Announcement: Mathematical and Statistical Tools for the Study

[Marcel Turcotte]

                                                          Announcement
                                                   Critical Reviews of
                                        Optical Science and Technology

		Mathematical and Statistical Tools for
		   the Study of Complex Phenotypes

Part of SPIE's International Symposium on EBiOS 2000
Program on: Multimodal Biomolecular Diagnostics & Engineering
4 to 8 July 2000 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Chair: Marcel Turcotte, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London

Understanding fundamental  biological processes at a  higher levels of
complexity will be the focus  of biomedical research over the next few
years.   Tremendous technological  advances in  genomic  sciences have
increased the  production of  high-quality data.  The  availability of
complete  DNA  se- quence  for  model  organisms  creates a  shift  in
approaches  to  understand  complex biological  systems.   Traditional
studies  have proceeded  from  the ground  up, identifying  individual
components,  working out  possible interactions  and, by  an iterative
process, understanding of complex biological systems has emerged.  The
new  paradigm favours  a  top-down approach,  treating the  biological
problem  as system of  interacting components.   DNA chips  and single
nucleotide  polymorphism   (SNP)  are  prime   examples  new  emerging
technologies.  Our  current capacity to  interpret the data  is inade-
quate, the challenge  is to devise conceptual tools  to understand the
variations  in genomic  sequences  and environment  as  well as  their
interactions.   Contributions have to  be made  at several  levels, we
need   mathematical   and  statistical   models   that  identify   the
contributing  factors, to  represent  the system  dynamics and  deduce
global rules causing complex phenotypes.  There are also challenges in
representing and stocking the data,  as well as creating standards and
making the information as widely available as possible.  This critical
review aims  at providing  scientists studying complex  phenotypes the
mathematical,  statistical  and  computational  tools  needed  and  to
provide a common language.  Examples of relevant research include:

     o  analysis of patterns of gene expression
     o  cell signalling systems
     o  modelling the combinatorial control of gene transcription
     o  molecular interactions in complex assemblies
     o  pattern identification in embryogenesis
     o  control and flux of metabolites
     o  identification of genes and environment that contribute to
        complex traits 
     o  approaches relating genomic and physiological data
     o  data analysis in single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
     o  the combination of multiple sources of data, physiological,
        anatomical and chemical to study the massively parallel
        structure of the nervous system

URL http://www.spie.org/europto/meetings/ebo00/critrev.html

                           ---------------

THE CRITICAL REVIEW IS PART OF THE PROGRAM ON BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING
Programme Chair: Hans Lehrach, Max Planck Institut fuer Molekulare
Genetik, Berlin, Germany

* Computational and Combinatorial Methods in Biochemistry (ebo16)

  Conference Chair: Marcel Turcotte, Imperial Cancer Research Fund,
London, United
  Kingdom

  Conference Co-Chair: Gerhard Ritter, University of Florida,
Gainesville, USA

* Protein Crystallography (ebo17)

  Conference Chair: Katherine A. Kantardjieff, 
  W.M. Keck Foundation Center for Molecular Structure at California
  State University Fullerton, and Biology and Biotechnology Research
  Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA

* Tools for DNA Diagnostics (ebo18)

  Conference Chair: Hans Lehrach, Max Planck Institut fuer Molekulare
Genetik,
  Berlin, Germany

  Conference Co-Chair: Holger Eickhoff, Max Planck Institut fuer
Molekulare
  Genetik, Berlin, Germany

* Critical Reviews of Technology: Mathematical and Statistical Tools for
  the Study of Complex Phenotypes 

  Marcel Turcotte, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London

                           ---------------

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE SYMPOSIUM:

                              EBiOS 2000
               EOS/SPIE European Biomedical Optics Week
                              EBiOS 2000
                           Sponsored by ELA

          The Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
                            4-8 July 2000

                    http://www.spie.org/info/ebo/

General Chair from Medicine: 

  Tom Boon, University Hospital, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  Katarina Svanberg, Lund, University Hospital, Sweden

Deputy General Chair from Science: 

  Guy Delacretaz, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

Regional Co-Chairs: 

  Patrick Brouwer, Kennemer Gasthuis, Haarlem and Laser Center,
Amsterdam
  Paul Baas, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Hospital, Amsterdam, 
  Hugo van Staveren, Rotterdam
  Christiaan van Swol, University Hospital Utrecht

Co-operating Organisations:

  NMLA - Netherlands Laser Medical Association
  ELA  - European Laser Association
  ESEM - European Society for Engineering and Medicine
  ESLD - European Society for Laser Dermatology

                           ---------------

   SPIE is a non-profit professional society dedicated to advancing
    research, engineering, and applications in optics, photonics,
                      imaging, and electronics

      SPIE -- The International Society for Optical Engineering
                       URL http://www.spie.org/

                           ---------------