract narrative: must be clear and concise. Clearly describe the problem you are addressing, the results to date and any conclusions you can draw from them, so that your abstract can be evaluated by the programme committee. Avoid saying in effect ‘a solution to XYZ problem will be presented’. Please ensure that your abstract is checked for correctness of spelling and grammar in advance of submission.
• Subheadings: Please avoid the use of subheadings in the abstract narrative.
• References: A separate list of references at the end of the abstract is not necessary.
• File name: should be the same as the surname of the presenting author.
• Download a sample abstract document (Microsoft Word), which can be used for formatting purposes.