Thank you to all who participated in our 6th PhD training course in Oxford

Speaker slides available soon

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Many thanks to Seint and Rao for their invaluable help

Programme

Topics and Speakers to include (subject to change):

SUNDAY June 24th 2012

Introduction – setting the scene 

SUNDAY June 24th 2012

Introduction – setting the scene

13.45     Introduction to the course, programme outline – Miep Helfrich, Aberdeen, UK
14.00     Osteoclasts –  Isabel Orriss, London, UK
14.45     Osteoblasts – Eric Hesse, Hamburg, DE
15.30     Osteocytes – Miep Helfrich, Aberdeen, UK
16.00     Tea/Coffee break
16.30     Bone metabolism and calciotropic hormones – Richard Eastell, Sheffield, UK
17.15     Bone diseases, from the common to the unique- Roger Smith, Oxford, UK

19.00     Dinner

Optional  short walking tour of Oxford

MONDAY June 25th 2012

Session 1 – Techniques
Chair: Isabel Orriss

8.30       Using systems biology to understand regulation of bone mass – Vijay Yadav, Cambridge, UK
9.15       Methods for study of protein structure – Jim Dunford, Oxford, UK

10.00     Coffee break

Session 2  – Cartilage
Chair: Eric Hesse

10.45     Cartilage cells and matrix, issues around cartilage repair – Ernst Hunziker, Bern, CH
11.30     Osteoarthritis, a disease of cartilage? – Richard Aspden, Aberdeen, UK
12.15   Student presentations
2 parallel sessions 20 students per room
Students early in their PhD: 5 minutes + 3 minutes discussion

Room 1 basic studies including in bone regeneration, stem cells, and cancer
Chair: Ernst Hunziker / Eric Hesse

1. Johanna Bolander, Leuven, Belgium, BMP-Technology and Cell Based Implants: A Dream Team for Bone Regeneration?
2. Wai Long Tam, Leuven, Belgium, Derivation of mesenchymal stem cells through culture and genetic modification.
3. Linda Harkness, Odense, Denmark, Studies on Derivation, Characterisation and Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells to the Osteogenic Lineages.

Room 2 Clinical studies, including in arthritis, osteoporosis and inflammation
Chair: Richard Aspden

1. Diana Fernandes, Lisbon, Portugal, Coupling of atherosclerosis progression and bone disturbances in rheumatoid arthriti.s
2. Marie Juul Ornstrup, Aarhus, Denmark, Investigations of the effects of resveratrol on human bone.
3. Ana Maria Rodrigues, Lisbon, Portugal, Linking Wnt pathway with bone mineralization, mechanical properties and fracture risk in osteoporosis.

12.45        Lunch

13.30   Continued student presentations

Room 1 basic studies including in bone regeneration, stem cells, and cancer
4. Karla Oldknow, Edinburgh, UK, Possible roles of PHOSPHO1 in energy metabolism.
5. Stefanie Thiele, Dresden, Germany, Interactions of the WNT and RANKL/OPG pathways in osteomimicry of prostate cancer.
6. Pushpabhani Prabha, Edinburgh, UK, Role of TRAF6 in breast cancer-induced osteoclastic bone resorption: mechanisms of action and implications for the treatment of osteolytic bone disease.
7. Vagelis Rinotas, Vari, Greece, Study of RANKL-mediated pathogenic mechanisms in mouse models and development of new therapeutic approaches.

Room 2 Clinical studies, including in arthritis, osteoporosis and inflammation
4. Julian Waung, London, UK, Role of thyroid hormone receptor alpha in osteoarthritis susceptibility and prevention.
5. Michael Laurent, Leuven, Belgium, Pathophysiology of osteoporosis in older men: role of androgens and disuse.
6. Sarah Hardcastle, Bristol, UK, Characterisation of osteoarthritis phenotype in a unique multi-centre cohort of individuals with extremely high bone mass.
7. Tobias Thiele, Berlin, Germany, Investigation of the influence of age to adaptive response of bone mice tibiae to in vivo mechanical loading.
8. Veselin Boyadzhiev, Varna, Bulgaria, Bone Density DXA Measurements and Their Relationship to Metabolic and Bone Markers Among Obese, Overweight a

14.15     General poster viewing

15.15     Coffee/Tea break

Session 3 – Techniques
Chair: Vijay Yadav

15.45     Histomorphometry – Reinholt Erben, Vienna, AU
16.30     Analysis of bone phenotypes in transgenic mice, update on generation of models and their initial analysis –Duncan Bassett, London, UK
TUESDAY June 26th 2012

Session 4 – Bone repair
Chair: Duncan Bassett

8.30        Mechanisms of fracture healing –    James Edwards, Oxford, UK
9.15        Stem cells and bone repair – Richard Oreffo, Southampton, UK
10.00     Coffee break

Session 5  – Genetic bone diseases
Chair: Miep Helfrich

10.30     Paget’s disease of bone –  David Roodman, Indianapolis, USA
11.15     FOP – Jim Triffitt, Oxford, UK
12.00     Student presentations
2 parallel sessions, 20 students per room
Final year students present; 8 minutes + 4 minutes discussion

Room 1 Studies on osteoclasts
Chair: David Roodman

1. Christian Jacome-Galarza, University of Connecticut, USA, Identification, characterization and isolation of a common monocyte progenitor for osteoclasts, macrophages and dendritic cells from murine bone marrow and peripheral tissues.
2. Courtney Long, University of Oklahoma, USA, The role of E protein in osteoclast differentiation and survival.
3. Juliane Salbach, Dresden, Germany, Effect of Glycosaminoglycans on osteoclast differentiation and signaling.

Room 2 Studies in cartilage, osteoblasts and osteocytes
Chair: Richard Oreffo

1. Maria Permuy Mendaoa, Lugo, Spain, Effects of slow action drugs on the cartilage and subchondral bone in a rabbit model of osteoarthritis.
2. Hajar Razi, Berlin, Germany, Age related changes in the mechanical regulation of bone adaptation: uncovering the mechano-regulatory role of the osteocyte.
3. Leila Revollo, University of Washington, St. Louis, USA, N-cadherin Modulation of Bone Anabolic Responses via Wnt and Parathyroid Hormone Signaling.

12.45     Lunch

13.45   Continuation of student presentations

Room 1 Studies on osteoclasts
4. Ditte Marie Horslev Merrild, Vejle, Denmark, Do Osteoblastic Cells Control the Resorptive Behaviour of Osteoclasts?
5. Karmele Valencia, Pamplona. Spain, MicroRNAs in bone metastasis.
6. Silvia Marino, Edinburgh, UK, Role of IKK#61538; in breast and prostate cancer induced osteoclastic and osteoblastic changes.

Room 2 Studies in cartilage, osteoblasts and osteocytes
4. Yueyuan Hu, Cologne, Germany, Differentiation of Osteoblast Precursor Cells under Simulated Space Radiation Conditions.
5. Carole Le Henaff, Reims, France, The CFTR protein : involvement and therapeutic targetin osteoporosis.
14.45     Coffee/Tea break

15.15     Structured poster discussions
4 parallel groups, 10 students per group
3 minutes plus 5 minutes discusssion per poster

Group 1 Cell biology
Discussion leader: Martina Rauner

1. Mark Hajjawi, London, UK, P1 and P2 receptor signalling and the regulation of bone cell function
2. Simona Bolamperti, Milan, Italy, Post receptor interactions between 17 beta-estradiol and Growth Hormone in bone cells
3. Ana López Herradón, Madrid, Spain, Comparison of the osteogenic action of parathyroid hormone-related protein PTHrP 1-36 and PTHrP 107-111 in an IGF1 null mouse model.
4. Seint Lwin, Oxford, UK, The Role of Host-Derived Matrix Metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) in Myeloma Pathogenesis
5. Sarah Amend, Washinton University, St. Louis, USA, Characterizing the role of Thrombospondin-1 signaling through CD47 in healthy and pathologic bone homeostasis
6. Sarah Thysen, Leuven, Belgium, SFRP/WNT signalling in the bone cartilage unit.

Group 2 Clinical studies
Discussion Leader: Jim Triffit

1. Maziar Shabestan, Oslo, Norway, Histological characterization of the bone remodeling compartment and its involvement in bone marrow lesion and skeeltal metastases
2. Ines Perpetuo, Lisbon, Portugal, Differences in osteoclastic activity between rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis
3. Rao Srinivasa, Oxford, UK, Role of miR-203 in skeletal metastasis of prostate cancer cells
4. Jannie Dahl Hald, Aarhus, Denmark, Osteogenesis imperfecta – phenotype, genotype and medical treatment
5. Eman Azzam, Aberdeen, UK, The role of Autophagy in the pathogenesis of Paget’s disease of Bone.

Group 3 Osteocytes and cell-cell communication
Discussion Leader: Miep Helfrich

1. Marta Fernandes Aido, Berlin, Germany, Examining the osteocyte structure during normal tissue growth and after anabolic treatment.
2. Anette Birkhold, Berlin, Germany, Role of osteocyte spatial distribution in age-related mechanoregulation of bone remodeling and callus formation.
3. Jess Moryahim, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Osteoblast-secreted vesicles: a novel mode of intercellular communication.
4. Lee Meakin, Bristol, UK, Is age-related increase in bone’s fragility due to bone cells’ initial reduced sensitivity to mechanical strain or subsequent responses to it?
5. Shane Lloyd, Penn State, USA, The Role of Connexin 43-Mediated Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication in the Skeletal Response to Mechanical Unloading.
6. Marta Maycas, Madrid, Spain, Both VEGF receptor 2 VEGFR2 and the parathyroid hormone type 1 receptor PTH1R mediate the early anti-apoptotic response to mechanical stimulation in osteocytic MLO-Y4 cells.

Group 4 Translational studies
Discussion Leader: Juliet Compston

1. Jennifer Thomson, Manchester, UK, Expression and characterisation of recombinant human TSG-6, a potential therapeutic for bone diseases.
2. Khulood Hussein, Jeddah, Saudi, Vitamin D status in relation to bone mineral density, life-style factors, lower extremity functions and bone turn over markers in Saudi women
3. Amy, Evans, Sheffield, UK, The effects of obesity on bone structure and strength.
4. Emilien Rouy, Boulogne, France, Activity of peptides from milk protein hydrolysates on bone cell physiology.
5. Andrea Brum, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Utilizing human mesenchymal stem cells to discover novel treatments for osteoporosis.
6. Steve Stegen, Leuven, Belgium, PHD oxygen sensors in bone homeostasis and bone tissue engineering.

Session 6 – Workshops, four concurrent sessions pick one of the four on offer, 10 students per group

Data interpretation/statistics for biologists (Adrian Sayers, Bristol, UK)
Image Analysis using Image J (Jenny Gregory, Aberdeen, UK)
Diagnostics in common bone disease (Juliet Compston, Cambridge, UK)
Writing journal articles (Richard Aspden, Aberdeen, UK and Martina Rauner, Dresden, Gemany)

17.30     Selling your science, group discussion, presentations after dinner

18.30     Dinner

20.00     SELLING YOUR SCIENCE PRESENTATIONS, Panel members: to be announced, all students and tutors to vote
WEDNESDAY June 27th 2012

Session 7 – Endocrine and paracrine regulation of bone remodeling
Chair: Miep Helfrich

8.30       Bone remodelling: regulation by osteocytes – Michaela Kneissel, Basel, CH
9.15       Bone remodelling: regulation by cannabinoids – Aymen Idris, Edinburgh, UK
10.30     Coffee break

Session 8 – Diseases that impact on local bone remodelling
Chair: Jim Dunford

11.00     Rheumatoid arthritis: development and clinical use of anti-TNF therapy – Peter Taylor, Oxford, UK
12.15     Metastatic cancer – Claire Edwards, Oxford, UK
13.00     Lunch

14.00     Depart /Start of the Molecular Pharmacology course

PLUS STUDENT PRESENTATIONS