Conferences

Lessons from Cancer for Biology and Genetics

Scientific organisers: Veronica van Heyningen (MRC Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh), Terry Rabbitts (Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine) and Andrew Ward (University of Bath)

The meeting will include the 2010 Mendel Lecture to be delivered by Susan Lindquist, MIT Whitehead Institute.

Genetics has become one of the most widely used tools to study a broad range of biological phenomena. Studies in genetics require the presence of variation to compare and contrast the same system in different states opening the way to deciphering broader biological mechanisms. Cancer studies use the same principle of comparing the functioning of perturbed and "normal" tissues. Over the past three decades since the advent of molecular biology, we have learnt a great deal about developmental control and the functioning of normal cells from the study of aberrant cancers.

Our hopes for better cancer treatments are also based on our improved understanding of how malignant transformation and progression might be reverted to normal control.

The confirmed speakers are:

• Dr Terry Rabbits, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, UK
• Prof Ken Kinzler, JHMI, Baltimore, USA
• Prof Ashok Venkitaraman, Cambridge Cancer Centre, UK
• Sir David Lane, A*STAR, Singapore
• Dr Andrew Feinberg, JHMI, Baltimore, USA
• Prof Anne Ridley, King\'s College London, UK
• Prof Peter Ratcliffe, Oxford, UK
• Dr Stuart Orkin, Harvard, USA
• Prof Hans Clevers, Hubrecht Laboratory, Utrecht, The Netherlands

http://www.genetics.org.uk/page/2750/2010-Autumn-Meeting-.html