Molecular and Population Biology of Mosquitoes and Other Disease Vectors

This meeting follows the organization of an EMBO Workshop on a similar topic dealing with mosquitoes only, held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in August 2003. The abstracts of that meeting can be viewed by clicking the link provided above. The main theme of the new Workshop will be expanded to encompass not only mosquitoes but other arthropod disease vectors as well.

The workshop's objective remains the same, i.e. to bring together an international group of scientists to present their findings on genome organisation and expression, population structure and gene flow of arthropod disease vectors. The development of new tools and strategies (e.g. transgenesis, release of GM arthropods) for the control of disease through the control of the vectors and their impact on society will be one of the main issues to be discussed.

The workshop will cover a broad area of topics while maintaining a small size in order to foster close interactions between the participants. The meeting will last one week with morning (9:00-1:00 pm) and evening sessions (5:00--9:00 pm). The dates indicated reflect the arrival/departure days, while the sessions will last from Monday morning till Saturday evening.

The additional day, compared to 2003, will allow us to expand discussions, this time accepting a total of about 120 participants; as a rule, only one participant will be accepted from any single lab. All participants will be required to present a fifteen minute talk on their work, while some exceptions may be made for younger colleagues.

The Organising Committee, by vote, will determine who will be accepted to the workshop since it is probable that applicant numbers will exceed the available number of slots. Every attempt will be made to make sure that the attendance is representative of the research community worldwide. The entire application process will be done electronically.

The deadline for receipt of applications is February 25, 2005. For logistical purposes the Organising Committee will adhere strictly to the deadline. Please note that acceptance to the meeting is limited to the individual accepted.

A registration fee of 680.00 Euro must be remitted upon acceptance. Local expenses in Crete will be covered from that fee (full board, double room occupancy). Participants are expected to finance their travel to Crete. However, a small number of grants-in-aid for partial travel support may become available, especially for participants from disease-endemic countries. Preference will be given to junior investigators.