TRAINING ACTIVITIES

The expanding diversification and specialisation of knowledge and the growing complexity of contemporary translational research warrant the creation of cooperative multi-disciplinary networks including both basic and medically oriented expertise. This notion is especially true in the field of cancer metabolism, given the complexity of the technologies involved in the investigation of the plasticity that cancer cells exploit to respond and survive to a plethora of micro-environmental selective pressures, the extreme heterogeneity of the clinical presentations, the difficulty in the implementation and efficacy assessment of adjuvant therapies targeting metabolic routes, aimed at developing personalised anti-cancer treatment. TRANSMIT is therefore an ideal platform for the training of young investigators who will develop a broad view of a heterogeneous non-communicable disease such as cancer, working in a multi-faceted area of basic and applied research. The training activities planned for the ESRs, organised at local and network level, will take place following a multidisciplinary and two-level approach: 1) training-through-research and 2) training on complementary skills connected to financial, commercial, ethical, communication and managerial aspects related to life sciences application, with a particular focus on basic, translational and pre-clinical oncology. Every ESR fellow will obtain a PhD degree.

Overall, the ESRs involved in this network will receive training via:

  1. research and complementary activities within the network;
  2. secondments and technical workshops;
  3. advanced training courses organised by associate partners;
  4. participation in international conferences and meetings;
  5. one Summer and one Spring School organised by full partners belonging to the private sector;
  6. Mid-year and End-year Meetings;
  7. dissemination and outreach activities.

TECHNICAL WORKSHOPS

  • Measuring mitochondrial function using the Seahorse Extracellular Flux Analyser” held on June 28, 2018 at the MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge. Read the programme here.
  • Principles of metabolomics” held on June 29, 2018 at the MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge. Read the programme here.
  • Commercial Awareness Training Workshop”, organised by AvantiCell, held in Ayr on July 1st and 2nd, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • Imaging tools for cells and tissue sections sample preparation – image acquisition – image analysis (general topics + focus on mitochondria / hypoxia)”, organised by UCL, held on October 27, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • MitoFit Coaching Days” (training on High-Resolution FluoRespirometry), organised by OROBOROS, held in Innsbruck (Austria) on December 10-12, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • Two-day workshop on “Observation of tumor cells by 3D tomography”, “In vitro production of bovine embryos” and “Differentiation of equine stem cells”, organised by JLU, held in Giessen (Germany) on February 27-28, 2019. Read the programme here.
  • Genetic and bioenergetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA mutations”, organised by UNIBO (FaBiT & DIMEC), held on May 13-16, 2019. Read the programme here.
  • On-line workshop on “Scientific Communication“, organised by KI, held on May 27, June 3 and June 12, 2019. Read the programme here.

ADVANCED COURSES

  • Advanced Course in “Cancer Metabolism”, organised by CEUB, held in Bertinoro di Romagna (Italy) on November 29-30, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • Course in “Cancer and Nutrition”, organised by UNIBO, held at CEUB, Bertinoro di Romagna (Italy) on December 1st, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • BIOCRATES School on “Metabolomics”, organised by BIOCRATES, held in Innsbruck (Austria) on December 3-7, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • Course in “Science Communication”, organised by FUV, held in Milan (Italy) on May 2-4, 2019. Read the programme hereWatch the videos of the lectures here.
  • Course in “Social Entrepreneurship and managerial skills”, organised by Dynamo, held in Milan (Italy) on May 6-7, 2019. Read the programme here.
  • Course in “Bio-statistics”, organised by UNIBO, held in Bologna (Italy) on May 8-9, 2019. Read the programme here
  • Course in “European public and private opportunities for R&D, Innovation and Technology Transfer”, organised by INNOVA, held in Rome (Italy) from September 30 to October 3, 2019. Read the programme here.
  • On-line Course in “Open Access and Open Science“, organised by UNIBO, held on October 15, 2020. Read the programme here.
  • On-line training on “Life after the PhD: working in a biotechnology company”, organised by UBOR and CELLOMET, held on February 4, 2021. Read the programme here.
  • OROBOROS Virtual TRANSMIT School on “Respirometry and experimental protocol design, particularly related to cancer research”, organised by OROBOROS, held on March 22-23, 2021. Read the programme here.

 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

  • Abcam Conference on Cancer and Metabolism, held at the Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge on June 25-27, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • Aegean 6th International Conference on “Tumor Microenvironment and Cellular Stress: Signaling, Metabolism, Imaging and Therapeutic Targets”, held in Chania, Crete (Greece) on September 23-28, 2019. Conference website.
  • ISCaM2020 – 7th Annual Meeting – Webinar series “Systemic Metabolism and Cancer”, organised by The Francis Crick Institute in association with the Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, University College London (UK), held online on October 20 & 27, 2020 and on November 10 & 24, 2020. Read the programme here.

 ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND DISSEMINATION

  • Visit to the European Commission, organised by UCL, Brussels (Belgium), October 26, 2018. Read the programme here.
  • ESRs participation in the Open Day at the Dynamo Camp in Limestre (Italy) on October 5-6, 2019. Visit the Dynamo Camp website here.