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IFATS 2008 continues the tradition of collegiality, collaboration and open discussion. The scientific program will focus on adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
We are actively soliciting participants from academia, private industry, and government to provide a broad perspective and encourage new collaborations. Dr. Jae Ho Jeong and Dr. Sang Hong Baek will jointly chair an International Scientific Program Committee in a peer-reviewed process to select abstracts/papers for the 2008 Sixth Annual International IFATS Meeting. All abstract submissions will be eligible for a platform presentation and are guaranteed placement in a poster session. ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 10, 2008.
This year’s meeting will be held in Toulouse, France, the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées région, the largest région in metropolitan France. Toulouse, a beautiful historic city in southwest France, is a city of over 1 million inhabitants, and the Toulouse metropolitan area is the fifth-largest in France and the fastest growing in Europe. The meeting will be held at the historic Catholic Institute, a short subway ride from the hotel district. Meeting attendees will have several fine hotel options to choose from for sleeping accommodations including Hotel Sofitel Toulouse Center, Hotel Crown Plaza Toulouse or the Mercure Toulouse Saint George. Each of the hotels is located close to an array of shops and restaurants in vibrant downtown Toulouse. The gala dinner will be held Friday evening at Fondation Bemberg.
Keynote Speakers
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Dr. Gilbert Weidinger
Group Leader SFB 655
Biotechnology Center & Center for Regenerative Therapies
Technical University of Dresden
Dr. Weidinger received his Doctorate with distinction in Biology from University of Salzburg in September 2001. After graduation, Dr. Weidinger has continued his scientific training in the United States and Germany. He is currently studying molecular regulation of organ regeneration in zebrafish at the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of Technische Universität in Dresden, Germany.
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Professor Max Lafontan
Director of Research
Inserm U858 (Dept. Metabolism and Obesity,Team 1)
Institute of Molecular Medicine of Rangueil
Max Lafontan is the main investigator at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm). Max Lafontan obtained a Ph.D. and a Doctorat-es-Sciences thesis from University Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, France) in 1979. He was appointed as assistant-professor in 1970 and as associate-professor of Animal Physiology in 1979 at this University. In 1985, he moved to Inserm as main Inserm Investigator. From 1988 to 2002, he headed the Inserm Unit 317 (Adrenergic Regulations and Metabolic Adaptations) and the Institute Louis Bugnard Research Center from 1990 to 1997. His initial team contributed to the identification of human fat cell alpha2-adrenergic and neuropeptide Y receptors and to the definition of the molecular determinants of the interplay between beta- and alpha2-adrenergic receptor mediated-events in fat cells of various species. The pioneering observation of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) production by fat cells has been at the origin of the identification of a new adipocyte secretion (i.e., autotaxin, a lysophospholipase involved in LPA production). The discovery of the original role of Atrial Natriuretic peptides (ANP) in the control of lipolysis and lipid mobilization in humans in 2000 has opened an unsuspected field of research which is still under intensive exploration. Max Lafontan was Council Member and President of the French Association for the Study of Obesity (AFERO) and Council Member of the European Association for the Study of 0besity (EASO). He co-organized the congresses of EASO (Nice, 1992) and IASO (Paris, 1998) and was awarded the Friederich Wasserman Award of EASO in 2003 for his research activity in the field of adipose tissue metabolism and obesity.
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Dr. Christian Dani
Director of Research
CNRS UMR6543,
Centre de Biochimie
Faculté des Sciences
Dr. Dani earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology in 1984 from the University of Montpellier in France. He continued studying at the Institute for Stem Cell Research at University of Edinburgh in the UK from 1992 to 1994. Dr. Dani is the Director of Research at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) as well as Director of the laboratory "Stem Cells and Differentiation".
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Dr. Philippe Menasché
Département de Chirurgie Cardio-vasculaire
Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou
Dr. Menasché earned his MD in 1979 from the School of Medicine at the University of Paris and his PhD in 1987 from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Paris - Orsay. He has been the recipient of the Claude Bernard de la Ville de Paris pour la Recherche Medicale, Grand Prix AGF Athéna-Institut de France, Prix Jean Bernard de la Fondation pour las Recherche Médicale as well as Prix Danièle Hermann de l’Institut de France. Dr. Menasché's research focus is Cell therapy in cardiovascular diseases.
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Dr. Nadir Askenasy
Frankel Laboratory, Center for Stem Cell Research
Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel
Dr. Askenasy earned his MD from Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University with a specialty in Internal Medicine. In addition, he earned a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the Faculty of Exact Sciences. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Askensay was a faculty member at the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics and the Center for Light Microscope, Imaging and Biotechnology in Pittsburgh in the United States. Nadir returned to Israel to assume the position of Principal Investigator at the Frankel Laboratory, Center for Stem Cell Research, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel. His research focuses on stem cell biology and transplant immunology. Dr. Askenasy’s credentials include more than 65 peer reviewed publications and currently serves on several grant review panels and editorial boards.
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The Meeting will kick off with a welcome reception at Mercure Toulouse Saint George on Thursday, October 23, 2008. Scientific sessions will be held on Friday, October 24, 2008; Saturday, October 25, 2008; and the morning of Sunday, October 26, 2008. The meeting will adjourn by noon on Sunday.
IFATS: 22 hours of life-changing information. What you do with the other 8724 hours of your year is up to you.
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