Archived News of 2010
22-October-10
Infrafrontier Funders Meeting, 12.10.2010 - Moving the implementation process forward
Governmental representatives of the Infrafrontier partners states met at the 'Infrafrontier Funders Meeting' in Munich to move the implementation of the Infrafrontier Research Infrastructure to the next level.
Ten European countries and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) were represented.
The main objectives of the meeting were the discussion of the key documents for the implementation of the Infrafrontier Research Infrastructure (Business Plan, Statutes, Memorandum of Understanding), the establishment of an Inter-Ministry Working Group for the implementation process and the formulation of clear timelines for the next steps.
Key results of the meeting:
- The Memorandum of Understanding for setting up the Infrafrontier Research Infrastructure will be signed within the next two months.
- An Inter-Ministry Working Group was established that will take over the finalisation of the implementation documents. The Infrafrontier Project Office will act as secretariat of this working group.
- The next physical meeting of the Inter-Ministry Working Group will take place in the second half of December 2010.
27-September-10
Infrafrontier Funders Meeting, October 12, 2010, Munich International Airport, Germany
The Infrafrontier Funders Meeting will be held at MUNICON Conference Centre, Munich International Airport, on October 12, 2010.
The main purpose of the meeting is to intensify the involvement of the ministry level in order to push forward the implementation of Infrafrontier ERIC.
The implementation documents for Infrafrontier ERIC will be discussed.
Major outcomes of this meeting should be clear timelines for the implementation of the pan-European Infrafrontier Research Infrastructure and the establishment of an Inter-Ministry Working Group that guides the implementation process.
03-August-10
Infrafrontier Archiving training course, December 2010
In the framework of the European project Infrafrontier, you are cordially invited to participate in the second session of archiving training course, which will be held in Paris, at the Marriott Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport Hotel. The meeting will begin on Monday, December 13, and will be concluded with lunch on Tuesday, December 14, 2010.
The specific goals of the meeting will be on one hand to receive the feedback of the trainees who attended the first session (results, organization of the archiving activity in their facilities), and on the other hand, to get a theoretical review from the leaders in the field, including:
- Susan Marschall - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany
- Vanessa Larigaldie - TAAM Orléans, Italy
- Martin Fray - MRC Harwell, UK
- Marcello Raspa - CNR Monterotondo, Italy
Stéphanie Pothion spothion@cnrs-orleans.fr
28-July-10
Infrafrontier Phenotyping training course
A new training course for standard techniques in mouse phenotyping will be organised by the Institut Clinique de la Souris (ICS) and the German Mouse Clinic (GMC) as part of the Infrafrontier WP6-Training.
Composed by a theoretical and practical part, it will focus on neurology, sensory, imaging and metabolism modules.
The training course is targeted at platform leaders, engineers and specialised technicians. It will take place in Strasbourg and in Munich in a date to be shortly announced
Further information:
Steve Brooks steve@igbmc.fr
Mohammed Selloum selloum@igbmc.fr
19-May-10
Infrafrontier Annual Meeting, June 10-11 2010 Freising, Germany
The Infrafrontier Annual Meeting 2010 will be held in Freising, Germany, at the Munich Airport Marriott Hotel,on June 10-11.
The major focus of this year's event will be the consultations on the implementation of the Infrafrontier Research Infrastructure and the Infrafrontier ERIC.
Around 80 participants, Infrafrontier members from scientific partners, ministries and research councils as well as special guests are expected to take part in this meeting.
20-April-10
Infrafrontier in "Projects" magazine
An article featuring Infrafrontier was published in the "Projects" magazine, issue 16, April 2010.
The article entitled "From mice to men" was based on an interview given by the Infrafrontier coordinator, Prof. Hrabé de Angelis.
It gives description of the project, introduces the new Infrafrontier partners and covers the challenges that will be faced by Infrafrontier in a near future.
A copy of the article can be found here.
06-April-10
Financing models for databases and biological resources centres
An article covering the sustainability models of the databases and bio-resources was recently published under the title ‘Financial crisis of databases and biological resources centres: The Downside of the UPSIDE’ (2010) in the Lab Times, Issue 2, pp. 16-20 by K. Gransalke.
The business models of the different databases from EMMA (European Mouse Mutant archive) to TAIR (The Arabidopsis Information Resources) as well as the funding constraints to maintain them were covered.
A copy of the article can be found here.
01-April-10
Infrafrontier new partners: Official press release by Helmholtz Zentrum - München
The Helmholtz Zentrum - München has issued a press release (26.03.2010) on the expansion of the Infrafrontier consortium. The press release, ‘Biomedical Research goes global - EU consortium Infrafrontier has new partners’, highlights the international character of Infrafrontier and the importance of such pan-European research infrastructure.
A copy of the article can be found here.
01-March-10
Benchmarking study on mouse phenotyping facilities now available.
We are pleased to inform that the benchmarking study on mouse phenotyping facilities, conducted by Infrafrontier, is now concluded. Due to the increasing interest showed on the data therein and positive feedback received, the report is now available for a broader audience
(a copy can be found here).
The study was conducted between November 2009 and January 2010 and aimed at collect technical, administrative and management information of each mouse phenotyping facility. The report consists of a compilation of results from the administrative / management survey, the technical data regarding screen areas and a comprehensive list of tests performed in each screen area.
We would like to thank once more to the participants for their valuable cooperation and interesting discussions.
02-February-10
Survey on animal husbandry management systems and laboratory information management systems (LIMS): Opportunity to participate!
A survey on animal husbandry management systems and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) has been initiated in December 2009 by Infrafrontier.
The aim of this survey is to assess both husbandry and phenotyping aspects as well as the (bio-) informatics that supports it. With this questionnaire we want to get an overview on how the animal facilities manage data generated in their facility, especially animal husbandry data and mouse phenotyping results, and which approaches they use for this purpose.
The answers of a previously conducted survey on cryo sample repository management systems (June 2009) showed that in some cases, the questionnaire triggered a process of reconsidering the current strategy of data management; which was beneficial for the participants as well. Additionally, we would like to kindly ask the Infrafrontier partners to take the opportunity to participate in this survey. Even if your facility does not possess a central data management system, but instead you rely on Excel files or lab journals, you are contributing to our effort with a valuable and important result!
The survey is split into two independent parts:
1) a questionnaire on animal husbandry management systems:
2) a questionnaire on LIMS used for storing and analysing mouse phenotyping results:
Infrafrontier will collate a report based on the results of both questionnaires, which will also contain an analysis of best designs and recommendations for software management systems. In this report or in any publication possibly originating thereof we will not include any identifying data. The report will be made available to the entire mouse functional genetics community.
Thank you for your participation!
