Riitta
Lahesmaa: Director of theTurku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku
and Åbo Akademi University
Tapio Salakoski: Head of the Department
of Information technology, University of Turku
Stephen Rudd: Head of Bioinformatics Laboratory,
Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University
Annika Brandt: Microarray Team Group-Leader,
DNA Microarray Centre, Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and
Åbo Akademi University
Summary
and objectives:
The purpose for this course is to spread the knowledge and the tehchnology of DNA microarrays within EU. By providing a workshop and a minisymposium we will encourage young researchers interested in DNA microarray techniques, to be introduced to the field and have a possibility to meet selected speakers representing leading authorities in DNA microarray techniques and bioinformatics. An important aim for this course is that the students learn to design their experiments carefully, moreover the students learn to use DNA microarrays for questions that can be answered with the technique. The workshop serves as a platform on which new international collaborations will be established between European countries. The main goal will be to decrease the threshold for using the DNA microarrays, performing the experiments, and doing the subsequent data analysis.
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The course includes a hands-on training on microarray techniques, two days on
basics on microarray techniques and data analysis, and a minisymposium on microarray
related topics. The number of course participants for the workshop is restricted
to 40 persons. Limited number of the participants will have an opportunity to
analyse their own control and sample RNAs. The participation to the minisymposium
is not restricted. The whole workshop and the minisymposium is free of charge
to all participants. Young researchers will also have an opportunity for applying
a scholarship to cover the costs of travel.
Venue:
Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, Tykistokatu 6B, BioCity, FIN-20520 Turku, Finland.
About the venue:
The organization of the facility at the Turku Centre for Biotechnology is based on two parts - the microarray activities led by Prof Riitta Lahesmaa and the bioinformatics effort led by Prof Tapio Salakoski.
The National DNA Microarray Centre is the national core facility for the development of microarray technology and production of microarrays in Finland. The Centre maintains national libraries of 40 000 human and 15 000 mouse expressed sequence tag (EST) clones and processes them to produce diverse types of glass-based DNA microarray slides. Full service to analyse samples by Affymetrix chips as well as by cDNA microarrays is provided. Moreover, the Centre organizes courses and symposia, and provides DNA microarray services from array production to completed projects (http://microarrays.btk.utu.fi).
The course will take the advantage of the in-house spotted array containing either 3000 human or mouse EST sequences in triplicate. Over 100 researches from all five biocenters in Finland have attended the practical courses on cDNA microarrays, in which they have learned to use cDNA microarrays to study their RNA samples.
The Bioinformatics laboratory is a joint laboratory with Turku Centre for Biotechnology, and Turku Centre for Computer Science. The bioinformatics laboratory conducts research in algorithm development, mathematical modeling, data-analysis, software development and database construction. The group has participated in a thorough evaluation of different software systems for handling and analysis of microarray gene expression data. This resulted in the national licensing of two separate software systems for gene expression data analysis. The group arranges courses in microarray gene expression data analysis, and has also contributed to courses arranged by other groups in Finland. The research has been focused on studying microarray data analysis, with emphasis on data processing. Consultation in data analysis issues has been given to over 100 researchers. The laboratory has also been involved in planning of a new training program for the Department of Information Technology at the University of Turku.
May 10 - 15, 2004
>>> May 16 Optional extra...Excursion to the archipelago -sailing -fishing -sauna bathing
Programme:
May 10th (Lecture day)May 11th
Carrying out microarray experiment. Hands on day, making one slide microarray
experiment. Participants can have their own RNA's (control and sample) for the
array or they can obtain it from us. Both human and mice arrays are available.
May 12th - 13th
Data extraction
Scanning of the slides, and transforming the images into numbers. Introduction
to hybridization quality control software.
May 14th
(Lecture day)
Data filtering
Microarray Normalization
Statistics in microarrays
Finding differentially expressed genes
Clustering and classification of genes
May 15th (Minisymposium)
9:00-11:30 Microarray
techniques and applications
11:30-12:00 Lunch
12:00-16:00 Bioinformatics and microarray data analysis
16:00 Closing remarks
Registration: