Fourth IUB Summer School: Biosensing with channels - faster, smaller, smarter

From July 28 until August 5, a Summer School for students and postdocs will take place at International University Bremen (IUB). Focus of the more than 50 lectures and workshops lies on recent research perspectives in biosensing and their application. 70 participants from 14 Nations will meet on IUB campus.

[ Jul 26, 2006]  Nature has created a huge number of membrane channels which act as highly selective gates for water soluble molecules. Exploiting the selectivity of either natural or bioengineered channels offer promising applications for detecting analytes, characterizing molecular interactions, sequencing DNA, or monitoring protein folding. Miniaturizing the tools for membrane channel investigations, e.g. by using a microfluidic setup, allows high throughput screening of cells so that electrophysiology can become an attractive method for drug screening. Complementary to biological channels, recent advances in solid state technology allow to create artificial nanometer-sized pores in solid materials. Such artificial channels have surprisingly similar properties to natural channels.

This summer school will cover applications of membrane channels in molecular biology and biotechnology. In addition, it will also inform on the underlying physics and will present recent advances in microfluidics and nanoelectronics. The fourth IUB Summer School has been organized by Dr. Mathias Winterhalter, Professor of Biophysics at IUB. The Summer School offers students and postdocs the opportunity to advance their understanding of biosensing, present their research and build networks.

Further participants are welcome; all lectures and discussions are free. All talks will be given in the lecture hall of the Research II building on IUB campus.

Detailled information: Summer School

Contact:
International University Bremen
Dr. Mathias Winterhalter
Professor of Biophysics
Fon: 0421 – 200 3248
E-Mail: m.winterhalter@iu-bremen.de