SEB@SALZBURG - The Society for Experimental Biology

The hills are alive 

with the sound of 

music Science! 

October 2011 

SEB@SALZBURG

Index 

SEB Bulletin October 2011 

The SEB Bulletin is published biannually - March (hard copy and online) 

and October (online) by the Society for Experimental Biology and is 

distributed to all SEB members. 

Content ..............................Page 

Editorial .............................. 3 

News & Views 

President’s letter ..................... 4 

Membership news .................... 5 

CBE Award for SEB member ............. 6 

Careers information & advice ............ 6 

Plant Transport Group Meeting report ...... 7 

Science communication meeting report ..... 8 

SEB Education Symposium .............. 9 

Woodstock 2012 ..................... 10 

Voice of Young Science Workshop ......... 11 

SEB@SALZBURG 2012 ................... 12,13,14,15 

Exocytosis Meeting report ................. 16, 17 

University Talks Fund. .................... 

17 

Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles report . . 18 

Life Science Careers Conference ............. 19 

SEB@GLASGOW 2011 Reportage ........... 20,21,22,23,24,25, 

.................................. 26,27,28,29,30,31, 

.................................. 32,33,34,35,36,37 

MEETINGS DIARY ....................... 38,39 

Travel awards and reports ................. 40,41,42,43,44,45, 

.................................. 46,47,48,49 

Science communication workshop ........... 50 

Society For Experimental Biology Bulletin October 2011 2 

Want to see more news? 

Go to www.sebiology.org 

Our website is regularly updated 

Editor: Sarah Blackford 

For all editorial/advertising enquiries: 

Contact Education & Public Affairs Office 

(see address below) 

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Deadline for copy: 

September 2011: 31st July 2011 

March 2012: 10th January 2012 

SEB Executive Officers: 

SEB Main Office 

Charles Darwin House 

12 Roger Street 

London, WC1N 2JU 

Telephone +44 (0)207 685 2600 

Fax + 44 (0)207 685 2601 

admin@sebiology.org 

Chief Executive Officer 

Paul Hutchinson ( p.hutchinson@sebiology.org) 

Conference and Communications Manager 

Talja Dempster ( t.dempster@sebiology.org) 

Membership Manager 

Sabina Baba ( s.baba@sebiology.org) 

Administrative Officer 

Colette Connolly ( admin@sebiology.org) 

Education & Public Affairs Office 

Bailrigg House, Lancaster University 

Lancaster LA1 4YQ 

Tel: +44 (0)1524 594850 

Fax: +44 (0)1524 594696 

Head of Education & Public Affairs 

Sarah Blackford ( s.blackford@lancaster.ac.uk) 

SEB Honorary Officers: 

President 

Keith Lindsey ( keith.lindsey@durham.ac.uk) 

President Elect 

Tony Farrell ( farrellt@interchange.ubc.ca) 

Treasurer 

Martin Watson ( martin.watson@durham.ac.uk) 

Publications Officer 

Mike Burrell ( m.burrell@sheffield.ac.uk) 

Plant Section Chair 

Christine Raines ( rainc@essex.ac.uk) 

Cell Section Chair 

Patrick Hussey ( p.j.hussey@durham.ac.uk) 

Animal Section Chair 

Craig Franklin ( c.franklin@uq.edu.au) 

Education & Public Affairs Section Chair 

Jeremy Pritchard ( j.pritchard@bham.ac.uk) 

SEB Journal Editors: 

Journal of Experimental Botany 

Jerry Roberts ( j.exp.bot@lancaster.ac.uk) 

The Plant Journal 

Christoph Benning ( benning@msu.edu) 

Plant Biotechnology Journal 

Keith Edwards ( k.j.edwards@bristol.ac.uk) 

The Society for Experimental Biology 

is a registered charity No. 273795 

www.sebiology.org

In this issue... 

Come gather 'round people 

Wherever you roam 

And admit that the waters 

Around you have grown 

And accept it that soon 

You'll be drenched to the bone 

If your time to you 

Is worth savin' 

Then you better start swimmin' 

Or you'll sink like a stone 

For the times they are a-changin'. 

It has been known for the SEB Education & Public Affairs 

Section to organise its committee meeting around Bob Dylan 

so that committee members could take in a concert 

afterwards when he was touring the UK. Nowadays we are 

more likely to organise our schedule around the other SEB 

Section committee meetings so that we can coordinate our 

activities more closely. The times have been 'a-changing' for 

science quite radically in recent years as we face 

unprecedented global challenges and look to technology 

and interdisciplinary cooperation to address issues. As Keith 

Lindsey, our new president, states in his letter ( page 4), 

scientists are coming under increasing pressure to 

demonstrate their science to the wider public, to develop 

alliances with others at the national and international level 

and across disciplines, all within a climate of decreased 

funding. SEB is well placed to offer support in this respect, 

both geographically: sharing a building with at least four 

other biological learned societies, as well scientifically: 

being a broad and interdisciplinary organisation. 

Take a look at our programme of meetings and events 

coming up in 2012: Our Main Meeting in Salzburg ( page 12) 

features at least ten plant and ten animal sessions ( pages 14 

&15) 

and will be kicked off with a new initiative 'Science 

with Impact' ( page 13) 

which will consist of talks from five 

of our most well known and eminent SEB members. The 

event will be open to all our delegates arriving early for the 

main conference and we will open our doors to the public 

so that they can hear about the latest bioscience 

developments in the areas of plant and animal science. We 

will follow this with a networking soiree and it is hoped that 

this format will continue for future SEB Meetings and be 

well-attended by our delegates. This year saw SEB organise 

and support some key scientific meetings including the SEB 

Cell Symposium on Exocytosis ( pages 16 & 17); 

Plant 

Transport Group Meeting ( page 7), 

6th International Meeting 

on the Environmental Effects of Nanotechnology ( page 18), 

Stress Responses meeting jointly organised with the 

Biochemical Society and British Ecological Society and the 

SEB Animal Symposium on Intraspecific Variation in Aquatic 

Animals). Next year we already have meetings lined up 

covering all our specialist plant, animal and education areas: 

a tribute to Chris Woods ( Woodstock 2012, page 10), 

our 

second education symposium meeting – “Researchers, 

Return to index page 

Come writers and critics 

Who prophesize with your pen 

And keep your eyes wide 

The chance won't come again 

And don't speak too soon 

For the wheel's still in spin 

And there's no tellin' who 

That it's namin' 

For the loser now 

Will be later to win 

For the times they are a-changin'. 

Bob Dylan 

teachers, learners – we're all in this together” ( page 9) 

and the 

first meeting of the UK Plant Federation which will take place 

in Norwich in April 2012. 

In terms of supporting our early-career and postgraduate 

members and others in the bioscience community, SEB offers 

some great benefits including travel grants (see pages 40 – 49 

for some very interesting sojourns). In terms of communicating 

science to the wider public and schools, SEB began a new 

science communication training workshop in 2011, with 30 

participants spending the day at the Glasgow Science Centre 

learning how to improve their techniques and to refine their 

own resources ( page 36). 

We will run this event again in June 

2012 in cooperation with the Biochemical Society and British 

Ecological Society, this time at Charles Darwin House in 

London ( page 50). 

Our career development support is ongoing 

with regular workshops delivered to postgraduates and 

postdoctoral researchers as well as providing careers 

resources and advice on a one-to-one basis. With pressures 

increasing on early-career scientists it is crucial that they 

develop strategies to ensure they keep their skills and 

expertise relevant and up to date. In addition to assisting our 

membership we also joined forces with six other learned 

societies this year to produce the first careers booklet 

specifically aimed at bioscience undergraduate students to 

assist them in their career choices, show them the range of 

bioscience careers on offer and how to make applications and 

write an effective CV ( page 6). 

We hope this will help 

university careers advisers and bioscience tutors to provide 

their students with this specialist advice. 

Finally, we have some great photos from the SEB Main 

Meeting held in Glasgow this year ( pages 20 & 21) 

and, in 

particular, you can see the winners of our awards and medals 

2011. The comprehensive reports ( pages 22 & 37) 

from all of 

our organisers will remind you of the high quality research 

being done by our members and associates and so we hope 

you join us again next year for Salzburg. 

See pages 14 & 15 for a full list of sessions. 

And just in case anyone is interested in seeing Bob Dylan in 

the meantime, his tour dates for the remainder of 2011 can be 

located here: http://concertful.com/concert/bob-dylan/ 

Sarah Blackford 

Editor 

www.sebiology.org 3 

Society For Experimental Biology Bulletin October 2011

From the President's Desk 

President's letter 

This summer I took over from Pat Heslop-Harrison as the 

President of the Society. I'll start by expressing my sincere 

thanks to Pat for all the work he has put in to move things 

forward in the SEB over the last four years - two years as 

President, and two before that as Vice President. He has 

overseen some major changes to the Society during that 

period, including the move to Charles Darwin House in 

Central London, and the appointment of our new Chief 

Executive, Paul Hutchinson. I would also like to welcome our 

new Vice-President, Prof. Tony Farrell of the University of 

British Columbia in Vancouver. His appointment consolidates 

the increasing internationalisation of the Society, which has 

been evident over the past few years by the holding of our 

Annual Main Meeting at overseas venues, and the increase in 

overseas membership. 

So it's a very exciting time to take over the Presidency of the 

SEB. You might ask, what are the plans for the next couple of 

years? We live in quite turbulent and uncertain times as 

scientists. The funding situation for biologists is not exactly 

rosy, whether in the UK or elsewere. This is a reflection of the 

global financial crisis, and increasingly (you might rightly say), 

scientists must demonstrate to the wider public the value of 

their work. In the UK, the pressure to demonstrate socioeconomic 

impact of publicly funded research is at the 

forefront of scientists' minds, as Government and the public 

seek value for money. But it is essential that we also show the 

value of blue-skies research, which quite likely will not have a 

short-term socio-economic impact; but without it, one can be 

pretty sure there will be no paradigm changes in technology. 

There are numerous examples of longer-term success deriving 

from fundamental biological research, evident to members of 

the public, from DNA fingerprinting, to new anticancer 

therapies, to the green revolution, and these need to be 

heralded. The SEB can add value to the debate here, both 

through our own Education and Public Affairs Section, which 

organises a wide range of meetings to promote the public 

understanding of science; but also through collaboration with 

other like-minded organisations. 

The SEB will, over the coming months, strengthen its own 

impact agenda by strategic alliances with the Society of 

Biology (also now accommodated in Charles Darwin House), 

and with the new UK Plant Science Federation. The SoB in 

particular has the potential to lobby at Government level, and 

the SEB can provide a strong voice for non-medical biological 

sciences to support SoB's efforts. Of course, the Biochemical 

Society and the British Ecological Society are also co-located 

in Charles Darwin House, and this really helps promote 

common interests, without adversely affecting the defining 

features and goals of each Society. It seems obvious that 

fragmentation of the biological community is a recipe for loss 

of influence, and we are seeking to limit that by developing 

these alliances. 

The SEB has as a key strength its funding base, which allows it 

to support a range of meetings, from the relatively large 



Annual Main Meeting (we had over 800 attendees in Glasgow 

this summer), through to smaller symposia and satellite 

meetings. The SEB's Council has agreed to put more funds 

into these meetings, to further support speakers and student 

bursaries; and we are planning new initiatives to assist early 

career scientists. Watch this space for information on these 

new developments. 

This financial aid is possible principally because of the 

success of our journals, which provide very significant levels 

of funding to the Society, which either owns or jointly owns 

them - The Plant Journal, The Journal of Experimental Botany, 

and The Plant Biotechnology Journal. At this point I would 

especially like to thank Jerry Roberts, who is standing down 

after five years as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Experimental 

Botany. He leaves as its Impact Factor is at an all-time high for 

the journal, at 4.82. He is succeeded by Prof. Christine 

Raines, a current member of the journal's Editorial Board and 

Chair of the SEB's Plant Section. I am confident she will 

continue the upward trajectory that the journal has enjoyed 

under Jerry's direction. Our other journals are also very 

successful, with The Plant Biotechnology Journal having an 

Impact Factor of 4.88, and The Plant Journal, 6.96. Impact 

Factor is only one measure of the value of a journal, and these 

particular journals make a major contribution, not just to the 

SEB and its ability to fund meetings and students, but also to 

the culture of the plant science community. The SEB has plans 

to develop a new, whole organism-based conservation 

biology journal, and you will hear more about this in due 

course. 

So I hope that the SEB will continue to play a significant, and 

indeed, increasing role in the biological community, and that 

you will in turn continue to support the Society. After all, it is 

nothing without you. 

Keith Lindsey 

President 

www.sebiology.org

News & Views 

Membership 

News! 

Membership Renewals 

October 1st marks the beginning of the 2011-2012 

membership year and those of you whose membership is up 

for renewal will soon be receiving renewal forms in the post. 

SEB membership will continue to be great value, offering a 

wide range of benefits to support our 

members at every stage in their career. Subsidised registration 

fees to our meetings continues to be our most popular 

membership benefit. This year 796 delegates from across the 

world attended our Annual Main Meeting in Glasgow and 

benefitted from networking and career development events as 

well as a wide range of talks on cutting edge science. Travel 

grants also continue to be very popular with our Student and 

Early Career Scientist members, and in 2010-2011 

membership year we funded 70% of the applications 

received. 

THE SEB COMMUNITY IS 

GROWING! 

Last year we were proud to share our excitement with you that 

with a total of 1650 members SEB membership was at its 

highest in the past 4 years. Well, this year we continued to 

grow and we are happy to let you know that SEB now has 

1765 members all over the world! Thanks to all of you who 

spread the word about our work within the biological 

community, 450 new members joined the SEB in the 2010- 

2011 membership year and we would like to take this 

opportunity to thank you for your support and also to wish our 

new members a warm welcome to the Society! 

We’ve also seen an increase in the number of University 

Contacts and Ambassadors in the past year, with many of our 

members helping us spread the word about the SEB by putting 

up posters that promote SEB Membership and Meetings 

around their Department, and by actively recruiting new 

members. 

To show our appreciation we rewarded our members’ efforts 

with small gifts. Those who recruited at least one member 

during our “February Recruit One Member Month” received a 

delicious box of chocolates. We hope you enjoyed them as 

much as we did (yes, we never miss an opportunity to reward 

ourselves as well with a bit of chocolate)! 

Members who recruited 5 new members this year received an 

SEB coffee mug, and we know that for them their morning 

coffee never tasted better! 


Members who publish papers in journals can now benefit 

from free colour in the Journal of Experimental Botany and 

The Plant Journal, saving up to £100 per figure/ illustration. 

Other membership benefits include Society Awards which 

recognise the work of our young scientist members, funding 

for satellite meetings, reduced subscriptions to journals and 

funding for university talks. So, in order to continue to enjoy 

all the benefits that SEB membership 

offers, please complete and return 

the renewal slip which you will 

receive in the post. You 

can also renew 

your 

membership 

online via the 

SEB Member’s 

Area 

(www.sebiology. 

org) or over the 

phone. For any 

enquiries regarding 

membership please 

contact our 

Membership Manager, 

Sabina: s.baba@sebiology.org. 

And last but not least we would like to congratulate our top 

membership recruiter in the 2010-2011 membership year, 

Henri Fankem (University of Douala, Cameroon) who 

recruited 10 new members and was rewarded with one year 

free membership. 

Henri Fankem 

University Of 

Douala, Cameroon 

If you are interested in helping the Society grow further and 

would like to become a University Contact or an Ambassador 

please contact our Membership Manager, Sabina Baba: 

s.baba@sebiology.org. 



News & Views 

CBE Award 

for SEB 

member 

Professor Bill Davies, 

Director of the Centre for 

Sustainable Agriculture at 

Lancaster University, and 

long-standing member of the 

SEB was included in the 

Queen's birthday honours list on 11th June 2011. 

Recognised as a world leader in his field, and well-known to 

many of our plant science members, Bill has helped develop 

new understanding of how plants react to stress which has now 

been exploited by the agriculture industry. Water-saving 

approaches to irrigation and to the management of crop 

production have resulted in significant saving of irrigation water 

and better crop production in regions of the world which suffer 

water scarcity. This means increased food production and 

Careers information 

and advice @ SEB 

September 2011 saw the launch of 

a new careers publication entitled 

“Next Steps – Options after a 

Bioscience degree” which has 

been written by a consortium of 

seven bioscience learned societies 

including SEB. The 40-page 

publication is aimed at bioscience 

undergraduates and new graduates 

and aims to assist them with their 

http://www.sebiology.org/education/docs/Next_steps_web.pdf 

next career move. It includes 

information on skills, effective job-seeking, postgraduate study 

options, writing a CV, tips on interview techniques and a 

comprehensive list of websites to find out further information. 

We hope that the publication will help bioscience 

undergraduates to feel more confident in making the transition 

from their first degree to the next stage in their career. With 

students likely to be more focussed on finding out about 

employment post-degree in future, this publication is also 

available to academics who may like to keep a copy in their 

office in case of student queries about non-academic career 

options. 

There is still plenty of support at hand for postdoctorals and 

postgraduates through our dedicated resources and 

workshops. SEB has been running careers events for 

bioscientists in the UK, across the rest of Europe in countries 

such as France, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic and 

Austria as well as in the US. We can provide advice on 

writing an academic and non-academic CV targeted at 

working in industry or other professions. In addition, more 

subtle aspects of career planning include one-to-one 



profitability for farmers and better conditions for people living 

in challenging environments which are becoming even more 

unsuited to agriculture as the climate continues to change. 

Bill was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Experimental 

Botany for 12 years between 1995 and 2008 where he saw its 

Impact Factor increase substantially. He has been committed to 

the work of the SEB throughout his career; playing an active 

role on Plant Section and acting as convenor of the 

Environmental Physiology Group. He has organised many 

successful sessions at the Annual Meeting as well as symposia 

and satellite meetings. In 1991, he established the BIOS 

Environmental Plant Biology publication series. With Jerry 

Roberts, Bill also founded the Education & Public Affairs 

Committee in 1999, making the case for the SEB to commit to 

widening its remit to reflect the changing times. Bill continues 

to work to apply science for the benefit of global crop 

production. He is particularly interested in raising the profile of 

plant and crop science with young people currently making 

career choices and with the general public. He is making a 

video highlighting both the importance of novel science for 

agriculture and the successes of British agriculture 

Head of Education & Public Affairs, Sarah Blackford (pictured with Prof Richard 

Napier, former member of EPA Section), recently graduated from Warwick 

University with a master's degree in Careers Education, Information and Guidance 

in Higher Education. 

interviews to determine career options, identifying and 

recognising skills and how to transfer them into new careers, 

and how values and personality can influence career choice. 

Whilst it is true that the majority of postgraduates and earlycareer 

researchers will not realise a full academic career, there 

is a wide range of interesting alternatives to consider. Most 

people who have left academia have discovered that, as 

highly qualified motivated individuals, there are many 

opportunities available to them and they go on to forge 

successful and fulfilling careers. Careers are many and varied: 

scientific researcher in industry, consultancy, patent attorney, 

science communicator, editor, teacher, lecturer, clinical 

careers, policy officer, technical adviser, scientific sales and 

marketing, production scientist, and so on and so on... 

To find out more about how the SEB can help you with your 

career planning or that of your undergraduates, contact Sarah 

Blackford (s.blackford@lancaster.ac.uk). 

www.sebiology.org

News & Views 

Plant Transport in Lancaster 

“The rain it raineth on the just, And also on the unjust fella; 

But chiefly on the just, because The unjust steals the just's 

umbrella.” 

Lord Bowen 

Umbrellas were certainly required on arrival at Lancaster for 

the PTG meeting, organised by Brian Forde, Martin McAinsh 

and Steve Roberts. Luckily, heavy rain wasn't enough to put 

off a group of enthusiastic scientists who spent two days 

discussing all aspects of plant transport, from channel 

identification and kinetics, through transporter biogenesis and 

regulation to long distance transport and the evolution of 

phloem. 

The meeting was structured around three contrasting keynote 

lectures from Dale Sanders, Colin Brownlee and Mike Blatt. 

Dale kicked off the meeting with a thoughtful personal 

overview of research on the vacuolar proton-pumping 

pyrophosphatase, a transporter which has graced many a PTG 

meeting and caused more controversy in its time than David 

Beckham's hair. Each new technological development has 

opened a new chapter in the story of this enigmatic 

membrane protein, making it a good exemplar of the way the 

plant transport discipline has developed in recent years. Colin 

presented a beautiful exposition on the origins of excitability 

in eukaryotes, combining the use of newly-available algal 

genome information with elegant electrophysiology, and Mike 

blew everyone away with his model of guard cell homeostasis 

and stomatal dynamics. For anyone still cynical about the 

feasibility and utility of systems biology, this work is a mustsee. 

The vibrant state of the plant transport field was reflected in 

the high quality of presentations from both home-grown and 

international students and postdocs including (amongst 

others): Imran Khan, Cécile Lefoulon, Farrukh Azeem (INRA- 

SupAgro, Montpellier), Sylvie Dinant (INRA-Versailles), Glen 

Wheeler (MBA Plymouth), Peter Bickerton (Manchester) 

Susanne Wolfenstetter, Dorina Dotzauer (Erlangen), Yi Chen 

(Rothamsted), Wagar Ali (York), Yizhou Wang, Fabian 

Kellermeier (Glasgow) plus the cohort one PTG committee 

member irreverently referred to as “old f*rts”. Animated 

discussions continued as we escaped between talks to the 

covered courtyard of the Lancaster Environment Centre to 


Explosive talk in Bradford 

Liz Rylott, University of York, presented the SEBsponsored 

cafe scientifique at this year’s British Science 

Association Festival of Science in Bradford. Before 

delivering her talk at the Sir Titus Salt pub on the evening 

of Monday 2nd September, Liz was also invited to a press 

conference where she briefed journalists about her work 

using plants as phytoremediators to decontaminate 

explosives such as TNT and RDX from US military training 

grounds. She was subsequently interviewed for Radio 4’s 

Material World by Quentin Cooper (pictured left). 

enjoy delicious food amongst the tropical greenery and 

pretend that it was still summer. 

Thank you to Brian, Martin and Steve for organising a lively 

and enjoyable meeting. And don't let the September weather 

put you off - the sun came out on day two to reveal the fresh 

architecture of the Lancaster campus which proved an 

excellent venue for a meeting. Well worth a visit. 

Freddie Theodoulou, Rothamsted Research 

The meeting was supported by SEB, the Journal of 

Experimental Botany 

and PlantMethods.com. 



News & Views 

On the 25th and 26th May 2011 the annual Science 

Communication Conference, organised by the British Science 

Association (BSA), took place in London. I was lucky to 

receive one of the BSA's bursaries for scientists, which 

enabled me to attend the meeting. After having experienced 

the format of this conference, I have been thinking about the 

differences to scientific conferences - it had never even 

occurred to me that there might be a different way to hold 

sessions than the one I was used to! 

The structure of most life science conferences I have attended 

in the past followed similar principles. Each day was divided 

into several themed sessions. In each, one or two invited 

speakers presented their research, usually for 45 minutes, with 

a few minutes of questions at the end. The remaining session 

time was assigned to speakers chosen from submitted 

abstracts. Each of them had 15-20 minutes to talk about their 

work, again finishing with a few minutes of discussion. 

The advantage of this system is that it allows a large number 

of researchers to present their results. The big disadvantage 

however is that only few people can fully concentrate on such 

a wide variety of presentations for a whole day. Thus “good” 

slots tend to be the early ones because the listeners' minds 

will still be fresh. Speakers who are scheduled before lunch or 

at the end of a long day know that the ability of the audience 

to concentrate will inevitably have reached a low at this point. 

At the Science Communication Conference, the sessions I 

attended were structured differently. They were less dense, 

easier to follow and involved more discussion. A session 

started with one to three speakers who each gave a 10 to 20 

minute presentation, followed by a panel discussion. The 

session chair took questions from the audience, which were 

then answered by one or several speakers and often led to 

discussion between panel members. In one session several 

questions were taken by the chair and repeated to the 

speakers, which allowed them to take notes and prepare their 

answers. With such a format a session is being broken up into 

pure listening and an interactive discussion, and so appears 

less intense than a usual scientific session. 

At scientific conferences the discussion time can vary 

immensely and depends heavily on the speaker and the 

ruthlessness of the session chair. In theory everyone is asked 

to leave a few minutes for questions at the end of their talk. In 

reality, some talks overrun their allocated time slot and thus 

allow only one question or, in the worst case, no discussion at 

all. Complex questions are often postponed into the coffee or 

lunch break because they would take up too much time to 

answer during the session. However, discussions afterwards 

usually only include a few people, whereas a large part of the 

audience might have been interested in it and able to 

contribute ideas or opinions. 

I believe that scientific conferences could benefit from a 

similar format: Instead of lining up a number of speakers, get 

everyone around a table to form a panel of experts. Allocate 


Could we improve discussion at scientific conferences? 


short time slots for speakers to present their findings and 

afterwards provide sufficient time for discussion with 

questions from the audience, either directed to one speaker or 

to the whole panel. 

In my opinion a structured debate between experts about key 

questions in their field could be very interesting and beneficial 

for the whole audience. By allocating a generous time frame 

for it, its importance would be emphasised and it would set 

the tone for an atmosphere of active exchange rather than 

passive listening. And finally, it would allow the audience to 

relax from the very intense flow of information, give them 

time to process their thoughts and maybe come up with 

questions which they would not have thought of in the narrow 

time frame of a couple of minutes. 

Anne Osterrieder 

Oxford Brookes University (@anneosterrieder) 

www.sebiology.org

CALL FOR PAPERS 

in association with 

EDUCATION 

SYMPOSIUM 2012 

Researchers - Teachers - Learners 

We're all in it together! 

Charles Darwin House, London 

27 - 29 March 2012 

Themes: 

Learning as research 

Peer learning and learning communities 

Innovating Assessment and feedback 

Increasing engagement 

Students as researchers 

Postgraduates who teach 

International education links 

Action research in biological sciences 

We welcome proposals from researchers who teach, teachers who 

research, innovators and newcomers (amongst others). 

For more information about the meeting, registration and how to submit an 

abstract go to: 

www.sebiology.org/meetings/EPASymposium/home.html 

The 

Higher 

Education 

Academy 



www.senseaboutscience.org | +44 (0) 207 490 9590 

STANDING UP FOR SCIENCE 

Media Workshop 

FRIDAY 18 TH NOVEMBER 2011 | AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW 

Are you PASSIONATE about your RESEARCH? 

Do you think it is important for GOOD SCIENCE and 

EVIDENCE to be communicated to a wider audience? 

What can you do to address SCIENTIFIC 

MISCONCEPTIONS and MISINFORMATION? 

This full day event is FREE and open to early career researchers in all sciences, engineering and medicine (PhD 

students, post‐docs or equivalent in first job) 

Science in the media: What happens when research announcements go wrong; statistics are manipulated; risk factors 

are distorted; or discussions become polarised? 

Speakers to be confirmed (previous speakers have included Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive of the Royal 

Meteorological Society and Professor Sergio Della Sala, Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of 

Edinburgh). 

What journalists are looking for: How do journalists approach stories and balance the need for news and 

entertainment with reporting science? And deal with accusations of polarising debates and misrepresenting facts? 

Speakers to be confirmed (previous speakers have included journalists for BBC Scotland, The Scotsman, The Times and 

The Daily Mail). 

Standing up for science; the nuts and bolts: This session offers practical guidance for early career researchers to get 

their voices heard in debates about science; how to respond to bad science when you see it; and top tips for if you 

come face‐to‐face with a journalist! 

Speakers to be confirmed (previous speakers have included University Press and PR officers, representatives of our 

Voice of Young Science network, and Sense About Science staff). 

“An excellent workshop that has made a big difference to the way I view science in the media.” 

“Totally changed my perspective on the media and where scientists fit into new stories.” 

“Good advice. Empowering and engaging. ” 

Applications for the workshop will open in September. As a sponsor, The Society for Experimental Biology will have 

five guaranteed places on the workshop. For more information, contact Rose Wu (rwu@senseaboutscience.org). 

Sense About Science is a small charity that equips people to make sense of science and evidence. 

Follow us on Twitter | @senseaboutsci | @voiceofyoungsci | #VoYSmediaworkshop

SEB Salzburg 2012 


29th June – 2nd July 

The SEB are delighted to announce that the 2012 Annual Main Meeting will 

be taking place in Salzburg, Austria from the 

29th June – 2nd of July 2012. 

The meeting will be open to members and non-members alike and is set to 

attract in excess of 800 delegates from all over the world! With 23 

scientific sessions spanning animal, cell and plant biology and a number of 

educational and career development workshops there promises to be 

something for everyone! 

Networking is a fundamental part of any scientific meeting, and SEB 

Salzburg will be no exception. In addition to the host of scientific sessions 

there will be ample networking opportunities: the ever popular Wine Trail 

and Welcome Evening will kick off the social programme, with events such 

as the Women in Science Dinner, Conference Dinner and End of Meeting 

Social providing further opportunities throughout the meeting. 

The SEB Annual meeting provides the opportunity for young scientists to 

present their research in a supportive environment. In addition, young 

scientists can compete for cash prizes in the Young Scientists Award 

Session and the Irene Manton Poster Prize. Travel grants will be available 

for students and early career scientist members. 

All SEB Members receive a large discount on registration fees, and if you 

have been a member of the Society for 3 or more years, you will be entitled 

to the Loyal Member registration rate, saving you even more! October is 

the start of the new membership 

Salzburg as a destination is a many faceted city full of history, charm and 

culture. There is a lot more to the city that what you may have seen in The 

Sound of Music: the Old Town, 

a wonderful mix of history, architecture 

and culture is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Hohensalzburg fortress 

which looms over the city offers a fun filled day of history, and a tour of 

Mozart's house or the salt mines are just a sample of what awaits in the city 

of Salzburg! 

And, when you've seen and done the 'touristy' things, Salzburg's lesserknown 

corners offer blissful respite. The contemporary contours of the 

Museum der Moderne, high on the cliffs of the Salzach or the chilled bars 

lining the right bank are the perfect place to unwind after a long day of 

science, or indeed exploring (after the conference that is!) Sitting on the 

banks of the fast-flowing Salzach as the sun sinks over the city, you can see 

why Lonely Planet defines Salzburg as “the city that rocks: even without 

Amadeus”. 

We look forward to seeing you there! 


Abstract submission opens: October 2011 

Registration opens: November 2011 

Early registration deadline: May 2012



SCIENCE 

with 

IMPACT 

Arrive early for the SEB Meeting in Salzburg 

to hear about the wider impact of 

animal and plant research 

Confirmed speakers: 

Lynne Sneddon, Hans Pörtner, Rod Wilson 

Steve Long, Anthony Hall 

SALZBURG 

Thursday 28 June 2012 

th



Scientific Sessions 

Generating New Biological insight from 

Complex Data: Methodology, Data 

Gathering , Inference, Modelling, Validation, 

Integration and Solutions 

Dates: 29th & 30th June, 1st & 2nd July 

Organized by: The Cell Committee 

Contact: p.j.hussey@durham.ac.uk 

Molecular Plant Cell Dynamics 

Dates: 1st July (pm only) 

Organized by: Ive De Smet (University of Nottingham) 

Contact: Ive.De_Smet@nottingham.ac.uk 

Confirmed Speakers 

Zhiyong Wang (Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie 

Institution for Science, USA), Jozef Samaj (Palacky University 

Olomouc, Czech Republic), Stephanie Robert (Umea Plant 

Science Centre, Sweden) 

Regulation of Transcription by Metabolism 

Dates: 30th June 

Organized by: Alex Webb (Cambridge University) 

Contact: aarw2@cam.ac.uk 

Quantitative Imaging 

Dates: 2nd July 

Organized by: John Girkin (Durham University) and Paola Borri 

(Cardiff University) 

Contact: j.m.girkin@durham.ac.uk 


Dr Alistair Elfick (University of Edinburgh) 

Endoplasmic reticulum 

Dates: 1st July (am only) 

Organized by: Adam Benham (Durham Univeristy) 

Contact: adam.benham@dur.ac.uk 

New insights into plant nuclear envelope 

proteins and their interactions 


Organized by: David Evans (Oxford Brookes University), Katja 

Graumann (Oxford Brookes University), Iris Meier (The Ohio 

State University), Christophe Tatout (Université Blaise Pascal) 

Contact: deevans@brookes.ac.uk; kgraumann@brookes.ac.uk; 

meier.56@osu.edu; christophe.tatout@univ-bpclermont.fr; 


Professor Iris Meier (Ohio State University), Dr Kentaro 

Tamura (Kyoto University), Professor Moreno Diaz de la Espina 

(Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC)), Professor Hank 

Bass (Florida State University), Professor Eric Richards (Cornell 

University), Dr Sue Armstrong (University of Birmingham) 



Improving photosynthesis 

Dates: 29th & 30th June 

Organized by: Steve Long (University of Illinois)and Richard 

Leegood (University of Sheffield) 

Contact: slong@illinois.edu; r.leegood@sheffield.ac.uk 


John Sheehy (IRRI), Julian Hibberd (Cambridge, UK), Dean 

Price (Canberra, Australia), Lisa Ainsworth (Illinois, USA) 

Chloroplast biogenesis 

Dates: 1st & 2nd July 

Organized by: Enrique Lopez (Royal Holloway, University of 

London) and Paul Jarvis (University of Leicester) 

Contact: E.Lopez@rhul.ac.uk; rpj3@leicester.ac.uk 

Evolution of physiological traits 

Dates: 1st & 2nd July 

Organized by: Colin Osborne (University of Sheffield) 

Contact: c.p.osborne@sheffield.ac.uk 


Bill Martin (Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany), 

David Beerling (University of Sheffield, UK), Lisa Donovan 

(University of Georgia, USA) 

Plant hormone signal transduction and the 

control of agronomic traits 

Dates: 29th June, 30th June (am only) 

Organized by: Claus Schwechheimer (Technische Universität 

München) 

Contact: claus.schwechheimer@wzw.tum.de 


Peter Hedden (Rothamsted Research), Shinjiro Yamaguchi 

(RIKEN, Yokohama), Salomé Prat (CSIC Madrid), Paul 

Nicholson (John Innes Centre), Patrick Achard (IBMP, 

Strasbourg), Mike Holdsworth (University of Nottingham), 

Marcel Quint (IPB, Halle), Luz Irina Calderon-Villalobos (IPB, 

Halle), Lars Ostergaard (John Innes Centre) 

Induced resistance against biotic attack 

Dates: 29th & 30th June 

Organized by: Mike Roberts (Lancaster University), Jurriaan Ton 

(Rothamsted Research) 

Contact: m.r.roberts@lancaster.ac.uk; jurriaan.ton@bbsrc.ac.uk 


Katherine Denby (Warwick University), Corné Pieterse (Utrecht 

University), Sergio Rasmann (Luniversity of Lausanne), Dale 

Walters (Scottish Agricultural College) 

The environmental control of 

development 

Dates: 30th June (pm only) & 1st July 

Organized by: Karen Halliday (University of Edinburgh) or 

Mirriam Giford (Warwick University) 

Contact: M.L.Gifford@warwick.ac.uk; karen.halliday@ed.ac.uk 


Mikhail Semenov (Rothamsted Research),Steve Penfield 

(University of York), Lionel Dupuy (The James Hutton Institute), 

Christian Fleck (University of Freiburg), Ida Ruberti (Istituto 

Biologia e Patologia Molecolari CNR), Paul Devlin (Royal 

Holloway, University of London) 

www.sebiology.org


General Biomechanics 

Dates: 29th & 30th June, 1st July (am only) 

Organized by: Peter Aerts (University Of Antwerp) 

Contact: peter.aerts@ua.ac.be 

Biomechanics of Locomotion in Flocks, 

Schools and Swarms 


Organized by: Eize Stamhuis (University of Groningen) and 

Paolo Domenici (CNR) 

Contact: e.j.stamhuis@rug.nl; paolo.domenici@cnr.it 

Structural 

modulators of muscle contraction 

affecting animal locomotion and 

behaviour 

Dates: 1st July (pm only) 

Organized by: Bertrand Tanner (University of Vermont) and 

Todd Gillis (University of Guelph) 

Contact: btanner@uvm.edu; tgillis@uoguelph.ca 


Robert Josephson (UC Irvine) , Monica Daley (Royal Veterinary 

College), Bill Kier (UNC Chapel Hill) 

Towards a new synthesis of the physiology 

and evolution of diving 

Dates: 1st July & 2nd July (am only) 

Organized by: Michael Berenbrink (Liverpool University) and 

Kevin Campbell (University of Manitoba) 

Contact: Michael.Berenbrink@liverpool.ac.uk; 

campbelk@cc.umanitoba.ca 

Physiology of the multi-functional Gut 


Organized by: Rod Wilson (University of Exeter) 

Contact: R.W.Wilson@exeter.ac.uk 

Ecological aspects of fatty acids 


Organized by: John Speakman (University of Aberdeen) and 

Teresa Valencak (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna) 

Contact: j.speakman@abdn.ac.uk; 

teresa.valencak@vetmeduni.ac.at 

Transepithelial Solute Transport 

Dates: 1st July 

Organized by: Greg Goss (University of Alberta) and Nic Bury 

(King's College London) 

Contact: Greg.goss@ulaberta.ca; nic.bury@kcl.ac.uk 

Confirmed speakers 

Prof Chris Wood (McMaster University, Canada), Prof Steve 

Perry (University of Ottawa, Canada), Prof Martin Grosell 

(University of Miami, USA), Prof Bill Marshall (University of 

Nova Scotia, Canada), Prof Colin Brauner (University of British 

Columbia, Canada) 


General Animal Biology 


Organized by: Jonathan Stecyk (University of Oslo ) and Kath 

Sloman (University of the West of Scotland) 

Contact: j.a.w.stecyk@imbv.uio.no 

A new vision of cerebrospinal fluid in 

development and function of the central 

nervous system 


Organized by: Jaleel Miyan (University Of Manchester), David 

Bueno (Universitat de Barcelona) and Angel Gato (Universidad 

de Valladolid) 

Contact: j.miyan@manchester.ac.uk; dbueno@ub.edu; 

gato@med.uva.es 

Physiology of environmental gradients 

Dates: 1st July 

Organized by: Peter Convey (British Antarctic Survey) and 

Simon Morley (British Antarctic Survey) 

Contact: pcon@bas.ac.uk; smor@bas.ac.uk 


Julian Metcalfe (CEFAS), Steven Chown (Stellenbosh 

University), Diana Wall (Colorado State University), Michael 

Kearney (University of Melbourne) 

Sharon Robinson (University of Wollongong), 

Sensory systems: physiology and behaviour 


Organized by: Peter Hubbard (Universidade do Algarve) and 

Lynne Sneddon (University of Chester) 

Contact: phubbard@ualg.pt; lsneddon@liverpool.ac.uk 


Weiming Li (Michigan State University USA), Maria Luisa 

Vasconcelos (Instituto Gulbenkian da Ciência, Portugal), Katie 

Gilmour (University of Ottawa), Vincent Janik (University of St 

Andrews), Julian Partridge (Bristol University) 

Climate change physiology: environmental 

variations and the responses of free-living 

animals 


Organized by: Peter Frappell (University of Tasmania ) and Pat 

Butler (University of Birmingham) 

Contact: Peter.Frappell@utas.edu.au; p.j.butler@bham.ac.uk 

Linking physiology with behaviour and 

personality 


Organized by: Frank Seebacher (University of Sydney) and 

Lewis Halsey (Roehampton University) 

Contact: frank.seebacher@sydney.edu.au; 

L.Halsey@roehampton.ac.uk 


Professor David Raubenheimer (University of Auckland), Dr 

Vincent Careau (McGill University), Professor Jean Clobert (CNRS 

Moulis, France), Dr Sam Coward (University of Birmingham), Dr 

Michael Scantlebury (Queen's University Belfast) 



Scientific Programme 

SEB cell biology 

symposium on 

“Exocytosis in 

animals, fungi 

and plants” 

Charles 

Darwin House, London 

September 19 – 21, 2011 

The dynamics of cell surfaces in eukaryotic cells involves 

regulated balance between exocytosis and endocytosis 

(membrane recycling), however over the last decade research 

activity in cell biology has been unilaterally focused on the 

endocytosis (partly due to seemingly better experimental 

accessibility of endocytotic process). SEB therefore supported 

the idea of a cell biology symposium on “Exocytosis in 

animals, fungi and plants” to encourage future experimental 

inquiry into this crucial process. The introduction to the 

meeting, provided by Andrew Staehelin (University of 

Colorado, Boulder, USA) from his extraordinary experience of 

half a century of contributions to the advancement of cell 

biology, set the stage for a thorough and critical approach to 

the problems of exocytosis and stressed the necessity to use 

structural approaches – especially electron microscopy 

tomography of high pressure freeze substituted samples. Dirk 

Fasshauer (University of Lausanne, CH) then went on with a 

broad and deep introduction into the process of exocytosis 

with the emphasis on structural and evolutionary aspects of 

SNARE protein function in animal branches of life starting 

from Choanoflagellates. He showed how oversimplified the 

traditional view on the Munc18 family of SNARE regulators 

function was in complex dynamics regulation and that, on the 

unicellular level, the origins of “neuronal” SNAREs are already 

established. 

Jussi Jäntti (University of Helsinki, Finland) presented the 

budding yeast model in very fresh perspective of new spore 

wall formation initiated de novo from spindle pole bodies and 

the central role contributed by Mso1 protein in this process. 

Mary Munson (Umass Medical School, Worcester, USA) went 

on with a budding yeast model and focused on the interplay 

between the exocyst vesicles tethering complex (one of the 

“catcher” complexes), Sec1 and SNARE complex formation. 

Nia Bryant (University of Glasgow) introduced us to recent 

advances in the understanding of insulin regulation of SNARE 

complexes (involving also Munc18 regulator) and showed 

distinct complexes linked to fast and slow recycling pools of 

GLUT4 and the importance of phosphorylationdephosporylation 

in the pathway regulation. Peter A. 

Thomason (Beatson Institute of Cancer Research, UK) sparked 



Andrew Staehelin in the middle of discussion. 

attention by using the Dyctyostelium model to address the 

problem of molecular mechanism behind late exocytotic 

vesicles alkalinization before secretion – he showed how 

WASH complex is involved in V-ATPase retrieval from 

exocytotic vesicles via actin coated vesicles. In his second 

contribution Andrew Staehelin demonstrated the powers of 

EM tomography in tackling difficult questions of GA -TGN 

Nia Bryant on the secrets of insulin in secretion. 

Dirk Fasshauer, exocytosis, SNAREs and an attentive audience. 

www.sebiology.org


regulation stressing especially the central and unexplored role 

the Golgi matrix plays in the Golgi apparatus dynamics. Mark 

Field (University of Cambridge, UK) elaborating at the 

beginning on the exocytotic system of Trypanosomas 

(Excavata) ended with a deep evolutionary insight into the 

secretory system of LECA. Following on, Ian Moore 

(University of Oxford, UK) creatively built on the analysis of 

the Rab family of small GTPases evolution pointing to 

substantial differences in the phylogenesis of Rab subfamilies 

in different eukaryotic phyla and particularly in land plants. 

The plant perspective of SNARE functions presented by Gian- 

Pietro DiSansebastiano (University of Salento, Italy) was no 

less appealing with respect to the animal reports – he put 

forward a very stimulating hypothesis of t-SNARE functional 

"maturation" into inhibitory i-SNARE at the final 

endomembrane destination. 

Patrick Moreau (University of Bordeaux, Segalen, France) 

opened the topic of lipid involvement in exocytosis in plants 

by providing an exhaustive systematic overview of different 

lipid class functions finally concentrating on the sphingolipids 

– later extended by Diana Molino (Institute Jacques Monod, 

France). Nicolas Vitale (CNRS, UPR-3212 INCI, University of 

Strasbourg, France) and Martin Potocky (IEB ASCR, Prague, 

Czech Rep.) provided compelling evidence and new details of 

phosphatidic acid (produced esp. by phosholipase D) 

contributions to the secretory pathway regulation both in 

animals and plants. Neglected yet powerful biophysical 

methods based on the capacitance measurements to study the 

dynamics of exo-/endo-cytosis were presented by Ulrike 

Homann (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany) 

demonstrating high frequency of transient, but to a lesser 

extent, also compound exocytosis in plant cells. Silke 

Robatzek (The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK) reminded 

the audience that endocytosis is as important as exocytosis 

also in the context of plant defence against pathogen attacks. 

Niko Geldner (University of Lausanne, CH) introduced an 

inspiring concept of the internal plant epithelia – endodermis 

and presented new players in slow transition from dynamic 

non-polarized cell into fully differentiated endodermis with 

block in lateral membrane mobility. David Ehrhardt (Stanford 

University, Carnegie, USA) presented astonishing details on 

cellulose synthase complexes delivery to PM and Farhah 

Assaad (Technisches Universität München, Germany) and 

Viktor Zarsky (Charles University and IEB ASCR, Prague, 

Czech Republic) presented new insights into the functions of 

plant tethering complexes (TRAPP and exocyst) – especially in 

different phases of cell division. Synaptotagmins in plant cell 

membranes and especially in relation to stress – an 

unexpected story to the colleagues studying animal 

(neuro)secretion – was in the end presented by Miguel Botella 

(University of Malaga, Spain). Along with stimulating short 

talks and poster presentations participants were busy the 

whole time and discussions continued when Charles Darwin 

House went to sleep in the near by pubs. The idea to bring 

together scientists interested in secretory pathways working on 

different eukaryotic models proved to be very productive. 

Viktor Zarsky 

Charles University and IEB ASCR, 

Prague, Czech Republic 


University Talks Fund 2011 

Would you like to invite a speaker to talk in your 

University/Institute? 

The SEB's Education & Public Affairs Section ‘Speaker 

Fund' is available to all SEB members. We are able to 

fund up to 10 speakers for which you will be able to 

apply for a maximum funding of £100 to cover travel 

or accommodation. To apply please send an email 

detailing the name of the speaker and topic of their 

talk to Sarah Blackford 

(s.blackford@lancaster.ac.uk). 

We can also send you copies of the bulletin and SEB 

leaflets to hand out to the audience if required. 




Nanoparticles at 

the Royal Society 

The 6th International Conference on the Environmental Effects 

of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials was held this year at the 

Royal Society in London on 19th- 21st September 2011. This 

meeting series has grown to be the main event in the nano 

calendar for experimental nano biology, especially on 

environmental aspects with animals and plants. The series has 

been co-hosted and supported by the SEB since the 

nanoscience became a priority topic for the UK research 

councils and internationally has been a “hot topic” since 

2006. 

This year's meeting was a bit of a home coming, and the first 

time since 2006 that the event had returned to the UK. In 

particular, holding the meeting at the Royal Society building 

was very poignant as the Royal Society and the Royal 

Academy of Engineering published a joint report called 

“Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and 

Uncertainties” in 2004, and this influential document really 

kick started biological investigations into new nanomaterials 

in the UK and elsewhere. So London 2011 was very timely to 

assess the progress made over the last five years. The meeting 

was packed to capacity at more than 200 delegates 

specialising in the chemistry, biology, or risk assessment of 

nanomaterials. The chemistry keynotes were given by 

Professor Mike Hochella University, Distinguished Professor at 

the Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech in the USA. 

Mike explained that we are living in a world full of natural 

nano scale materials, and that biology on our planet has 

evolved with this nano geochemistry in mind. 

Members of Steering group and keynote speakers, from left to right: Eva 

Valsami-Jones, Richard Handy, Darren Anderson, Jamie Lead, Mike 

Hochella. 

The ecotoxicology keynote was delivered by Professor Anders 

Baun from DTU Environment in the Technical University of 

Denmark. Anders was looking for the “X-factor” in nano 

biology and went on to explain the problems of defining 

concentration for nanoparticles and how we might measure 

cause and effect. The meeting is also a home for horizon 

scanning and innovation, and Dr Darren Anderson from Vive 

Nano, Toronto, Canada, gave a keynote address on what is 

like to start up a nanotech company, the importance of the 



science, and looked ahead to 

the new second generation 

nanomaterials starting to be 

produced. It was an inspiring 

presentation, and we hope 

that a few young 

entrepreneurs in the audience 

may take that exciting leap of 

moving science from the lab 

into the real world of 

business and commerce. 

“Responsible innovation” is a buzz word that also applies to 

nanotechnology, and the data set on environmental effects has 

grown. We at least understand that many different groups of 

organisms from microbes to man can be affected by 

nanomaterials, but thankfully many of the effects reported so 

far are at levels far above the predicted environmental 

concentrations. There is still much to learn and technical 

barriers to overcome. The meeting made head way on 

technical bottle necks like detection methods for 

nanoparticles in tissues. 

The main lecture theatre, a packed 

audience at the Royal Society. 

Delegates at the Poster session in the 

beautiful Marble Hall. 

The conference has also 

established a tradition of 

offering training in 

nanoscience, and this year 

about 25 PhD students spent 

2 days after the conference at 

Imperial College on our 

training event. It was hands 

on in the lab, and students 

went through the process of 

making a nanoparticle 

dispersion, doing the 

chemical characterisation, and then examining biological 

effects in Daphnia magna (the water flea). The training event 

could not have taken place without the dedicated support of 

several academic staff, and the students had a wonderful 

opportunity to learn from international experts including 

Professors, James Ranville (Department of Chemistry & 

Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines), Antonio Nogueira 

(The University of Aveiro, Portugal), Tamara McNealy 

(Clemson University, USA), Eva Valsami-Jones (Natural 

History Museum), Richard Handy (Plymouth University). We 

hope to run another training event at next year's conference, 

but if you can't wait that long, then sign up for the nano 

winter training school being hosted by Richard Handy at 

Plymouth University 4-6th January 2012. 

Next year the conference will be held in Banff in Canada, 10- 

12th September 2012, hosted by Professor Greg Goss from the 

University of Alberta, see www.oens.ualberta.ca . We look 

forward to seeing you there! 

Richard Handy 

rhandy@plymouth.ac.uk 

Professor Richard Handy is the Director of the Ecotoxicology Research and 

Innovation Centre at the University of Plymouth and chairs the steering group 

for this conference series. 

www.sebiology.org






SEB Glasgow 2011 

Friday, July 1st, 2011. Glasgow weather forecast: sunny and 

mild, light breezes. At 7.15 a.m. eager delegates from all 

over the world are beginning to congregate outside Hall 5 at 

the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, home to the 

SEB's conference team and exhibition for the next four days. 

By 8.30 am, half an hour before the first talks of the 

conference kick off, a steady stream of delegates report to 

the registration desk to collect name badges, conference 

packs and lunch tickets: the exhibition hall is a-buzz with 

conversation. This trend continues throughout the meeting, 

with delegates from 37 countries descending upon Glasgow 

to attend the SEB's 2011 Annual Main Meeting. Over the 4day 

period, 800 delegates and speakers strode the halls of 

the SECC, attending first one and then another of the nine 

parallel sessions that took place each day. 

Inside the lecture theatres, over 360 talks were presented 

during the conference, some by high profile professors and 

researchers, others by students and early career scientists. 

The Plenary Lecturers, Prof. Richard Flavell (Woolhouse) 

and Prof. Jan Traas (Bidder) attracted delegates from across 

the sections, delivering talks which demonstrated not only 

their expertise but also their incredible passion and 

dedication to science. 

Almost as many posters as talks were presented during two 

dedicated poster evenings, again spanning the range of 

scientists present at the conference. A number of poster 

prizes, including the Irene Manton Poster Prize, were 

awarded to deserving (and delighted!) candidates. The 

Young Scientist Award Session showcased the work of 

young Experimental Biologists, whilst the President's 

Medallist talks celebrated the achievements of independent 

researchers and scientists. 

A multitude of networking events, planned and impromptu 

saw connections forged between delegates and speakers, 

students and professors and providers and prospective 

buyers alike. 400 delegates attended the conference dinner 

at the Glasgow Science Centre, supping on Scottish smoked 

salmon, duck and chocolate dessert before rounding off the 

evening with a dance or three. 

The conference rounded off with a traditional Scottish 

Ceilidh at Glasgow's oldest bar, but after 4 days of intense 

science and networking only the hardiest of delegates 

managed more than three Scottish jigs! 

A very special thank you is due to our session organizers, 

whose hard work, knowledge and dedication resulted in a 

diverse and interesting programme, and to our sponsors and 

delegates alike for their continued support – we look 

forward to welcoming you to SEB Salzburg next year! 

Talja Dempster 

Conference and Communications Manager 



Welcome evening 

Wine Trail Winners 

Paul Hutchinson and 

Alison Hill 

Sabina Baba and Joanne 

Gordon 

Bailey Baker 

opened the 

meeting 

during the 

Welcome 

evening. She 

is pictured 

here with her 

husband, SEB 

president, 

Keith 

Lindsey, 

CEO, Paul 

Hutchinson 

and the 

keeper of the 

chain. 

Christopher Clemente 

and Talja Dempster 

www.sebiology.org


Ting Lu and Yarina Sheremet 

pictured with Cell Section chair, 

Patrick Hussey 

YSAS Winners 

Tzu-Yin Liu, Chloe Steels and 

Mieke De Wit pictured with 

Plant Section chair, Christine 

Raines 

President’s medallists 

Craig White (Animal), Keith Lindsey (President), 

Jenny Rohn (Education), Jan Traas (Bidder Lecturer), 

Lisa Ainsworth (Plant) and Veronica Grieneisen (Cell) 


Erika Eliason, Alex Little and 

Wilco Verberk pictured with 

Animal Section chair, Craig 

Franklin 

The Young Scientist Award Session (YSAS) was generously 

sponsored by Qubit Systems this year. Their president and 

CEO, Steve Hunt, announced the winners and presented the 

prizes during the conference dinner. 

Animal Section: 

Winner - Dr. Wilco Verberk (University Of Plymouth) 

Runners Up - Ms. Erika Jennifer Eliason (University of British 

Columbia) and Mr. Alex Little (University of Sydney) 

Plant Section: 

Joint Winners - Ms. Meike de Wit (Utrecht University) and 

Miss Chloe Steels (University of Sheffield) 

Runner up - Dr. Tzu Yin Liu (Academia Sinica) 

Cell Section: 

Winner - Ms. Yarina Sheremet (National Academy of Sciences 

Ukraine) 

Runner up - Mr. Ting Lu (Oxford Brookes University) 

Plenary Lecturers 

Bidder lecturer, Jan Traas, pictured with 

Keith Lindsey 

Woolhouse lecturer, Richard Flavell, pictured with 

Keith Lindsey and SEB Council member, Geraldine 

Schofield 

Posters 

Irene Manton Prize winners (Not pictured): 

Animal Section: Kasper Hansen (Aarhus 

University, Denmark) 

Plant Section: Xiaojia Yin (University of 

Sheffield, UK) 





Scientific Session 

Reports 

‘All is flux, nothing stays 

still' ( Πάντα �� ε κα� ο�δ�ν μένει) 

Recalling the thoughts of Heraclitus of Ephesus (540-480 

BC)1, the organisers set about persuading the SEB that it 

would be timely to run a session at the Glasgow meeting on 

'Pathways and fluxes: analysis of the plant metabolic 

network'. Curiously our modest request elicited an 

enthusiastic response and a firm instruction that we should 

extend the session to two full days. Even better all the targeted 

speakers were equally enthusiastic and we were able to 

assemble a programme that brought together (in some 

instances for the first time) a group of people united in seeking 

to develop a network view of plant metabolism. 

What followed was a wide-ranging exploration of the subject, 

ably led by the four Keynote speakers (Andrew Hanson, Ron 

Milo, John Morgan and Yair Shachar-Hill). Depth was 

provided by an excellent international cast of Invited speakers 

(Stéphanie Arrivault, Igor Libourel, Johann Rohwer, Hans 

Schnyder, Jörg Schwender, Ralf Steuer, Lee Sweetlove, 


Guillaume Tcherkez) and other contributors (Mark Hooks, 

Shyam Masakapalli, Alastair Skeffington and Thomas 

Williams). The talks were loosely grouped into four areas: 

steady-state metabolic flux analysis; analysis of labelling timecourses; 

modelling and bioinformatics of metabolic networks; 

strategies for network design and manipulation. There was a 

notably high incidence of unpublished work in the talks, and 

a nice balance of experimental and computational studies that 

highlighted the impact of these complementary approaches to 

pathway analysis. Inevitably the measurement and prediction 

of metabolic fluxes were recurrent themes, reflecting the 

central importance of flux in the definition of metabolic 

phenotypes that are closely related to biological function; and 

reassuringly no one talked about metabolomics, reflecting the 

limited phenotypic value of metabolite measurements. 

As organizers we were delighted by the quality of the 

presentations and the discussions they engendered. We would 

like to thank everyone who contributed, many of whom will 

be contributing papers on 'Pathways and fluxes: analysis of 

the plant metabolic network' to a Special Issue of the Journal 

of Experimental Botany to be published in 2012. 

1 As quoted in Aristotle's De Caelo (Book 3, part 1.18) 

N.J. Kruger & R.G. Ratcliffe 

University of Oxford 

www.sebiology.org


From the cell to the field – 

What determines plant 

growth? 

The aim of the session on the “Regulation of resource allocation 

and growth” was to bring together researchers addressing the 

question what determines plant growth and yield from different 

angles. The programme included talks ranging from the cellular 

and metabolic processes determining growth over regulation by 

environmental factors to ways of how to improve crop quality 

and yield. A wide range of approaches was presented, not only 

including the use of mutants and transgenics, but also e.g. 

modelling approaches, genetical genomics and meta-analyses. It 

became clear that there are still important fundamental questions 

that can best be addressed using Arabidopsis, but that it is now 

becoming easier to extend research on growth to other species, 

e.g. food crops, trees and ecologically relevant models. 

While directly determined by cell division and cell expansion, 

growth of plants is not only dependent on processes that occur 

at the level of individual cells, but also affected by interaction 

between cells in organs. A model for cell and organ growth was 

presented by Gerrit Beemster, while Andrew Fleming focused on 

the cellular processes that determine leaf shape and structure. 

He showed that alterations in leaf structure have important 

consequences for photosynthesis. 

One of the key questions arising from the session was to what 

extent growth is determined by the availability of photosynthates 

and metabolite signalling. Evidence for a role of metabolic 

signals in regulating growth was presented in several talks. For 

example, David Jackson discussed the role of the trehalose-6phosphate 

phosphatase gene RA3 in controlling maize 

inflorescence development and Henriette Schluepmann 

presented evidence supporting the role of trehalose-6-phosphate 

as a signal for controlling growth in response to carbon 

availability. Evidence for a relationship between carbon 

availability and growth was also presented by Angelika Czedik- 

Eysenberg for maize leaves. Ronan Sulpice developed in more 

detail how the contents of cellular components are related to 

growth, showing that bigger accessions of Arabidopsis contain 

less starch at the end of the day, have lower protein content, but 

allocate more protein into enzymes of primary metabolism. 

Starch metabolism also affects the diel patterns of growth, as 

demonstrated by determining growth patterns in starch mutants 

in Achim Walter's talk. Walter also presented the striking 

difference in the regulation of growth of monocot and dicot 

leaves. Growth of monocot leaves is strongly regulated by 

temperature whereas dicot leaves are regulated by the diel cycle 

and largely unaffected by temperature, the divergence due to the 

different organisation and placement of growth zones in these 

species. 

However, despite these clear effects of metabolism on growth, 

Florent Pantin presented convincing evidence that while carbon 

availability limits the growth of young sink leaves, leaf 

expansion of source leaves is controlled by hydraulic limitation. 

A role for turgor pressure in growth was also identified by 


Thorsten Hamann through coordination of cellulose biosynthesis 

with primary metabolism and photosynthesis. The essential role 

of water in growth processes was further highlighted by Louisa 

Dever in an analysis of how Crassulacean acid metabolism in 

novel transgenic Kalanchoe plants impacts gas exchange under 

contrasting water availability. 

Several speakers investigated how environmental signals, such 

as light, temperature and nutrients, affect biomass allocation and 

growth. Meta-analysis, combining the results from independent 

experiments published in the literature, makes it possible to 

determine growth response curves to environmental factors in a 

meta-phenomics approach, as demonstrated by Hendrik Poorter. 

In addition to acclimation responses to environmental factors, 

evolutionary adaptations determine how plants respond to their 

environment. Wide genetic diversity can e.g. be found in 

Arabidopsis. Taking a genetical genomics approach involving 

the analysis of gene sequences, mapping of QTL and profiling of 

transcripts, proteins and metabolites, Joost Keurentjes 

demonstrated that most genetic variation is buffered at the 

phenotypic level. Only a few hot spots in the genome underlie 

phenotypic variation and could potentially form the basis of 

evolutionary processes that result in adaptations to a changing 

environment. 

Not only overall plant growth, but also changes in biomass 

allocation between different organs and plant architecture 

determine yield. Céline Masclaux-Daubresse and Carol Wagstaff 

both discussed resource allocation to the seeds and the role of 

leaf senescence in this process. In wheat, yield and grain filling 

are associated with the inhibitor of glaucousness 1 locus, which 

reduces light scattering by epicuticular waxes as outlined by 

Cristobal Uauy. Light penetration into the canopy is another 

important factor determined by plant architecture and with 

direct consequences for photosynthesis and growth. A 3D model 

of light penetration was presented by Paul Struik. Such 

modelling approaches form an important part of crop systems 

biology. 

In addition to stimulating talks by more senior scientists, 

excellent presentations were given by students. Prizes were 

awarded for the two best talks and posters to: 

- Angelika Czedik-Eysenberg (Max-Planck-Institute for 

Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany) for her talk entitled 

"Regulation of maize leaf growth in response to carbon 

availability" 

- Florent Pantin (LEPSE, INRA, France) for his talk entitled 

"Control of leaf expansion: a developmental switch from 

metabolics to hydraulics" 

- Chie Hattori (John Innes Centre, UK) for her poster entitled 

"Minors come to the lead: searching for novel genes controlling 

seed polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition in 

Arabidopsis thaliana" 

- Jana Knerova (University of Liverpool, UK) for her poster 

entitled "Detailed RNA-seq analysis of the light/dark regulation 

of the transcriptome of Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi leaves identifies 

genes with potential functions in the circadian control of 

Crassulacean acid metabolism" 

Astrid Wingler: University College London 

Matthew Paul: Rothamsted Research 




Integration of abiotic and 

biotic stress responses: from 

systems biology to field 

This session comprising 5 half days came about as a result of 

the fortuitous bringing together of two independent session 

proposals from Rob Hancock (The James Hutton Institute) and 

Christine Foyer (Leeds University), and Katherine Denby and 

Miriam Gifford (Warwick University). The result was a highly 

diverse range of speakers covering a broad range of topics 

based around the central theme of how the revolution in plant 

systems biology could be practically applied to create solutions 

to the issue of optimising agriculture to provide sufficient food 

and other resources for rising global populations under a 

changing climate whilst limiting resource use to sustainable 

levels. 

An Arabidopsis leaf infected necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea 

As plant scientists we have previously typically tested 

hypotheses by conducting experiments under controlled 

laboratory conditions, changing a single variable and 

examining a limited number of targeted parameters. The 

systems revolution in which we attempt to understand the plant 

response not only at the level of specific hypotheses but 

through the development of an understanding of the global 

plant response in an unbiased fashion has provided unexpected 

and fascinating novel insights into plant physiology. However, 

with the complexity of the data produced the emphasis remains 

on using highly controlled experimental systems. In the field, 

plants do not experience environmental stimuli in isolation but 

instead must integrate a whole range of environmental 

information and adjust their survival strategy accordingly. 

Similarly, environmental stresses are rarely encountered in 

isolation with combinations of both biotic and abiotic stresses 

frequently being encountered together. The aim of the session 



was therefore to examine the advances that systems biology 

have provided and to explore how such knowledge can now 

be translated into expanding our understanding of how plants 

interact within their environment. Such insights will be crucial 

in extending our understanding of plant ecology and will 

enhance our capacity to translate fundamental research into 

improvements in crop systems. 

The session was well attended and appeared particularly so on 

the Saturday afternoon when we were in the smaller Carron 

room prior to moving to the much larger Lomond auditorium 

for the remainder of the session. It is perhaps testament to the 

perceived importance of the SEB meetings that we received 

offered papers from scientists across Europe, the Americas, Asia 

and Australasia. The quality and range of work presented in 

both the oral and poster sessions was inspirational making 

selection for the oral slots extremely difficult and we apologise 

to those who offered oral papers but were unable to present 

given the time limitations. All career stages were represented 

from well established professors to PhD students and it was 

particularly pleasing to see that a large amount of the session 

discussion was contributed by early stage researchers. We 

were also fortunate to have selected an oral presentation from 

Mieke De Wit (Utrecht University) who won for the plant 

section in the Young Scientists Award Session on Friday 

morning. 

The session was kicked off with a thought provoking 

presentation from Stanislaw Karpinski (Warsaw University of 

Life Sciences) who argued that plant fitness is maximised in 

different environments via the operation of a series of nonlinear 

biological algorithms. This was illustrated via data that 

highlighted the complete lack of fitness costs in the field for a 

series of Arabidopsis mutants showing severe negative traits 

under laboratory conditions, which nicely highlighted some of 

the thinking behind the session. After a lively discussion, the 

rest of the afternoon focussed on various signalling components 

with Sandy Vanderauwera (VIB-Ghent University) providing an 

overview of the reactive oxygen signalling network and Nighat 

Sultana (Exeter University) continuing the redox theme with a 

discussion of the role of redox signalling in high light 

anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis. Marc Knight 

(Durham University) gave a well received overview regarding 

2+ 

the potential for Ca to encode information pertaining to 

different environmental stresses and discussed his recent 

2+ 

research identifying Ca regulated transcription factors and 

Roger Leigh (Adelaide University) presented data from his 

laboratory highlighting differences in the distribution of leaf 

2+ 

Ca between different plant families and exploring the 

2+ 

physiological role of vacuolar Ca accumulation in leaf tissues. 

Further talks exploring the broad theme of signal transduction 

were presented over the remaining two days of the session; the 

highlights of which included Alex Webb's (Cambridge 

University) discussion of the importance of the circadian clock 

in maximising plant fitness and the signalling mechanisms coordinating 

environmental inputs with the regulation of 

circadian timing and Teun Munnik's (Amsterdam University) 

overview of his career in phospholipid signalling, a highlight of 

which were the beautiful images localising specific lipid types 

in living cells using biosensors comprising fusions of GFP with 

specific lipid binding domains. 

www.sebiology.org


Linking plant transcriptional 

response networks triggered by 

biotic stresses. 

The work of the PRESTA (Plant Responses to Environmental 

STress in Arabidopsis) consortium was well represented in the 

systems part of the session with Jim Beynon (Warwick 

University) providing an excellent overview of the work of the 

consortium illustrating how the use of high density time series 

of global gene expression in combination with novel 

mathematical analyses are delivering significant advances in 

our understanding of the key transcriptional networks 

responding to different environmental stresses. Another 

beautifully illustrated talk was that of Murray Grant (Exeter 

University) who demonstrated how systems data obtained via 

his involvement with PRESTA combined with the use of 

Arabidopsis reporter lines is leading to an understanding of the 

role of the chloroplast in the integration of early signalling 

networks associated with biotic stress. Phil Mullineaux (Essex 

University), a further member of the PRESTA consortium, 

demonstrated the role of HSFA1b in tolerance to a broad range 

of biotic and abiotic stresses and illustrated the hierarchy of 

signalling networks involving HSFA1b and a range of other 

transcription factors. A further highlight was the presentation 

of Gustavo Bonaventure (Max Planck Institute for Chemical 

Ecology) who outlined the work of his institute in the 

development of a whole set of systems tools that are being used 

to examine the response of the non-model plant Nicotiana 

attenuata to a range of biotic stresses within the context of its 

native environment. 

The translational aspects of the session were wonderfully 

illustrated by a series of talks from Rebecca Nelson (Cornell 

University), Michael Metzlaff (Bayer Crop Science) and Xinyou 

Yin (Wageningen University). Michael gave a broad overview 

of the tools available for translational research and also 

demonstrated how fundamental science contributes to the 

development of crop plants with enhanced traits. 


However, he also cautioned that the translation of 

fundamental research into improved crop varieties was not 

functioning efficiently and highlighted the difficulties of 

accurate trait phenotyping as a specific problem that should be 

addressed. Rebecca gave a comprehensive presentation on 

the use of quantitative trait mapping in the development of 

crop cultivars with enhanced biotic stress resistance 

demonstrating that through the use of fine mapping multiple 

quantitative resistance loci can be identified and brought 

together in single cultivars to develop crop plants suitable for 

cultivation within specific environments. Furthermore, she 

demonstrated how such work can feed back into fundamental 

investigations by revealing the hitherto unexpected 

involvement of specific genes in disease resistance. Xinyou 

showed how data obtained from QTL studies could be applied 

to higher level mathematical models describing how crops 

behave under a variety of environmental conditions. Such 

work allows greater confidence in the deployment of QTL's in 

crop breeding and perhaps could help to overcome some of 

the difficulties discussed by Michael. 

All in all this was an extremely enjoyable two and a half days 

encompassing a broad range of cutting edge plant science. 

Not only the oral presentations but also the poster session held 

up examples of excellent and innovative science applied to 

problems likely to affect all of humanity over the coming 

decades. In order to maintain public support for plant science 

it remains important for us as plant scientists not only to 

conduct excellent research but also to constantly reiterate the 

relevance of our work to wider societal issues. 

Rob Hancock: The James Hutton Institute 

Christine Foyer: University of Leeds 

Katherine Denby: University of Warwick 

Frontiers in Algal Biology 

The “Frontiers of Algal Biology” session at the SEB's annual 

meeting in Glasgow took place over two days and comprised 

a series of presentations from an impressive list of research 

leaders and posters from numerous laboratories. Following a 

two-decade long hiatus in algal research, the bioenergy and 

sustainability agendas, coupled with new molecular and 

analytical techniques have provided a springboard for a 

renaissance in algal biology over the next few years. The 

extreme diversity of the algae, encompassing as they do many 

different phylogenetic groups, was widely debated and is a 

real advantage for scholarly research and industrial 

applications. The discussion of new models such as 

Ostreococcus taurii and the application of genetic and 

genomic techniques to the algae were a timely reminder that 

the algae have much to offer to the post-genomic and systems 

biology based investigations. The pecha-kucha, in which all 

those presenting posters gave “elevator pitches” on their 

research was particularly well received and resulted in many 

interesting and fruitful discussions during the poster session. 

This symposium emphasized, should there be any doubt, that 

algal research is diverse, fascinating, modern and exciting. 

John Love, University of Exeter 




Tip growth in Plant Biology 

The aim of this session was to bring together scientists 

studying tip growth in different experimental systems or cell 

types. This huge area of research was covered in a 2-day 

session with oral and poster presentations that discussed 

findings at the genetic, molecular and protein level as well as 

mathematical models to predict or explain certain growth 

phenomena. The session flowed from a consideration of 

transcriptional mechanisms that regulate tip growth in root 

hairs, through an overview of the mechanisms of growth to 

focus on several specific classes of proteins that are intimately 

involved in the tip growth process. Later the topics broadened, 

comparing and contrasting tip growth research in a wide 

range of cell types and species. 

The exciting session was opened by Sourav Datta who 

explained that the transcription factor ROOT HAIR 

DEFECTIVE 6-like 4 (RSL4) regulates the duration of root hair 

growth. Using micro arrays several direct downstream targets 

were identified and discussed. Moving on from transcriptional 

regulation, Claire Grierson explained how a bioinformatic 

approach together with traditional laboratory approaches can 

be used to create gene regulatory networks that help to 

identify key cell components affecting root hair tip growth. 

The usefulness of the bioinformatic approach was confirmed 

by Daria Balcerowicz who thoroughly discussed one of the 

identified genes and its role in root hair morphogenesis. Erik 

Nielsen pointed out the importance of new cell wall material 

deposition and the mechanisms that guide the exact location 

of deposition during different phases of root hair development. 

Special emphasis was given to cellulose and its synthases, 

with an interesting discussion of cellulose synthesis leading 

into Anne-Mie Emons talk on the same topic, in which the 

link with the cytoskeleton and exocytosis was made. Pavlina 

Trpkosova reported on her results on the exocyst and Sec3, 

including its potential role as a membrane-binding protein. 

Marylin Vantard demonstrated the capacity of MAP65 family 

members to bundle microtubules and considered their 

different affects on microtubule dynamics. To finalize a long 

but very interesting day mainly on root hair development, 

Agnieszka Boron showed her PhD-results on a proline rich 

protein-like gene that apparently links structural proteins with 

modifications in pectin. A clear effect on root hair growth 

could be seen when gene expression levels were altered. 

The second day introduced additional experimental systems 

and José Feijó kicked off with an exciting talk about the 

growth and guidance of pollen tubes. Combinations of 

electrophysiological ion-dynamics experiments and 

microscopy led to the generation of sophisticated models 

predicting pollen tube behavior. Gerhard Obermeyer 

convinced the audience of the importance of H+-ATPases and 

their interaction with 14-3-3 proteins regulating the 

germination and growth rate of pollen tubes. Martin Potocky 

gave a nice presentation on the involvement of lipid signaling 

in the establishment and propagation of tip growth. 

Phospholipase 2 activity peaked just before germination and 

could even predict the pollen pore where the tube would 



Agnieszka Boron presenting her PhD research on a structural protein 

involved in root hair growth. 

emerge. Phospholipase D on the other hand was proven to be 

involved in actin dynamics. The last talk on a pollen tube 

model by Adrian Hill was a rather provocative one that 

caused some lively discussion in the audience! 

Towards the end of the session new and alternative species for 

studying tip growth were considered. Vera Meyer presented 

her Aspergillus fungal model system and a mutant whose 

growth behavior could be regulated by temperature. Several 

signaling networks were discussed and only 66 genes seem 

necessary for branching in this species. Many people, 

including the organisers, were very envious of the speed of 

mutant and transgene generation in Aspergillus! Benedikt Kost 

presented the role of phospholipase C and Rac/Rop GTPases 

Stas Gorb 

in pollen tube growth before changing to his current research 

on similar genes and proteins in the moss Physcomitrella. 

Again this speaker got people moving on their chairs as the 

low number of genes in gene families made many jealous of 

this relatively simple experimentalOlga system! SpeckThe 

session was 

finished by two talks by Jeremy Murray and Sarah Shailes on 

the interaction between bacteria and root hairs. Jeremy 

presented his research on the formation and growth of an 

infection thread, whilst Sarah discussed Nod-factor induced 

changes in calcium and ROS production. 

In summary we can say that bringing together scientists 

studying a similar growth phenomenon but in different cell 

types and species highlighted the beauty and advantages of 

Firtz the different Vollrath systems. There was enthusiasm After for running more 

meetings like this in the future. Let's Conference hope new collaborations 

Discussion 

were initiated here! 

Kris Vissenberg: University of Antwerp 

Claire Grierson: University of Bristol 

www.sebiology.org


Multi-scale mechanics of 

biological and bio-inspired 

hierarchical materials and 

surfaces 

From 3rd to 4th July 2011 the session 'Multi-scale mechanics 

of biological and bio-inspired hierarchical materials and 

surfaces' took place at the Annual Main Meeting of the SEB in 

Glasgow. During the 1.5 days of the session 17 oral 

presentations covered the entire field of multi-scale mechanics 

in plants and animals and in the constituent materials. In 

addition to fascinating insights in the hierarchical structuring 

and the mechanical properties of biological structures and 

materials the speakers provided many examples for potential 

or already established transfers from nature to biomimetic 

materials and surfaces. 

The session was very well visited and vivid discussions after 

the talks showed the interest for this kind of research. In spite 

of being placed in the Animal Biology Section of the SEB it is 

a good tradition of the Biomechanics Group also to include 

research on plant biomechanics in their sessions. In this 

session we even had slightly more talks dealing with plants 

than with animals. During the session it became obvious that 

many of the interdisciplinary approaches used for analyzing 

the form-structure-function-relationship on different 

hierarchical levels are very similar for plants and animals. The 

speakers convincingly proved that over the last decade new 

sophisticated methods for quantitatively analysing and 

simulating the form-structure-functions-relationship on various 

hierarchical levels were developed allowing for new 

fascinating insights in multi-scale mechanics of biological 

materials and surfaces. On the other hand, new production 

methods allow us for the first time to transfer the outstanding 

properties of the biological role models into innovative 

biomimetic products, a topic that was outlined in many 

presentations. 

All talks clearly proved that biological materials and surfaces 

are characterized by a limited number of basic chemical 

components arranged in a large variety of micro- and 

nanostructures. Indeed, the speakers showed that the 

outstanding mechanical properties of biological 

'constructions' are mainly based on a complex multi-scale 

structuring, and not on a huge variety of constitutive materials, 

in contrast to as traditional engineering materials. The basis of 

this extremely efficient biological 'materials design' is the 

evolution of hierarchical structures that cover more than ten 

orders of magnitude and are well adapted to the requirements 

at each level of hierarchy. Moreover, several talks dealt with 

'self-x-properties' (self-organization, self-adaptability, selfhealing, 

self-cleaning...) that many biological materials and 

surfaces posses in addition to their fascinating mechanical 

functions, allowing them to interact very efficiently with their 

specific environment. 


Based on the feedback during and after the session we are 

convinced that in addition to fascinating presentations of the 

latest scientific findings in multi-scale mechanics of biological 

and bio-inspired hierarchical materials and surfaces also the 

second aim of the sessions was reached: to stimulate the 

interdisciplinary collaboration between biologists and 

engineers in the seminal field of biomimetics. 

Thomas Speck: University of California 

Johan van Leeuwen: University of Wageningen 

Tom Masselter: University of Freiburg 

Claudia Fleck: Technical University of Berlin 

Stas Gorb 

Olga Speck 

Firtz Vollrath 




Physiological plasticity of 

thermal tolerance 

The Thermal Biology Group's session Physiological Plasticity of 

Thermal Tolerance was on the morning after the conference 

dinner and at the end of three days of stimulating talks, networking 

and catching up with friends. So, despite the fantastic line up of 

talks, we were a little anxious about the turn out for our session. It 

turned out that we had no reason for concern. The room was full 

bright and early and we spent a wonderful day discussing thermal 

biology seeing examples of work linking physiological plasticity at 

the molecular, cellular and organ level to organismal performance 

and fitness in both vertebrates and invertebrates. The session 

illustrated the great breath of interest in thermal plasticity among 

the SEB with talks on physiological adaptations to heat, cold and 

variable temperature and covering a diverse range of animals from 

cold ptarmigans in Svalbard at the north to warm ungulates living 

on the African savanna. Presentations were given by leading 

authorities and upcoming authorities including many talks from 

students and postdocs. 

The session had a great start with one of the keynote speakers 

Michael Angilletta, who gave a general outline of the challenges 

facing animals in variable (and warming) thermal environments. 

Using both a modeling and empirical approach he showed how 

high spatial heterogeneity of the thermal environments is important 

for keeping the costs of behavioral thermoregulation low. 

Michael's talk focused on behavioral thermoregulation, which was 

a nice lead in to later talks which tended to focus more on the 

role of adaptation and acclimation in physiological plasticity. The 

following three talks all concerned thermal biology of insects 

starting with John S. Terblanche who demonstrated costs and 

benefits of thermal acclimation under both field and laboratory 

settings. Using these data John discussed the importance of 

including acclimation when dealing with biological control of 

insects. Madeleine Barton followed with an interesting 

presentation on the co-gradient variation of phenology and growth 

rates in butterflies and finally Herve Collinet closed the set of 

insect presentations with a talk on the metabolomic and molecular 

correlates of cold tolerance in drosophila. Herve demonstrated 

how cold acclimated flies with superior cold tolerance were 

characterized by altered expression profiles and the ability to 

maintain general metabolite homeostasis. The morning session 

ended with Andrew Cossins who presented a review of his work 

on the molecular basis of cold acclimation in C. elegans. Using 

RNAi to knock out regulatory proteins his group have 

demonstrated an important role of membrane reorganization in 

cold adaptation, but this research has also uncovered that the 

dynamics of acclimation are more complex and that a suite of 

other genes, including many regulators of metabolism, are also 

involved in cold tolerance acclimation. 

Our other keynote speaker Barbara Block opened after lunch with 

an impressive display of field data showing distinct niche 

differentiation of tunas and shark species with respect to thermal 

habitat. By correlating these data to laboratory experiments of 

cardiac performance a clear picture emerges in the form of cold 

tolerance being tightly associated with the ability to maintain high 

cardiac performance at low temperature. This ability, is tightly 

coupled to the ability to control Ca++-homeostasis through a well 



developed sarcoplasmatic reticulum and high capacity iontransport 

systems. Going from the cold depths of the oceans to the 

warm coral sea, Christina Sørensen used data of aerobic and 

anaerobic capacity of two species of gobies to show how the 

ability to deal with high temperature is related the hypoxic and 

anoxic tolerance of fish as high temperatures may limit the ability 

to maintain sufficient oxygen transport to the tissues. Heading back 

to cold sensitivity William Marshall illustrated how temperature 

affects the impact of osmotic shock and here it was highlighted 

how acclimation responses at the cellular level, in the form of 

membrane lipid composition, was the underlying cause of 

differential performance and tolerance at between warm and cold 

acclimated fish. Combining gene-expression profiling with a 

comparative approach comparing related species of porcelain 

crab, Jonathon Stillman gave a seminal talk on how this approach 

can be used for both hypothesis generating and hypothesis testing 

in the study of thermal acclimation. 

The afternoon session was initiated by Jonathan Codd who 

outlined some of the major physiological transitions associated 

with cold acclimation of the Svalbard rock Ptarmigan including 

large changes in body composition and interestingly, putative 

reductions in locomotory costs of the fat winter birds. This was 

followed by a large field survey of seasonal variability of body 

temperature variation in African antelopes, presented by Anil 

Shrestha. The next talk was a presentation by this year's YSAS 

winner Wilco Verberk. Wilco's talk challenged the idea that 

reduced oxygen water solubility contributes to high temperature 

stress and instead he presented data to support the hypothesis that 

oxygen transport may indeed be improved at high temperatures. 

This sparked a good and heated discussion! As organizers we 

were very happy to end the session on a high with one of the 

great personalities of thermal biology in the form of Ken Bowler 

who presented some of his classical studies on thermal 

acclimation of the neuromuscular system of crabs. Ken's talk was 

sponsored by the Journal of Thermal Biology. 

In addition to the wide variety of oral presentations the session 

had a good poster program that led to many talks and discussions. 

Overall we managed to explore how animals cope with 

temperature variation through physiological plasticity (i.e. 

acclimation/acclimatization). We would like to thank all the 

contributors to the session. And that's not even the end! We are 

putting together a Special Issue in The Journal of Thermal Biology 

that will encompass many of the contributions to Physiological 

Plasticity of Thermal Tolerance so be sure to watch out for it in 

early 2012! 

Holly Shiels: University of Manchester 

Johannes Overgaard: University of Aarhus 

www.sebiology.org


Intraspecific Variation in 

Behaviour: functions and 

proximate explanations 

Intraspecific variation can be the bane of any scientist's life 

when data are being analysed. However, more recently this 

variation in behavioural and physiological phenotype has 

become a burgeoning field relevant to a variety of disciplines. 

Why do animals adopt divergent responses to novel 

challenges and why do they consistently respond in a 

particular manner under a range of situations? This session 

had renowned speakers discussing the latest data on 

intraspecific variation also termed 'animal personality' or 

'stress coping style'. Generally personality is used in the 

context of humans but philosophically the definition is a suite 

of characteristics that distinguishes one individual from 

another and that individual does not need to be human. 

Personality traits are commonly characterised as a being on a 

continuum such as shyness through to boldness. Animals may 

adopt a shy persona whereby they are cautious and rarely take 

risks or they may be bold extroverts and risk taking behaviour 

is a common part of their behavioural repertoire. The first 

keynote speaker, Kathryn Arnold, linked personality to stress 

physiology including oxidative stress in birds. Birds that 

explored a novel environment more had lower stress 

responsiveness and differed in their antioxidant profile. The 

impact of behavioural performance was clearly linked to 

substantial differences in physiological responses to stress by 

Jörgen Johnsson, Katherine Sloman, Johan Höjesjö and 

Øyvind Øverli using fish models not only in the laboratory but 

also in field studies. The underlying genetic basis of boldness 

was also explored by our second keynote speaker, Nadia 

Aubin-Horth, who suggested the pleiotropic effects of genes 

involved in social status as well as stress responsiveness may 

cause the adoption of bold and shy strategies. Angela Sims 

further investigated the propensity for aggression and boldness 

to determine if both, which do correlate with one another, are 


fitness traits by measuring heterozygosity and found that being 

highly aggressive and a better competitor did result in higher 

levels of heterozygosity yet being bold did not appear to be a 

fitness trait. 

Traditionally these bold and shy phenotypes were believed to 

be fixed and animals were quite inflexible. Sasha Dall's 

theoretical and empirical work leads us to believe that itis not 

an adaptive response for an animal to remain behaving in a 

maladaptive manner. New data was presented by Mark Briffa 

on the impact of temperature on intraspecific variation of 

startle responses in sea anemones and from Paolo Domenici 

on the effects of CO2 elevation in modulating individual 

responses in lateralisation in fish. Jack Thomson outlined how 

the background population composition results in bold trout 

becoming shyer when held in a wholly shy population yet shy 

fish remain shy within a bold group. Thus, these personality 

types are more flexible and plastic than previously thought. 

Alex Weiss linked personality and wellbeing to long term 

health in orangutans and found that happy individuals lived 

longer. This presentation received media interest from BBC 

News and Nature News highlighting the importance of these 

findings. Personality, therefore, has a profound impact upon 

behavioural responses, physiological mechanisms and health 

and as such can influence position and swimming speed 

within a school of fish as detailed by Shaun Killen or can 

determine thermal niche use in trout and mosquitofish as 

presented by Bart Adriaenssens. Understanding the causes and 

consequences of intraspecific variation, therefore, gives us an 

insight into behavioural and physiological diversity allowing 

us to interpret this variation in a more meaningful way. We 

are grateful that this excellent and thoroughly interesting 

session provided a platform for the latest research on animal 

personalities and thank all of our presenters for a fascinating 

glimpse of the future of this interdisciplinary field. We also 

thank the Neurobiology Group for financial support. 

Mark Briffa: University of Plymouth 

Lynne Sneddon: SEB Neurobiology Convenor 

Photo: Left to right Øyvind Øverli, Bart Adriaenssens, Jörgen Johnsson, Johan Höjesjö, Mark Briffa, Kathryn Arnold, Katherine Sloman and Lynne Sneddon (Taken by Dave Wolfenden) 




Conservation Physiology 

As a pure science, “classical” animal physiology has its origins 

back in the nineteenth century. More recently, Conservation 

Physiology has been proposed as a much-needed discipline that 

applies physiological tools to evaluate the ability of animals to 

respond to their environment and sustain their populations in 

response to natural and anthropogenic pressures; particularly and 

most recently to pressures resulting from habitat degradation, 

climate change and ocean acidificication. 

While it might seem obvious that understanding an animal's 

physiological capabilities will be an integral component in 

evaluating how well they may respond to a changing 

environment, sceptics might question that Conservation 

Physiology is little more than a convenient “badge” that helps 

physiologists defend their research in the increasingly challenging 

world of science funding. In the hope of countering such a view, 

the aim of this session was to focus on where and how 

physiological understanding has actually been, or at least can be, 

used to support evidence-based conservation and management. 

The 1-day session attracted a lot of interest, with 16 oral papers 

and 4 posters, most (13) of which were on fish but also included 

contributions on amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. 

Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) 

The opening keynote paper delivered by Myron Peck (Hamburg) 

provided some valuable context, describing how individual-based 

models can be used to amalgamate organism-level physiological 

responses and changes in ocean physics to better understand the 

process affecting the productivity of marine fish populations, 

thereby providing a key source of information that can be used for 

evidence-based conservation of marine resources. Myron was 

followed by William Cheung (UEA) who provided a 

complimentary view of the importance of considering oxygen 

availability in modelling the effects of global change on marine 

ecosystems. 

Other papers covered a diverse range of issues in which 

physiological knowledge can be applied to conservation and 

management. A number of papers considered the impacts of 

temperature, acidification and CO2 on marine animals, while 

others dealt with solving by-catch problems in inland commercial 

fisheries, using physiology to inform reserve design and 

understanding the physiological basis of the impacts of 

anthropogenic pollutants on eel and salmon. 



Overall, the session provided a wealth evidence for the value of 

using physiological understanding in evaluating the likely impacts 

of environmental change in animal populations and productivity. 

But it was also apparent that translating physiological-based 

model estimates into meaningful metrics for conservation and 

management is not always straight forward and that there is a 

growing need for interdisciplinary collaborations between 

physiologists, ecologists, ecosystem modellers and policy 

advisers. Hopefully, sessions on Conservation Physiology at 

future SEB meetings will include more contributions from 

scientists in these other disciplines in order to further facilitate the 

application of physiology to conservation and management, an 

increasingly important issue as we attempt to address and respond 

to the environmental concerns of the 21st Century. 

Julian Metcalfe: Cefas, UK 

Craig Franklin: The University of Queensland 

General Biomechanics in 

Glasgow: winners of the 

poster and oral contribution 

awards 

With 53 oral presentations and 20 posters, dealing with a 

diversity of topics (biomaterials, terrestrial locomotion, flight 

and swimming, adhesion, feeding mechanics, muscle 

mechanics, scaling...), the General Biomechanics Session 

(lasting 2.5 days) of the 2011 annual SEB can only be called 

'very successful'. As usual, presenters and audience were a 

perfect mix of young, more experienced and senior scientists. 

This year we had already the 7th edition of the 'General 

Biomechanics' awards (three poster awards and three prizes 

for the best talks). As usual, the list of candidate-winners was 

very long (73 nominations ). 

For the posters, the third prize was awarded to Wouter Kruyt 

(University of Wageningen, NL). He compared the 

aerodynamic performance of several hummingbird species. 

The second poster prize went to Astrid Willener (Roehampton 

University, UK) who studied the energetic of walking 

penguins. The winner of the first poster prize, however, was 

Masateru Maeda (Chiba University, JP). He analysed the 

ground effect on butterfly takeoff. 

The third best oral contribution was given by Christopher 

Richards (Harvard University, USA). He explained how a 

muscle-robot can be used to study the musculo-skeletal 

dynamics of swimming frogs. The second prize was for 

Pauline Provini (National Museum of Natural History, Paris, 

FR) for her study on the takeoff and landing in small birds. 

Chris Holland (University of Oxford, UK), the winner of the 

first prize, explained how spiders spin their silk. 

Congratulations to all the prizewinners. I hope to meet you 

all again next summer in Salzburg. 

Peter Aerts: University Antwerp 

www.sebiology.org


NO, nitrite and H2S signaling 

in animal biology 

The session entitled “New frontiers in O2 homeostasis: NO, 

nitrite and H2S signaling in animal biology” took place over 

the last day of the SEB Annual Main Meeting in Glasgow 

2011. The topic of the session attracted numerous conference 

delegates (despite an interesting concurring session) and the 

interest in the subject was high, as judged by stimulating 

discussions at the end the talks. The aim of the session was to 

bring together scientists working on different aspects of the 

biology and medicine of NO, nitrite and H2S, to better 

understand the signalling function of these reactive molecules 

and their complex interacting pathways. There was a 

significant and fruitful interaction between speakers and poster 

presenters of the session, including established scientists that 

are among the leaders in this research field as well as ph.d. 

students. From the session it appeared that, although major 

recent advances have been achieved, many aspects remain to 

be elucidated, particularly on the roles of these novel 

signalling molecules in non-mammalian physiology and in the 

adaptation to hypoxia. We hope that the session will inspire 

such research in the near future. The organizers (Angela Fago, 

Frank B. Jensen and Bruno Tota) would like to sincerely thank 

all the speakers and poster presenters for their excellent 

contribution and for making this session a success. 

Angela Fago: University of Aarhus 

Frank B. Jensen: University of Southern Denmark 

Bruno Tota: University of Calabria 

Chemical Messengers: 

Neurotransmitters to 

Pheromones 

The goal of the chemical messengers: neurotransmitters to 

pheromones session was to focus on the broad topic of neural, 

endocrine and external communication and the impact of 

chemical messengers on animal physiology and behavior. 

We got off to a great start with a keynote presentation from Dr 

Andy Bass, who spoke about the neural and hormonal control 

of acoustic communication in vertebrates. We then moved 

into hormones, with talks by Dr Nick Bernier, Dr Matt Vijayan 

and Ms Christina Sørensen, who spoke of different aspects of 

the stress axis and the role of the hormones, corticotropinreleasing 

factor and cortisol in fish. Unfortunately, Dr Tobias 

Backström was unable to attend the meeting, but we used the 

time to field questions that audience members were dying to 

ask (but were unable to due to overzealous speakers going 

over time!!). We finished off the morning with a talk on 

kisspeptin-immunoreativity by Dr Katarina Medger, who gave 

an excellent talk despite suffering with a dreadful cold. After a 

quick lunch, we started the afternoon session with our second 

keynote speaker, Dr Peter Sorensen, who spoke about sex 

pheromonesinfishandwasfollowedbyaseriesoftalkson 

pheromone/odorant/chemoreception in crustaceans (Dr 

Thomas Breithaupt), goldfish (Dr Peter Hubbard), eel (Dr Mar 


Huertas) and zebrafish embryos (Dr Kath Sloman and Dr 

Michael Jonz). We then finished the session with two talks on 

the neurotransmitter, serotonin (Dr Danielle McDonald and Dr 

Svante Winberg). All in all, it was a great day full of 

interesting talks and we left the session invigorated and excited 

about potential experiments and collaborations. 

Danielle McDonald: University of Miami 

Kath Sloman: University of the West of Scotland 

Gas Sensing and Signalling 

in Animal Cells 

The aim of the session was to summarize recent advances in 

understanding the molecular mechanisms by which animal 

cells detect and respond to gases. As it turns out, researchers 

interested in the rapidly expanding field of carbon dioxide 

detection almost exclusively populated the session. This was 

the first time that researchers who study diverse model 

systems, but with a common interest in CO2 detection had 

met, and so was a great opportunity for the contributors to 

learn about one another as individuals as well as hear about 

the latest research. 

Dr Lonny Levin (Weill Medical College of Cornell University) 

started the day with a wide-ranging talk detailing the various 

roles for the mammalian soluble adenylyl cyclase in mediating 

cellular processes controlled by inorganic carbon. Lonny was 

followed by Dr Eoin Cummins of University College, Dublin 

who presented recent data on the molecular basis of the 

influence of CO2 on inflammatory processes through the 

regulation of the NF-B signalling pathway. Dr Daniel O'Toole 

of NUI, Galway who discussed this phenomenon from a more 

applied perspective, also took up this theme later in the day. 

The mechanisms by which CO2 can be generally detrimental 

to a cell was discussed by Dr Martin Cann (Durham 

University) while normal mechanisms for CO2 detection in 

chemosensory cells of the brain was presented in some 

exciting new work from Prof Nick Dale (Warwick University). 

The day wasn't all about mammals, however, as exciting work 

was presented on the role of CO2 in the activation of 

virulence in pathogenic fungi (Prof Fritz Muhlschlegel, 

University of Kent), the genetic basis of CO2 mediated 

behaviour in the mosquito (Dr Conor McMeniman 

(Rockefeller University) and Caenorhabditis elegans (Prof 

Yosef Gruenbaum, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Dr 

Mario de Bono, MRC Laboratory, Cambridge). 

The common theme that came through from the day is that 

there are no obvious common themes. CO2 has a diversity of 

ways in which it can affect cell and organismal function and 

achieves this through the regulation of multiple signalling 

pathways. The organizer would like to extend his sincere 

thanks to all contributors for an excellent session and looks 

forwards to doing this again in the future. 

Martin Cann: University of Durham 




Molecular Physiology of 

Epithelial Transport in 

Insects: A Tribute to 

William R. Harvey 

Thanks to the generosity of the SEB and a travel grant 

from the National Science Foundation (USA), as many 

as 60 investigators of membrane and epithelial transport 

gathered in Glasgow to discuss the subject in four oral 

sessions and one poster session. The emphasis in 3 of 

the oral sessions (and the poster session) was on the 

molecular biology of transporters in insects, celebrating 

in part the life work of William Harvey and his 

contributions to our understanding of transport 

physiology in insects (Fig. 1). The fourth oral session 

focused on new transporters and transport systems. The 

meeting was organized by Klaus W. Beyenbach (Cornell 

University), Julian Dow (University of Glasgow) and 

Helmut Wieczorek (University of Osnabrueck). 

Next to presenting new knowledge about membrane 

and epithelial transporters, an aim of this symposium 

was to provide opportunities for junior scientists to 

present in oral sessions. The selection of keynote and 

invited speakers reflected the breadth of this intra-SEB 

conference and the considerable advances in transport 

biology in recent years. Perhaps the greatest advances 

have been made in our understanding of H+ V-ATPases 

which was reviewed by the two keynote speakers Otto 

Baumann (University of Potsdam) and Sylvie Breton 

(Harvard University). Baumann illuminated the function 

and regulation of this proton pump by second 

messengers and kinases. Breton reported the regulation 

of the H+ V-ATPases by signals emanating from the 

luminal side of epididymis, namely HCO3- and 

angiotensin. Guest of Honor William (Bill) Harvey 

(Whitney Laboratory) was introduced by Julian Dow 

whose great charm and brilliance delighted the 

audience as well as the speaker (Fig. 2). Bill went on to 

review the high points in his career in science, but gave 

most attention to his recent work on the physiological 

coupling of the H+ V-ATPases to 1) nutrient amino acid 

cotransporters, and 2) the enigmatic Na/H antiporter that 

received further attention in both oral and poster 

presentations. The Keynote speaker Shireen Davies 

(University of Glasgow) explored the very complex 

signaling networks that serve epithelial function in 

Malpighian tubules, finding that the tubule's immune 

and fluid secretion systems share the same signaling 

pathways. Among the invited speakers, Peter Piermarini 

(Ohio State University) described possible physiological 



roles of newly cloned transporters in Malpighian 

tubules: 1) a SLC4-like Cl/HCO3- anion exchangers, and 

2) a SLC12-like K,Cl cotransporter. Edward Blumenthal 

(Marquette University) reported on tyramine signaling 

and its role in cell-to-cell communication in Malpighian 

tubules. Jean-Paul Paluzzi (McMaster University) 

reviewed the biology of the pyrokinin-related peptides 

in the Chagas disease vector. Ladislav Simo (Kansas 

State University) explained the control of salivary glands 

in ticks. Dirk Weihrauch (University of Manitoba) 

explored the role of an Rh-like ammonia transporter in 

the midgut of the caterpillar. Ming-Jiun Yu (National 

Taiwan University) explained how quantitative 

phosphoproteomics can identify signaling pathways 

using his studies of the induction of aquaporin-2 by 

vasopression as examples. Heiko Meyer (University of 

Osnabrueck) presented his work on the identification of 

the first animal sucrose transporter. 

The poster session presented work on the regulation of 

the H+ V-ATPases in yeast and measurements of H+ V- 

ATPase activities in single Malpighian tubules. New 

insect transporters were introduced: an inward rectifier 

K+ channel in Aedes Malpighian tubules, a Na-coupled 

broad specificity amino acid transporter form C. elegans, 

and a novel methionine-selective transporter from the 

mosquito Aedes aegypti. The coupling of serotonin 

receptors to Ca2+ and IP3 signaling pathways were 

explored in salivary glands of Calliphora vicina. The 

tardigrade Halobiotus crispae was introduced as model 

for the study of organic anion transport, and the 

Antarctic midge was found to tolerate freezing 

temperatures better in dry than in wet environments. 

Genomic and proteomic approaches employed by 

several laboratories looked for additional players in the 

regulation of epithelial transport mechanisms in the gut 

and renal tubules of insects (Fig. 3). 

Though SEB allowed 4 oral sessions and one poster 

session for this symposium, its large attendance called 

for a satellite session which Julian Dow and Shireen 

Davies kindly organized at the University of Glasgow 

(Fig. 4). The keynote speaker Michael Romero (Mayo 

Clinic) reviewed the molecular biology of HCO3transporters 

of the SLC4 and SLC26 families in insects. 

Masaaki Azuma (Totorri University, Japan) outlined the 

phylogenetic distribution of aquaporin water channels in 

insects. Julian Dow explored the potential for new 

knowledge to be found at the interface of genetics and 

physiology, finding that at least 70% of the known genes 

involved with human diseases have orthologs in 

Drosophila. After the coffee break, Helmut Wieczorek 

(University of Osnabrueck) gave a lecture on the 

molecular structure and the thermodynamics of proton 

pumping by the H+ V-ATPase. Horst Onken (Wagner 

www.sebiology.org


College) reported evidence for the dependence of 

transepithelial voltage on the presence of amino acids in 

the lumen of the mosquito midgut. Klaus Beyenbach 

reviewed possible electroneutral and electrogenic 

pathways for secreting Na+, K+ and Cl- into the lumen 

of mosquito Malpighian tubules. The satellite session 

concluded with a lunch hosted by the Dow/Davies 

laboratories. 

Peter Piermarini and Edward Blumenthal have kindly 

agreed to serve as editor of a special issue in the Journal 

of Insect Physiology that will highlight the major 

findings reported in the above sessions. 

The more than 50 junior and senior scientists who 

presented in oral and poster sessions attended the 

sessions with great loyalty and enriched the science with 

constructive comments and questions. One junior 

scientist from the medical school environment lauded us 

for the open and supportive atmosphere that he found at 

this SEB meeting. Most of us departed with new 

research ideas and ambitions, new collaborations, and 

the sense of having made new friends. 

Julian Dow and Shireen Davies, the Glasgow locals, did 

much to contribute to the supportive atmosphere that 

characterized the meeting. To begin, on the evening 

before the SEB meeting opened, they hosted a dinner 

party in their home for the symposium participants and 

their travel companions. Shireen and Julian elevated 

hospitality to new levels of meaning, not only in the 

selections of tasty salmon, meats and salads, but also in 

the relaxed and easy way they let the evening unfold as 

guests arrived according to the airline schedules (Fig. 5). 

What is more, on the final meeting day, Julian and 

Shireen had organized a tour of the Glengoyne Distillery 

that gave us a taste of whiskey, unadulterated by peat, 

moss or blends (Fig. 6). Alas, the whiskey tasting was 

much too short for the family spirit we had acquired in 

the previous 5 days. Thoughts of getting together again 

at an SEB meeting in a few years lightened the inevitable 

Farewell. 

A city of obvious past wealth and present renewed 

economic vigor, Glasgow presented itself with unusually 

sunny and pleasant weather (Fig. 7). Altogether, it was 

meeting that brought out the best in people and science. 

For additional photos please visit 

http://www.yogile.com/drcu0kgo 

Klaus Beyenbach: University of Cornell 

Julian Dow: University of Glasgow 

Helmut Wieczorek: University of Osnabrück 


Under pressure: Costs and 

benefits of high systemic 

blood pressures 

Blood pressure is a fundamental measure for cardiovascular 

physiologists and has an immediate meaning to those of us 

who have stood up too fast and lost balance or even 

consciousness. Yet, we don't have a clear perception of why 

blood pressure has the particular values it has. You, reading 

this, are most likely sitting down and fairly calm and will then 

have mean arterial pressure of some 90 mmHg – not 110 or 

70, but 90. As in mice. Why 90? And why 135 mmHg in a 

bird? Why lower in cold-blooded vertebrates? 

We sought to address this question by inviting renowned 

scientists doing research on particular organ systems, 

outstanding animals (there are in fact reptiles and fish with 

mammal-like blood pressure!), and transitional stages in life 

history. The session “Under pressure: costs and benefits of a 

high systemic blood pressure” was held on Sunday 3/7 and 

from the morning on, it was so well attended that we had 

listeners sitting on the floor! (To be honest, we had been 

designated one of the minor auditoriums, but still …). 

This is of course not the first time this question has been 

addressed and as one of the invited speakers, Julian Paton, 

pointed out, it was a fellow Brit that almost 300 years ago 

made the first blood pressure measurement on a tied down 

mare (it was high). In his talk Julian Paton suggested that the 

answer could be found in cerebral blood flow while another 

hypertension researcher, Michael Mulvany, pointed out that, 

of all organs, it is the kidneys that are perfused with the 

highest pressure. This resonated well with Hiroko Nishimura, 

who gave us a keynote lecture on kidney function in 

vertebrates. The other keynote lecturer, Roger Seymour on 

dinosaurs and blood pressure, entertained us with his efforts to 

stop museum curators erecting their Brachiosaur's heads to 

heights that would have required truck-sized hearts! Staying 

near the clouds, Tobias Wang explained how the giraffe can 

maintain the world's highest blood pressure with a heart the 

size of any other mammal (they have tweaked every 

cardiovascular parameter to the extreme giving further support 

to Roger Seymour's conclusions). Also focusing on 

outstanding animals Jim Hicks explained the versatility of 

reptile hearts, the “ancestral” condition to both mammals and 

birds, and Nigel West showed how cardiac function is closely 

linked to respiration. Studying heart ontogeny, Beerend Hierck 

showed how flow shapes the developing heart and Bjarke 

Jensen proposed how the cardiac pacemaker system evolved. 

Alas, we found no single answer and maybe it is not there? 

Maybe it is the small adjustments here and there that all add 

up. Or maybe not. Clearly, there is room for scientific pursuit. 

Bjarke Jensen: University of Aarhus 

Michael Berenbrink: University of Liverpool 




Education and 

Public Affairs 

Sessions 

Radio Workshop 

Co-ordinators: Jenny Sneddon (Liverpool John Moores 

University), Alun Lewis (Lecturer in Science Communication, 

Royal Holloway College), BBC Radio Scotland and Sarah 

Blackford (Head of EPA for the SEB). 

The SEB Education and Public Affairs (EPA) Section ran a 

second successful 'Radio Workshop' with Alun Lewis as 

facilitator in facilities provided by BBC Radio Scotland at the 

SEB Main Meeting in Glasgow. 

There were 18 participants, all of whom prepared a150 word 

summary of their work. 

Facilitator Alun Lewis disentangled scientific writing he'd 

received as submissions from journalism that was required 

and it was fascinating to see how quickly participants 

mentally 'ditched' their submissions and developed 

journalistic skills on the hoof as they were being interviewed 

in a panel or as an individual. 



Excerpt from Workshop notes by Alun Lewis: 

“Scientists have a duty to tell the public what they are doing 

and why. After all it is usually the public that pays for their 

research. There are many other reasons why scientists should 

learn to communicate their ideas succinctly and accessibly. If 

you learn how to tell a good story and make people 

understand your ideas you will be gaining a transferable skill. 

Creating effective presentations for conferences and 

workshops will become a pleasure instead of a chore. Giving 

talks and devising demonstrations for non-scientifically literate 

audiences will become second nature and an exciting 

challenge. And perhaps most importantly you will be able to 

better educate the public so they may engage in meaningful 

debate about subjects from GM to Global Climate change and 

from new medicines to alternative therapy.” Only 7 seconds 

to capture your audience. 

� 

� 

� 

� 

You need to use the 5 Ws Who What Why Where When 

No jargon; No hard numbers; No ambiguous words; No 

Graphs 

Find and Build a story 

INTRO - HOOK – EXPLAIN – TENSION – DEVELOP - 

CONCLUSION” 

Everyone who participated was emailed the resulting sound 

files so we look forward to hearing, literally, from them at 

some point in the future! 

Jenny Sneddon: Liverpool John Moores University 

www.sebiology.org


Women in Science dinner 

Speaker: Professor Maggie Gill 

The Women in Science dinner has a successful, 10-year 

tradition at SEB meetings and not just because of a really good 

meal enjoyed by people catching up every year but rather 

because of the interesting speakers and the lively discussions 

ignited during the talk. This year, we listened to an exciting 

presentation given by Professor Maggie Gill, the Scottish 

Government's Chief Scientific Adviser for Rural Affairs and the 

Environment, who put forward how policy makers and 

scientists might learn from each other with the ultimate aim of 

impacting legislation. 

Coming from a strong scientific background, Maggie herself 

had to find out about the importance of language in this 

context when she first started working in policy. The scientist 

sometimes becomes really obsessed with the subject and thus 

tends to be unable to put things into a broader context while 

this clearly represents a task, which policy makers have to 

follow up. Maggie lively explained to us why women, having 

a good sense for the meaning behind words, are particularly 

gifted for building bridges between scientists, policy makers 

and the third party involved when it comes to decision 

making- economists. For Maggie, the immediate challenge we 

all need to face is climate change. Given the different 

approaches people can have towards this topic, scientists 

Jenny Rohn, John Bothwell and Teresa Valencak (SEB Education & 

Public Affairs President’s Medallists, 2011, 2010, 2009) 


Bringing science 

and policy 

communities 

closer together 

Alison Kingston-Smith, who chaired the session, 

pictured with speaker, Maggie Gill 

should not only try hard to sell the reality to the public with 

the help of the media, but should also keep in mind the many 

contesting views involved in policy making and how they 

might be used to one common goal, to help understand food 

security and climate change. As Maggie put it, looking from a 

different angle is crucial because “where two paths meet, two 

others part”. 

I would like to add to this to say that all paths shall meet again 

at next year's Women in Science dinner to be held at the 

SEB's Main Meeting in Salzburg. 

Teresa Valencak 

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna 




Science Communication 

Workshop 

Education & Public Affairs 

Satellite Meeting 2011 

SEB's Education and Public Affairs (EPA) Section delivered a 

highly successful and engaging science communication 

workshop at the Glasgow Science Centre as a satellite meeting 

to the SEB Main Meeting (30 June 2011). Working in 

partnership with the one of our sister societies, the 

Biochemical Society, the aim of the event was to provide 

training for early-career scientists to deliver science 

communication activities to various non-academic audiences 

(e.g. school students, public). Thirty eager PhD students and 

post-doctoral researchers from UK universities and many other 

corners of the world (Belgium, Germany, Holland, Japan, 

South Africa) were selected from over 80 applicants. 

Participants were offered bursaries by the two societies to help 

with their travel and accommodation costs. They were also 

asked to give some pre-thought to the type of topic they 

would like to mould into the presentation/activity, as well as 

the audience they would like to address. We suggested that 

with the Olympic Games looming in 2012 and the 

opportunities potentially arising for Olympic-related public 

science events, they may want to think about how their 

research be linked to it. 

Against the backdrop of sunny banks of the river Clyde and 

stimulated by the buzzing interior of the Glasgow Science 

Centre, participants were guided through the maze of what 

makes a successful and rewarding science presentation for a 

non-scientific audience. The day started with EPA Section 

Chair Jeremy Pritchard (University of Birmingham) sharing, in 

his inimitable way, his experiences of delivering science to 

various audiences. He considered that, in the realm of school 

outreach for the UK educational system (but potentially 

translating into other systems too), there are three main sets of 

messages that are being expected by the various audiences. 

They fall in the areas of: demonstrating that 'science is fun' (5- 

11 year olds); encouraging pupils to continue studying science 

at a GCSE level (11-16 year olds); and informing pupils about 

the specific areas of study at particular universities to help 

student choices (16-18 year olds). He also talked about 

rewarding experiences he has had while addressing various 

audiences (e.g. Primary Schools vs University of the 3rd Age 

etc.). 

The Science Centre's science communication manager, Susan 

Meikleham, then engaged the participants explaining about 

features of a good science communicator and a need to 

identify a central message for science presentations and 

activities. At one point, to support the argument about the 

need to engage the audience while explaining scientific 

principles, she had some of us lying on a bed of nails when 

talking about forces! 

Our participants then split into groups and, with the group 



facilitators*, worked on their own ideas, sharing thoughts and 

giving and receiving feedback. We were really encouraged by 

the level of pre-thought and preparation that went into so 

many of the presentations. The ideas ranged from a game for 

infant school children explaining the principles of adaptation 

and natural selection to creating a website and blog about sea 

urchins and ragworms. 

After lunch, along with members of the visiting public, 

participants also had a chance to view and subsequently 

discuss a professional science show ('Phenomenal 

Phenomenon'!) held in the Science Centre. We wrapped up 

the workshop by offering advice on how to contact 

schools/teachers/event organisers, consideration of Health and 

Safety issues etc., and, importantly, by asking the participants 

to create their own plan of action. As Jeremy said in his 

concluding remarks, “This is not the end, this is not even the 

beginning of the end…”. 

We hope that this will be the start of a year in which we will 

see a number of our participants delivering their presentations 

and activities to various audiences. During the course of the 

coming year we will be uploading the presentations and 

resources created by our participants on a public website. The 

intention is to make them available to anyone wishing to 

present science to non-scientific audiences so they can get 

ideas, 'pick and choose' images, slides and other materials to 

assist them with their presentation. SEB is already planning its 

second science communication training event for 7th June 

2012 (Charles Darwin House, London) which will be 

organised in partnership with both its sister societies, the 

Biochemical Society and the British Ecological Society. Look 

out for announcements early in the New Year. 

Tijana Blanusa: University of Reading 

*Group facilitators 

Mary Williams, Jenny Sneddon, David Evans, Tijana Blanusa (all members of 

the SEB EPA Section), Karen Devine (British Ecological Society), Frances van 

Klaveren (Biochemical Society) and Bryony France (Oxford-Brookes 

University). 

www.sebiology.org


Media/Press report 

As press officer for the SEB annual meeting, I had great fun 

looking through all the fantastic science that was being 

presented at the conference and cherry picking a few to be 

issued as press releases. My PhD is in ecology so it was 

interesting to learn about different topics and I think the fact 

that it wasn't the type of science I am normally embroiled in 

might even have made it easier for me to pick out the 

interesting points of the study and make it into a snappy press 

release. 

Some great stories emerged and were featured in publications 

all the way from The Sun and the Daily Mail to Scientific 

American and Time magazine. The media really picked up on 

one study which had shown that a tiny water insect, which 

sings to attract females using its genitalia, is the loudest animal 

ever to be recorded, relative to body size. Others that had a 

lot of coverage had fantastic images, such a study using MRI 

to watch a tarantulas heart beating in real time, or were 

interesting from a human perspective, for instance one study 

showed that happier orang-utans live longer, shedding light 

on the evolution of happiness in all primates. 

During the internship I gained real insight into the workings of 

the media. I came to understand how strict deadlines can be 

for journalists and had a few hectic moments myself, like 

trying to organise an interview for an Australian journalist with 

a German scientist who was in an airport about to board a 

plane to Glasgow at the time. Some journalists actually 

attended the conference, from BBC nature and German public 

radio, and it was great to meet them in person. 

All in all I really enjoyed the experience and the internship 

gave me an excellent opportunity to learn something about 

the media and to enhance my writing and science 

communication skills. 

Daisy Brickhill: University of Aberdeen 

First-Ever MRI of a Tarantula's Beating Heart 

A tarantula's small beating heart has been imaged for the 

first time and revealed in real time with the help of a 

specialized MRI. Edinburgh University researchers used 

scanners built for medical 

research on rodents at the 

Glasgow Experimental 

MRI Centre to see into 

the living arachnid's gut 

as well... 

As reported by Scientific 

American on their 

website. 11th July 2011 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/gallery_directory.cfm?p 

hoto_id=19BB951F-C852-385E-F4C779F712067BAF 


Daisy pictured (above) with James Windmill, whose work on water boatman 

received press coverage ranging from the BBC, The Telegraph, Scientific 

American and The Sun, 

and (below) with Mylène Anotaux, whose work on 

how spiders’ webs deteriorate as they get older received attention from 

diverse world media including Scientific American, the Daily Mail and Iran 

Daily. 



SEB Meetings Diary 

November 2011 

Vitae Research staff conference 2012 

Life Sciences Careers Conference 

December 2011 

February 2012 

March 2012 

April 2012 

UKPlantSci 2012 


Leeds, UK 

http://www.vitae.ac.uk/374721/Vitae-research-staff-conference-2011.html 

York, UK 

http://www.societyofbiology.org/education/careers/lscc/2011-2012lscc 

Life Sciences & The Issues Of Our Time 

Bethesda, MD 

Website: http://www.asbmb.org/specialsymposia 

Functional Genomics and Systems Biology 

American Society for Cell Biology 51st Annual Meeting 

Hot Topic: Keeping the engine clean: 

Role of mitophagy in physiology and pathology 

Vascular & Smooth Muscle Physiology Themed Meeting 

Mouse Models of Disease: 

Linking in vivo observations to pathology endpoints 

The Biomedical Basis of Elite Performance 

SEB Education Symposium "Researchers - Teachers – Learners" 

Norwich, UK 

http://www.plantsci.org.uk/events/uk-plantsci-2012 

3 November, 2012 

16 November, 2012 

29 November – 1 December 2011 

Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK 

Website: https://registration.hinxton.wellcome.ac.uk/display_info.asp?id=231 

Email: j.beard@hinxton.wellcome.ac.uk 

Denver, CO 

Website: http://www.ascb.org/meetings 

Phone: 301-347-9300 

Charles Darwin House, London, UK 

Website: http://www.biochemistry.org/tabid/379/MeetingNo/HT003/view/Conference/default.aspx 

Edinburgh, UK 

Website: www.physoc.org/vs2011 

Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK 

Website: www.wellcome.ac.uk/conferences 

London, UK 

Website: www.physoc.org/meetings 

In association with the Higher Education Academy 

Charles Darwin House, London 

Website: http://www.sebiology.org/meetings/EPASymposium/home.html 


17-20 November, 2011 

3-7 December, 2011 

6 December, 2011 

6-8 December, 2011 

1-3 February, 2012 

19-21 March, 2012 

27-29 March, 2012 

18 April, 2012 

www.sebiology.org

SEB Meetings Diary 

June 2012 

SEB Animal Symposium "Woodstock 2012" 

Roots to the Future: ISRR 2012 


July 2012 

September 2012 


Abbazia di Spineto, Tuscany, Italy 

Website: http://www.sebiology.org/meetings/Woodstock/home.html 

Information: Talja Dempster 

23rd International Conference on Arabidopsis Research 

Physiology 2012: Main Meeting of The Physiological Society 

Working Safely with Nanomaterials 

Plant Biology 2012 

FESPB/EPSO Plant Biology Congress Meeting 

SEB Valencia 2013 

37th International Congress of Physiological Sciences 

23-27 June, 2012 

26-29 June, 2012 

Dundee, Scotland 

The 8th Symposium of the International Society of Root Research, marking the 30th Anniversary of the Society. 

Website: http://www.rootresearch.org/meetings/isrr2012 

Salzburg Congress Centre, Austria 

Website: http://sebiology.org/meetings/Salzburg2012/Salzburg.html 

Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria 

Organizing Committee: Magnus Nordborg, Marie-Theres Hauser and Wolfram Weckwerth 

Website: http://www.icar2012.org/ 

Edinburgh, UK 

Website: www.physiology2012.org 

Edinburgh, Scotland 

More information: june.freeland@strath.ac.uk 

Austin, Texas 

http://my.aspb.org/events/event_details.asp?id=140353 

Freiburg, Germany 

http://www.plant-biology-congress2012.de/home.html 

29 June - 2nd July 2012 

3-7 July, 2012 

3–5 July, 2012 

6 July 2012 

20 – 24 July, 2012 

29 July – 3 August, 2012 

European Microscopy Congress 2012 16-21 September. 2012 

Event Location: Manchester Central, Manchester, UK 

Website: http://www.emc2012.org.uk/ 

July 2013 

Valencia Congress Centre, Spain 

More information to follow soon 

Birmingham, UK 

Website: www.iups2013.org 

Contact: M.S. Gordon (msgordon@ucla.edu) 

2-6 July, 2013 

21-26 July, 2013 



Travel Grants 


Interested in applying for a travel grant? Visit www.sebiology.org 

st th 

Deadlines for applications for the next two rounds are: 31 December 2011 and 30 March 2012 

Jose Iriarte-Diaz University Of Chicago SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Erika Jennifer Eliason University of British Columbia SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Bohdana Rovenko Precazpathian National University SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

NatalieBriscoe University of Melbourne SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Maria Jose Fernandez University of North Carolina SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Catalina Reyes University of British Columbia Lab visit to the Universidade Estadval Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil 

Sharon Elaine Warner Royal Veterinary College SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Mariana Campbell University Of Queensland SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Candice Bywater University of Queensland SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Daniel Hancox University Of Queensland SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Per Henningsson Lund University SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Alex Little University of Sydney SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Scott Mirceta University of Liverpool SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Audrey Fouchs Universite de Brest SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Jose Pablo Vazquez-Medina University of California Merced SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Kathleen Lucas University of Bristol Summer school in Computational neuroscience, Ottawa, Canada 

Jessica Roberts University of Melbourne SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Shane Windsor Oxford University International Congress on Flow Sensing in Air and Water, Bonn, Germany 

Melissa Cameron Deakin University 8th International Congress on Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Nagoya, Japan 

Leonard George Forgan Plant And Food ResearchNew Zealand SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Kevin Brix University of Miami, RSMAS 8th International Congress on Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Nagoya, Japan 

Tommy Norin Aarhus University SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Jean-Paul Paluzzi McMaster University SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Jason Goldstein University of New Hampshire SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Michele Nawata McMaster University 8th International Congress on Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Nagoya, Japan 

Leanne Elder University of Rhode Island SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Iaryna Sheremet National Academy of Sciences Ukraine SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Eszter Boldog University of Szeged International Congress of Medical Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria 

Beryl Julie Mazel-Sanchez University of St. Andrews International Union of Microbial Societies conference, Sapporo, Japan 

Jayne Louise Wilson University of Sheffield 7th European Worshop on Bacterial Respiratory Chains, Backgarden, Hoor, Sweden 

Hazel Stewart University of Glasgow Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory meeting, New York State, USA 

David Lee Hamilton University of Dundee American Diabetes Association 71st Meeting, San Diego, USA 

Scott Kenneth Parks Universite Nice 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Zoologists, Ottawa, Canada 

Samantha Leigh Grimley CSIRO Gordon Research Conference, Lucca, Italy 

Xiaojia Yin University Of Sheffield SEB Meeting, Glasgow 2011 

Jose Fernandez University of Nottingham 1st Congress of Cereal Biotechnology and Breeding, Szeged, Hungary 

Sarah Covshoff Cambridge University International Botanical Congress, Melbourne, Australia 

Patricia Lopez University of Essex Gordon Research Conference, Les Diablerets, Switzerland 

Berta Gallego Paramo Universitat Autonoma Barcelona SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Celia Duff-Farrier Bristol University APS-IPPC 2011 joint meeting, Honolulu Hawaii 

Dhaval Patel University Of Bristol SEB Annual Meeting 2011, Glasgow 

Lislie Solis-Montero University of Stirling Lab visit to the National University of Mexico 


www.sebiology.org

Travel Grants 


Charlotte Lomax Rothamstead Research 4th International IUPAC Symposium for Trace Elements in Food, Aberdeen, UK 

Chloe Steels University of Sheffield American Society for Mass Spectrometry meeting, Denver, Colorado 

Thomas Alexander Flynn University of Thomas International Conference on Serpentine Ecology, Portugal 

Mahsa Movahedi University of Sheffield Plant Biology 2011, Minneapolis, USA 

Nicholas Joseph Carey Queen's University Belfast World Conference on Marine biodiversity 2011, Aberdeen, Scotland 

Lucy Fray Imperial College London APHD Special Interest Group 2011 meeting, Dundee, UK 

Tina Keller University of Algarve XIIth Chemical Signals in Vertebrates meeting, Berlin, Germany 

Fiona Murray University of Aberdeen Benthic Processes in a globally changing environment" conference, Fiskbackskil, Sweden 

Olivia Joanna Osborne University of Exeter 6th International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles, London, UK 

Paula Joy Rosewarne University of Leeds New Frontiers in Fisheries Management and Ecology meeting, Seattle, USA 

Simone Leigh Webber University of Birmingham 8th Conference of the European ornithologists' union, Riga, Latvia from 

Swadhin Jana Tata Institute 2011 EMBO meeting, Vienna, Austria 

John Kendall University of Sheffield Campylo bacter, Holicobacter and Related Organism" conference, Vancouver, Canada 

Morag Kirsteen Mansley Universitat Erlangen-Nurnaerg 7th International Symposium on Aldosterone, Pacific Grove, California, USA 

Jessica Poole University of Essex 6th International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles, London, UK 

Sudarsan Rajagopal TATA Institute Annual Molecular Parasitology Meeting, Massachusetts, USA 

Helen Downie SCRI Structure and Function of Roots conference, Hightatras, Slovakia 

Adam Hayes University of Sheffield Plant Biology 2011, Minneapolis, USA 

Jonathan Helliwell University of Nottingham Rizosphere 3 International Conference, Perth, Australia 

SEB@Glasgow 2011 

It is a long and very expensive trip to Europe from New 

Zealand. This is what puts many researchers based here off 

from attending international meetings of the calibre that 

Society of Experimental Biology (SEB) hosts every year. 

Nonetheless, I put my mind to getting to this year's SEB 

annual main meeting in Glasgow, Scotland as I knew many 

of the world's top scientists in my field would be attending. 

So I registered and submitted a talk to the organising 

committee. When I heard that my talk was accepted, I was 

ecstatic. I then set about applying for funding to attend. First 

on my list was the Company of Biologists (COB). When I 

received confirmation that my COB application was 

successful, everything began to fall into place. 

I arrived from a cold NZ winter to bonnie Scotland a couple 

of days before the conference and took in some of the sights 

and sounds of the city. It was wonderful for me, as despite 

my Scottish heritage, I have never visited. I was talking on 

the first day of the conference and I was surprised to see a 

very full auditorium awaiting the delivery of my data. This 

was fortuitous as my talk entitled “Cardiorespratory 

physiology of the spiny rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) to 

emersion and changes in ambient temperature and gas 

concentration” was well received and there were many 

though provoking questions asked about the work and these 

remarkable organisms. This set me up for the following days, 

as since as I appeared early in the program, many people 

remembered me. The conference was also very useful for 

networking. I managed to meet many other physiologists and 

discuss both my and their work. This was extremely valuable 

in helping to decide what experiments to complete next on 

my lobster. 

In addition to my session (General animal Biology), I 

attended several other sessions that were extremely useful 

and informative. The two best were: "Under Pressure: Costs 

and Benefits of High Systemic Blood Pressures" and "New 

Frontiers in O2 Homeostasis: NO, Nitrite and H2S Signalling 

in Animal Biology". From these two sessions I learnt of the 

most up-to-date research by some of the world's foremost 

physiologists. The knowledge I gained will be useful in my 

current research and that planned for the near future. In 

addition to the excellent scientific sessions, the preconferencing 

networking event and the conference dinner 

provided valuable opportunities to meet other delegates. The 

latter was a particularly useful forum to meet up with both 

old and new acquaintances. 

I must extend gratitude to the COB for the travel funding 

provided as I would not have been able to attend without 

their support. I look forward to supporting the COB and SEB 

well into the future. 

Len Forgan 

Plant & Food Research Nelson, New Zealand 

I was awarded with the Company of Biologists Travel Fund, 

which allowed me to attend the Society for Experimental 

Biology (SEB) Annual Meeting held in Glasgow from 1st to 

4th July 2011. I gave an oral presentation at the 

Conservation Physiology section, where I presented part of 

the work that I have done during my PhD. My work was one 

of the selected ones for the conference media release and as 

a result I was very pleased to give an interview to a German 

radio. 

This conference brought significant contributions for my 

study and career. The group of researchers at this meeting 



Travel Grants 

acted as important platforms for my work and provided me 

with constructive feedback that greatly benefited the 

formulation of my thesis. By attending this conference I also 

gained valuable experience in communicating my research 

to a wide audience as well as exposure to other scientists 

and different fields of research. As I am approaching the end 

of my Ph.D. candidature, this was an ideal time to network 

and make connections that may lead to a future post- 

doctoral position and research collaborations. 

Thanks to a travel grant from the CoB, I was able to attend 

the 2011 SEB Annual Meeting in Glasgow. It really was an 

incredible four days, packed with many exceptional 

presentations covering a wide range of current topics in 

experimental biology and endless opportunities to meet and 

network (in some incredible Scottish bars) with influential 

and inspiring researchers I'd only ever known on paper. 

I was also lucky to present my PhD research along side two 

extremely talented researchers as part of the Young Scientist 

Award Session (YSAS). In addition to getting my research out 

there, I received insightful feedback from some of the top 

scientists in my field. The entire meeting was very well 

organized and provided a purely encouraging and 

supportive atmosphere –a perfect introduction to 

international conferences. 

Again I have to thank the CoB, as it is unlikely that I would 

have gained this invaluable experience without their 

support. I am looking forward to the 2012 SEB Annual 

General Meeting in Salzburg, Austria. 

Mariana Campbell 

University of Queensland 

Alex Little 

University of Sydney 

My talk was scheduled on the first day of the meeting and 

was received well; I was asked a few questions and I got 

some useful feedback. Most valuable to me, was the 

confidence I gained in presenting to an international 

scientific audience. I had only presented a poster (in Prague) 

previously, so getting my work this kind of exposure meant I 

really benefitted from the experience. 

I was disappointed there weren't more large terrestrial 

biomechanics/locomotor talks, but those that were on offer 

gave me the opportunity to broaden my interests. I found 

the adhesion talks on Sunday morning fascinating. This year 

I also ventured away from the general biomechanics sessions 

to listen to some animal biology talks which were great. 

The social events were very enjoyable and provided a great 

place to network. Overall, I really enjoyed this year's 

conference and am looking forward to Salzburg next year! 

Sharon Warner 

Royal Veterinary College 



This congress was held from 1st to 4th July 2011. It brought 

together many researchers working both in animal biology, 

in plant biology or in cell biology. I was able to expose the 

second part of my PhD work to an audience of scientists in 

the "General Animal Biology" session. As an oral 

communication, I presented a study entitled "Intracellular 

signaling pathways involved in sustained and transient 

activation of ERK1 / 2 during hypo-osmotic exposure of 

turbot hepatocytes." This study demonstrated that the 

proteins ERK1 and ERK2, belonging to the MAP kinase 

family, are activated in two stages after a cell swelling due to 

a hypo-osmotic shock in turbot hepatocytes. The first part of 

the activation is due to the stretch of the cell membrane 

caused by cell swelling. The second part of the activation is 

done through a number of intracellular messengers essential 

to the mechanisms of cell volume regulation that is set up as 

a result of swelling. At the end of the presentation, time is 

allotted to allow scientists to ask questions on both the 

scientific and technical aspects of the study. I found this 

moment very rewarding because it allows for views 

completely outside of the research work. Also, I saw the 

interest of the audience for this study and expanded my field 

of vision. 

During this congress, I was also able to attend very 

interesting sessions which permits to have new approaches 

to my work and personal enrichment. Moreover I had 

discussions with post-doctorals and researchers, which gave 

me the opportunity to reflect on my future career. Thanks to 

the various stands present in biotechnology and scientific 

editions, I was also able to keep abreast of the latest 

developments. Finally, my participation at this conference 

was truly rewarding. I got to meet and discuss with 

researchers and the various discussions can be an asset for 

my future work and for the laboratory to which I belong. 

I would like to acknowledge the support of the Society for 

Experimental Biology and Company of Biologists Travel 

Fund, which enabled me to attend Annual Main Meeting of 

the Society of Experimental Biology at the Scottish Exhibition 

and Conference Centre in Glasgow, Scotland at 1st-4th July 

2011. It was a great honor for me to give a talk as a one of 

the finalist of SEB's Young Scientist Award Session. 

Presenting scientific results of my work at this conference 

and attending the numerous sessions provided me with 

invaluable experiences of knowledge exchange and 

networking with the scientists in different fields of 

Experimental Biology. The poster session offers a more 

intimate forum for discussion, which allowed me to interact 

and network with other international delegates. It was also a 

great platform to receive invaluable feedback on my work 

and to form future collaborations. 

Audrey Fouchs 

Université de Bretagne Occidentale 

Yarina Sheremet 

Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics, Ukraine 

www.sebiology.org

Travel Grants 

Thank you very much again for this excellent conference 

and your support for me to get this opportunity to present my 

research in the conference. It was a very successful 

conference. I have benefited much from attending it. 

According to my research interest, I spent most of my time in 

the Plant Session – Integration of abiotic and biotic stress 

responses: from systems biology to field. I met famous senior 

researchers who are experts in this research area. Also the 

presentations from different research groups provided a lot of 

inspiration. I also listened to some interesting topics in the 

other plant sessions: regulation of resource allocation and 

growth, pathways and fluxes: analysis of the plant metabolic 

network and plant transcription: regulation and mechanism. 

Cold Spring Harbor Retroviruses Meeting 

In May 2011 I attended the Cold Spring Harbor Retroviruses 

Meeting, held annually in Long Island, New York. This is a 

highly-attended conference for retrovirologists and attracts 

delegates from across the globe. The meeting included 

seminars and presentations on a range of retroviruses, 

focussing mainly upon HIV and AIDS-related topics but also 

spanning oncogenic and veterinary retroviruses. It was 

therefore a unique opportunity for researchers such as myself, 

who work on non-HIV retroviruses, to see our research as a 

part of the “bigger picture” within the retroviral scientific 

community. 

I presented my research upon feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), 

entitled “The role of N-linked glycosylation of the Env protein 

in FeLV pathogenesis.” My research investigates the role that 

various mutations of FeLV viral proteins may have upon the 

cell-virus interactions, and in turn, the disease progression that 

occurs in the domestic cat upon infection. I also study the 

immune response to infection and how the virus mutates 

within the cat. In the long term, it is hoped that my research 

will contribute to a more efficient vaccine for cats against this 

10th Anniversary International Congress of 

Medical Sciences 

I was very happy, that I could participate in the 10th 

Anniversary International Congress of Medical Sciences for 

Students and Young doctors in Sofia, Bulgaria (ICMS 2011). 

This was the first time that I could present my findings with a 

poster on an international conference and I also could discuss 

them with young researchers, scientists and doctors. These 

conversations are going to the very helpful in my further work, 

since I've received much new advice and ideas that have 

opened new perspectives in my scientific work. Listening to 

the presentations and participating in the workshops I could 

get to know new research findings, interesting methods, out of 

which the ones dealing with animal experiments were the 

most beneficial for me. 


I attended the poster session. It was a very efficient way to 

present my research. There were many interesting 

discussions and opinions, which broadened my mind about 

future work. I have been informed that I won a poster prize, 

which was an approval of my previous research work and 

also made this meeting attendance more meaningful for me. 

I am very glad about this. 

The SECC and the city of Glasgow are very impressive. The 

conference meal which was held in the Science Centre was 

an excellent idea, which was very lively and with a lovely 

view of the river at night. 

Xiaojia Yin 

University of Sheffield 

important pathogen, and may potentially act as a model for 

HIV-immune system interactions within humans. 

My results were received with interest from the other 

delegates, and many of my fellow scientists had valuable 

advice for me as to which directions my experiments should 

be taking at this final stage of my PhD. There were numerous 

people with whom I shall remain in contact, both as 

collaborators and mentors, whom I would not have had the 

opportunity to meet in person if not for my attendance. 

As a result of the conference I have made valuable contacts 

for my future career, gained new perspectives on my results 

and was exposed to the most recent advancements in my field 

of research. It highlighted the range of diverse areas available 

to me following completion of my PhD thesis and allowed me 

to discuss informally the potential career opportunities that 

may be available in the upcoming months in other research 

laboratories. This in particular was invaluable to me and 

could not have been achieved if not for a generous travel 

award from the Society of Experimental Biology and Company 

of Biologists. 

Hazel Stewart 

University of Glasgow 

The atmosphere of the conference was very youthful, 

ambitious and friendly and this way the presentations and 

workshops seemed more informal and interactive. I made lots 

of new friends with contemporary scientists with whom I hope 

to keep in contact in the future. Besides all this, my 

participation in the conference was very beneficial in the 

improvement of my English knowledge, since I've had lots of 

opportunities to use the language at the conference, on social 

programs and also in my free time. In the afternoons we had 

time to walk around the city and maybe to take a peek into 

the lives of the Bulgarian people. I am very happy that I could 

get to know this diverse and interesting culture. All in all I find 

it very useful that I could participate on this conference, for 

which I am very grateful to the SEB and the CoB, since 

without their travel grant I couldn't finance this trip. 

Eszter Boldog 

University of Szeged 



Travel Grants 

Iberia Field Trip Report 

The aim of the fieldtrip was to sample populations of the 

Alyssum serpyllifolium species complex across Iberia for 

tissue that is intended to be used in a population genetic study 

of this taxon using chloroplast microsatellite markers. This 

speices has populations living on metal-rich serpentine soils 

which can hyperaccumulate nickel in their leaves, and also 

non-accumulator populations living on calcareous soils. 

Galicia, NW Spain (9-12 June) 

I travelled with my supervisor, Prof. Andrew Smith. We met 

botanists from the University of Santiago de Compostela, and 

visited three separate sites on serpentine soils in the Melide 

region of Galicia. We collected Alyssum serpyllifolium ssp. 

pintodasilvae herbarium specimens and tissue samples from 

all three of these areas, and seed of another nickel 

hyperaccumulator plant, Thlaspi caerulescens. We then 

travelled to the south of Galicia and collected Alyssum 

serpyllifolium ssp. serpyllifolium from the limestone gorge 

near Rubiá, where we also found Alyssum alyssoides. 

Coimbra, Portugal (13-18 June) 

We then travelled to Coimbra, Portugal, where I participated 

in the 7th International Conference on Serpentine Ecology. I 

gave a presentation entitled Evolution of nickel 

hyperaccumulation and serpentine endemism in the genus 

Alyssum. This conference provided a fantastic opportunity to 

meet important researchers in the field of serpentine and 

heavy metal ecology, and I made very useful links with 

research groups in Coimbra, Madrid and California. The midconference 

field visit to the Trás-o-Montes serpentine region 

in N. Portugal provided an opportunity to collect further 

material of Alyssum serpyllifolium ssp. piontodasilvae. 

Rio Tinto Mining Area, Spain (17-18 June) 

I then travelled with botanists from Madrid University to the 

Rio Tinto mining area in S. Spain. We identified and collected 

Oxford and Santiago de Compostela botanists at Melide, Galicia. Abundant 

Alyssum serpyllifolium ssp. pintodasilvae along the roadside. Tom Flynn 2nd 

from Right. 



Tom Flynn in the mists of the Sierra Bermeja, nr Malaga. Sourrounded by 

distinctive cushion vegetation, including Halimium atriplicifolium ssp. 

serpenticola and occasional Alyssum serpyllifolium ssp. malacitanum. 

a number of plants restricted to this region, including Erica 

andavalensis, which is a key pioneer species on the highly 

acidic Iron sulphide soils and is likely to play a key role in 

efforts to re-vegetate the large areas of disturbed soils caused 

by past mining activities. No Alyssum species were found in 

this area. 

Sierra de Bermeja, Spain (19-20 June) 

With the same botanists, I travelled to this large area of 

serpentine mountains near Malaga. Here we met botanists 

from the University of Malaga. Within forests of the Aibes 

pinsapo, a fir endemic to this mountain range, I found and 

collected Alyssum serpyllifolium ssp. malacitanum, endemic 

to a very small area of south east Spain. 

Granada (21-22 June) 

Finally, I travelled to the region around Granada in the Sierra 

Nevada, where there are reports of Alyssum serpyllifolium ssp. 

serpyllifolium. However, I was unable to find Alyssum species 

here, including Alyssum granatense which is endemic to this 

region. 

In summary, learned a great deal about the field ecology of 

Alyssum and other Mediterranean species, and made the most 

of the fantastic opportunities to work alongside local experts. I 

also used the opportunity to improve my Spanish. 

Tom Flynn, 

Dept. of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford 

www.sebiology.org

Travel Grants 

50th Annual Canadian Society of 

Zoologists meeting 

I am writing this letter to express my appreciation for being 

awarded an Company of Biologists Travel Award. This award 

was used to help compensate for the cost of my attendance at 

the 50th annual Canadian Society of Zoologists (CSZ) meeting 

in Ottawa, Canada on May 16-20, 2011. At this meeting I 

delivered an oral presentation of my current post-doctoral 

work involving bicarbonate transport and intracellular pH 

regulation in the survival of tumor cells. This meeting was 

very beneficial for my scientific career. As I am currently a 

post-doc in France (originally from Canada) it provided me 

with an opportunity to re-connect with colleagues from 

University of Ottawa Summer School in 

Computational Neuroscience 

Thanks to the funds I received from the SEB/COB travel grant, 

I was able to attend the 5th annual Summer School in 

Computational Neuroscience run by the Centre for Neural 

Dynamics at the University of Ottawa in Canada. This twoweek 

course brought together physical and life scientists to 

learn about neural data analysis and mathematical modelling 

of neural activity. The course consisted of lectures and 

complimentary computer labs, covering such topics as spike 

train analysis, bursting oscillators, synchrony, synaptic 

plasticity, and neural models including Hodgkin-Huxley and 

Leaky-Integrate-and-Fire. The course also included a 

modeling project, for which students were placed in pairs 

across disciplines. As a biologist, I was paired with a 


Canada to present my current work and maintain connections 

for future collaborations and research projects. I was also 

exposed to a number of presentations that provided 

substantial advancements in the field of comparative 

physiology and will form the basis of future research projects. 

In addition I was able to contribute to the CSZ by acting as a 

judge for the student poster session. Numerous networking 

experiences during the conference will prove invaluable to 

the future of my scientific career. Overall the conference was 

an excellent experience for me and as such I wish to express 

my gratitude for the financial support provided by the 

Company of Biologists. 

Scott K Park 

Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis 

France 

computer scientist. This was a highly rewarding experience, 

for while I was able to contribute to their understanding of the 

biology behind the neural system we were modeling, I was 

able to learn from my partner how to develop a mathematical 

model. This partnership emphasized the importance of 

interdisciplinary collaboration, a lesson I will remember and 

undoubtedly apply during my future career. 

Attendance at this course has been a significant help for my 

PhD, both academically from topics discussed in the class, 

and generally from the enlightening discussions with my 

fellow students as well as the course lecturers and teaching 

assistants. I'd like to thank the Society for Experimental 

Biology for contributing to this invaluable experience. 

Kathleen Lucas, 

University of Bristol 



Travel Grants 

7th European Workshop on Bacterial 

Respiratory Chains 

With a generous contribution to my travel costs from the 

Society for Experimental Biology and the Company of 

Biologists grant scheme, I was able to present my work in the 

form of an oral presentation in partnership with a colleague at 

the 7th European Workshop on Bacterial Respiratory Chains. 

The conference covered topics such as nitrosative stress in 

bacteria, energy metabolism in extremophiles, energetic 

sulphur metabolism, haem proteins and supramolecular 

organisation of prokaryotic respiratory chains. A highlight, and 

of particular relevance to my work, was an oral presentation 

given by our competitors. 

My attendance at this meeting was an invaluable opportunity 

for me to discuss my work with experts in this area, as well as 

developing ideas for how I can continue my research. 

International Congress of Comparative 

Physiology and Biochemistry 

I would like to thank the Society of Experimental Biology and 

the Company of Biologists for the very generous travel grant 

that allowed me to attend and present a poster at the 

International Congress of Comparative Physiology and 

Biochemistry (ICCPB) in Nagoya, Japan in June, 2011. 

Certainly, many people were apprehensive about attending 

the ICCPB conference in Nagoya because of the earthquake 

and tsunami that occurred in northern Japan earlier in the 

year. However, it was a successful conference and I think it 

was important that many international participants were able 

to attend and show their solidarity and support to the 

conference organizers and the host country. 

Viruses and Cells Conference (Gordon 

Research Conference) 

Il Ciocco Resort, Lucca (Barga), Italy. Lab visits to Imperial 

College London and Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright, 

Surrey, England. 

I talked with a number of scientists at the Viruses and Cells 

conference, but those that provided the most insight were 

Bernardo Mainou (a research fellow at Vanderbilt University), 

Renate Fuchs (lab head at the Medical University of Vienna) 

and Chris Richardson (Canada Research Chair at Dalhousie 

University). We spoke about the implications of my work and 

they provided me with a new perspective on some recent 

results I had obtained. At Imperial College London I met with 

and presented my work to Geoffrey Smith and a number of 

students and post-doctoral scientists in his lab group. They 

gave me feedback, as well as suggesting that I apply for 2 new 



Presenting to such an international audience and answering 

questions about my work and the background subject 

challenged me and allowed me to see how others view my 

data. My experience broadened my horizons and gave me a 

deeper understanding of bacterial respiration. I was also able 

to improve my confidence and communication skills through 

interaction with peers. 

Following the conference I am even more enthusiastic and 

focused in the areas that were discussed. Being in such an 

environment gave rise to a number of ideas and thoughts, 

which made for good discussion with my supervisor and 

colleagues back in the lab. In summary, my experience was 

enjoyable and rewarding. I am very grateful to the SEB for the 

funds that enabled me to attend this conference. 

Jayne Louise Wilson 

University of Glasgow 

I was very excited about attending this conference knowing 

that it would be my first opportunity to meet many of the 

international scientists working in my field that I have only 

known by name. In fact, I had the opportunity to exchange 

ideas with many scientists, including ones that are working in 

different fields of study. As a result, I have gained not only on 

an intellectual level, but have forged new bonds and initiated 

opportunities for future research collaborations with other 

scientists. 

This was such a rewarding experience, that I hope to attend 

the next ICCPB conference four years from now. Thanks again 

to the Society of Experimental Biology and the Company of 

Biologists that made it possible for me this year. 

Michele Nawata 

McMaster University, Canada 

positions in their lab that are about to be advertised. At the 

Institute for Animal Health I met with Liz Reid and Nicholas 

Juleff who gave me a tour of the laboratories as well as brief 

presentations about their current work and introductions to a 

number of their fellow scientists. 

Through the conference and subsequent lab visits I have made 

valuable contacts for not only myself but other members of 

my lab group. I have seen the quality of research that is being 

undertaking at other organisations around the world, and I 

was able to assess the resources and support that would be 

available to me if I were to undertake post-doctoral work at 

either Imperial CollegeLondon or the Institute for Animal 

Health. I see future employment possibilities with both of 

these organisations. 

Samantha Grimley 

Australian Animal Health Laboratory 

www.sebiology.org

Travel Grants 

International Congress “Flow Sensing in 

Air and Water” 

The International Congress on “Flow Sensing in Air and 

Water” bought together scientist from all over the globe who 

are interested in how animals sense the movement of fluids. 

Areas of interest ranged from the lateral line system in fish, to 

air flow sensing hairs in insects, passing by flow sensing in 

such diverse animals such as bats and leeches on the way. 

The meeting was held in the historic Poppelsdorf Castle in 

Bonn, the home of the Institute for Zoology of Bonn 

University. 

For me attending the represented a unique opportunity for me 

at an important time in my scientific career. This conference 

was the first specifically focused on flow sensing in air and 

water and bought together many of the top researchers from a 

number of fields. The conference was an opportunity for me 

to present a summary of the work I have done over the last 

few years as a postdoc and during my PhD, looking at how 

blind cave fish can use the water flow fields around their body 

to get hydrodynamic images of their surroundings. 

Over the course of the conference I was able to share my 

research with experts from a wide range of fields including 

animal behaviour, neuronal processing, biophysics and 

141st Annual Meeting of the American 

Fisheries Society 

In September 2011 with funding help from a CoB travel grant I 

attended the 141st Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries 

Society in Seattle. It was a huge meeting, with over 4000 

attendees, but the organisation of the programme into 

numerous specialist symposia and the layout of the 

conference with multiple smaller rooms and lecture theatres 

prevented things getting too overwhelming. I presented work 

carried out by a colleague at Leeds University who with 

funding from the World Universities Network compared the 

morphology of signal crayfish between their native and 

invasive ranges. Signal crayfish are native to the Pacific 

Northwest, yet among researchers in the region there is some 

debate over their true native range, historic movements and 

even taxonomy. One talk outlined evidence for division of 

signal crayfish into 3 sub-species based on both morphology 

and genetic evidence, which could have implications for 

management and conservation of signals in the Pacific 

Northwest. Elsewhere in the U.S. they have been introduced 

outside their native range by human actions with potentially 

deleterious consequences; two studies addressed ecosystem 

implications of signal crayfish both in lakes and streams. The 

notion of 'biotic resistance' was also examined in relation to 

signal crayfish, which as voracious consumers of New 

Zealand Mud Snail could keep populations of this other 

aquatic invader in check. 


artificial sensors. Discussing my work with people with such 

diverse interests allowed me to obtain a number of very useful 

insights into my own work. During the conference I was also 

treated to many fascinating talks from all of these areas. In 

was very interesting to see how much can be learnt about 

complex biological systems by bringing together methods and 

perspectives from a wide range of fields. In addition to 

discussing my previous work, the meeting was a fantastic 

opportunity to ponder ideas for the next step in my research 

career. During the conference it came to light that the 

organisers had searched for anyone working on air flow 

sensing in birds and drawn a blank. This happens to be one 

of the areas of research I am interested in pursuing next, so the 

conference was the perfect opportunity to discuss how to 

approach this area of neglected but possibly highly 

enlightening research. 

Overall, attending the International Congress on “Flow 

Sensing in Air and Water” gave me the opportunity to share 

my research with a unique group of experts which gave me a 

number of useful insights and also allowed me to explore the 

options for the next stage of my career. And as such I would 

like to thank the Society for Experimental Biology and the 

Company of Biologists for helping to fund my attendance at 

this wonderful congress. 

Shane Windsor 

University of Oxford 

The issue of invasive species was addressed in a number of 

symposia, and is a major issue across US fisheries, particularly 

considering the vast scale of their freshwater systems and 

difficulties in making legislation consistent between different 

States. Riverine connectivity was another key theme. 

Improving passage for anadromous and catadromous fish over 

barriers ranging from culverts to large hydroelectric dams is 

hugely important considering the size and commercial 

importance of these fisheries in the US pacific region e.g. 

Salmon. However, improving connectivity may also have a 

downside in enabling faster movement of invasive species 

through catchments. Options such as selective barriers based 

on differences in movement and behaviour or morphology 

were discussed, although most are very expensive so there is 

difficult balance to find. 

There was a large trade show included within the meeting and 

numerous socials which provided enjoyable opportunities to 

chat with other researchers informally. We were treated to a 

special party in the Seattle Aquarium and a trip up the iconic 

Space Needle. I picked up some useful tips and ideas for 

future work, and made a point of attending the careers fair. 

Although like the UK, the US is suffering large budget cuts in 

funding, it was encouraging to find that positions are still 

available and there are viable employment routes available for 

non-US citizens. 

Paula Rosewarne 

University of Leeds 



Travel Grants 

Study on the peripheral chemoreceptors of 

the South American rattlesnake - Brazil 

I am very grateful to the Society for Experimental Biology for 

giving me an award from the Company of Biologists Travel 

Fund. This award allowed me to travel to Brazil to continue a 

study on the peripheral chemoreceptors of the South 

American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) and their role in 

cardiovascular and respiratory control. This study is part of 

my PhD work at the University of British Columbia on 

peripheral chemoreceptors in amphibians and reptiles. 

I completed a study in Brazil where I identified three 

functional chemosensory areas in rattlesnakes. Oxygen 

sensing receptors were located in the carotid bifurcation, 

pulmonary artery and aortic arch by stimulating each area 

with sodium cyanide, which mimics anoxia, and measuring 

the respiratory and cardiovascular response. The response 

from each chemosensory area was confirmed by selectively 

denervating each area and repeating the injection of sodium 

cyanide. The role of each chemoreceptor site in reflex control 

varied between the three areas. All chemoreceptors were 

effective in regulating ventilation, but only aortic 

chemoreceptors and, to a lesser extent, pulmonary 

chemoreceptors played a key role in regulating cardiac shunt. 

In addition, I tested the stimulus specificity of the three 

chemosensory areas by comparing the responses after saline 

(low CaO2, but normal PO2) and blood (normal CaO2 and 

PO2) injections. So far, I have found that injections of saline 

cause a change in pulmonary blood flow, but only when 

injected in the pulmonary artery. Ventilation, however, is not 

affected by a reduction in CaO2 in any of the areas. 

Injections of normoxic blood did not cause any response. 

3rd Nereis Park Conference: Benthic 

processes in a globally changing 

environment, Kristineberg, Sweden 

Thanks to a generous travel grant from the SEB/CoB, I was 

able to attend the Nereis Park Conference in Sweden in 

August 2011. The conference took place in the Kristineberg 

Marine Research Station at the mouth of the beautiful Gullmar 

Fjord and was attended by 60 researchers from 12 different 

countries 

During the conference I presented a talk entitled 

“Consequences of rapid and severe CO2 induced seawater 

acidification on benthic ecosystem function”, which was 

based on results from an experiment carried out in the first 

year of my PhD. In this talk I presented data which illustrates 

the immediate, non lethal, impacts of acidified sea water, 

simulating leakage from a subsea carbon capture and storage 

facility, on seven benthic invertebrate species with regards to 



The findings of this study, together with the rest of my thesis 

on the peripheral chemoreceptors of amphibians and turtles 

will allow us to understand how the number, distribution, 

reflex roles and the oxygen sensing mechanisms of 

chemosensory sites has changed throughout phylogeny to 

allow for more efficient control of arterial blood gases in 

groups with cardiovascular shunts. This work would not have 

been possible without the support of the Society for 

Experimental Biology and will result in a number of 

publications. 

Catalina Reyes 

University of British Columbia, Canada 

Catalina Reyes (pictured below) 

and (right) with Angelina Fong 

their bioturbation activities and influence on nutrient cycling. 

The feedback I received was encouraging and gave me 

different perspectives on my work. The conference gave me 

an opportunity to discuss my work with people outside my 

research group which I found valuable 

The topics covered at the conference were highly relevant to 

my work. In particular I found the talks in the “Anthropogenic 

Impacts” session of great interest and the subsequent 

discussions useful and enlightening. The “Novel Tools and 

Techniques” session was fascinating as it emphasised the 

range of methods that can be employed to gain insight into 

the benthic environment and the levels of accuracy on a fine 

scale that can now be achieved. I enjoyed the conference and 

got a lot out of the experience. It gave me ideas and renewed 

enthusiasm for future research and I look forward to the 

opportunity to attend other conferences in the future. 

Fiona Murray, 

Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen 

www.sebiology.org

Travel Grants 

59th ASMS Conference on Mass 

Spectrometry and Allied Topics 

This year I attended the 59th ASMS Conference on Mass 

Spectrometry and Allied Topics in Denver, Colorado USA. 

The conference was held at the Colorado Convention Centre 

where approximately 7000 members attended. A wide range 

of topics were covered and many leading mass spectrometrists 

were present. 

A tutorial lecture given by Dr Mark W. Duncan from the 

University of Colorado at the beginning of the conference 

highlighted the importance of good mass spectrometry and its 

place in science. His examples of how samples could be 

easily contaminated were relevant to all scientists who 

attended. 

This conference clearly showed the wide range of applications 

mass spectrometry has in answering scientific questions; from 

how stardust grains can explain the origins of stars to 

understanding how the brain works. I particularly found the 

sessions explaining new and novel mass spectrometry 

techniques and methods session extremely useful. Not only 

did they allow me to speak to leading mass spectrometrists 

about my work but also generated solutions and ideas to some 

7th International Symposium, Structure 

and Function of Roots. Novy Smokovec, 

Slovakia 

This international conference on the structure and function of 

roots has taken place at regular intervals since 1971 in 

Slovakia. The main organizers of the event are from the 

Department of Plant Physiology in Comenius University, 

Bratislava and the Institute of Botany, SAS, Bratislava, but 

there is also an international scientific committee involved. 

The conference was held in Nový Smokovec, in the High 

Tatras mountain range, north Slovakia, within a national park. 

My abstract was accepted for a talk in a session entitled 

“Emerging technologies” on the first day of the conference. I 

was due to follow Professor Ichirou Karahara from the 

University of Toyama, Japan, but his flight was delayed due to 

a typhoon and so I gave the first lecture of the conference after 

the opening ceremony. I was happy with my presentation and 

I was glad of the many times I had practiced the talk. During 

the break following my talk, I was approached straight away 

by 3 people who were interested in my work and who asked 

some more detailed questions. Throughout the week I spoke 

to several other people who also showed interest in my work, 

which was really encouraging. 

Apart from new technologies, other themes of the conference 

were root growth and development, root anatomy and 

morphology and root stress response, particularly to heavy 


of the mass spectrometry problems I had experienced with my 

own research. 

At the conference I had the opportunity to present my data 

with a poster in the Metabolomics: Untargeted Metabolite 

Profiling session. The title of my poster was: Non-targeted 

metabolomics using nanospray mass spectrometry as a tool to 

understand the growth of axillary buds in tomato plants. As 

one of the few people at the conference working with plant 

material I received a great deal of interest from fellow 

attendees. This provided an amazing opportunity to meet 

other students and academics from around the world that 

approached my work from various different viewpoints. By 

talking to fellow scientists I was able to generate new ideas 

and directions for my own research. 

I would like to thank the SEB and COB for providing me the 

grant that made it possible to attend this conference. This 

conference enabled me to network and meets a variety of 

academics from different backgrounds which will hopefully 

lead to future collaborations or job opportunities. I look 

forward to being able to attend similar conferences in the 

future. 

Chloe Steels, 

University of Sheffield 

metal contamination. For me, the highlights were Professor 

Karahara's talk (he did arrive eventually) on synchrotron x-ray 

imaging of rice root aerenchyma because I find any kind of 

3D imaging highly interesting, and Liam Dolan's (University 

of Oxford) talk on some very early rooting systems in the 

evolution of land plants and their influence on climate 

conditions. There were also some surprising talks, including 

one from Antonio Ascrizzi (Pontedera, Italy) on the creation of 

a soil-exploration robot inspired by plant root movements, 

and the talk from Peter Barlow (Bristol University) on the 

influence of luni-solar tidal forces on root growth patterns. 

There was also a chance to explore some of the surroundings 

during the 1 day excursion. We were given various choices of 

groups to join for this day. I chose to go with a group where 

the plan was to walk from a lake to another lake, higher in the 

mountains with 2 botanists from Bratislava who are experts in 

the flora of the High Tatras national park. We had a really 

nice walk and learnt about some plants along the way, 

including a carnivorous moss (Drosera rotundifolia) native to 

the region. We also experienced something of the local 

culture during the conference party where a band played 

traditional music and some of the students from Bratislava 

University dressed in local outfits. Overall it was a very 

interesting and relevant conference in a beautiful part of the 

world, where I would ultimately like to return to continue 

exploring. 

Helen Downie 

The James Hutton Institute 



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