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18th ESPCR Meeting (ESPCR2013) - Lisbon (Portugal) - 9-12 September 2013

At the European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR), it is our pleasure to launch the first announcement of the 18th ESPCR meeting (ESPCR2013), which will be held in Lisbon (Portugal) on 9-12 September 2013. The ESPCR2013 meeting is organized by Prof. Miguel Seabra (CEDOC, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal), Dr. Graça Raposo (Institut Curie, Paris, France) and Dr. Duarte Barral (CEDOC, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal). The ESPCR2013 meeting venue will be at the Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas, historical central Lisbon, Portugal.

The Organizing Committee for the ESPCR2013 meeting includes the following scientists: Christine Baldeshi, Evry (FR); Dorothy C. Bennett, London (UK); Corine Bertolotto, Nice (FR); Anja Bosserhoff, Regensburg (DE); Véronique Delmas, Orsay (FR); Claire Futter, London (UK); Colin Goding, Oxford (UK); Valeria Marigo, Modena (IT); Lluis Montoliu, Madrid (ES); Liz Patton, Edinburgh (UK); Mauro Picardo, Rome (IT).

The main topics of the ESPCR2013 meeting will include:

• cell biology of pigment cells
• pigment cells in the eye and associated diseases
• regulation of the pigmentation at the molecular level
• melanocyte and melanoma stem cells.

Additional information will be published soon at the ESPCR2013 meeting official web page: http://www.espcr.org/ESPCR2013

Any question, comment, suggestion or request of information should be addressed to the ESPCR2013 meeting official email address: espcr2013@espcr.org

A meeting flyer with the first announcement of the 18th ESPCR meeting can be downloaded from here.

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1st European Days of Albinism, Paris, France, 27-28 October 2012, organized by Genespoir

The First European Days of Albinism will take place in Paris on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th October 2012, organized by Genespoir, the French Association in support of persons with albinism. This conference will gather representatives of European organizations of people with albinism, doctors and physicians specializing in fields related to albinism and scientists conducting research on albinism. For the first time, these three major actors of the European world of albinism will have the opportunity to meet, exchange and discuss potential future collaborations. This conference should allow the development of a European plan of action to help people with albinism. It should lead to:
 
•Developing programs that explain albinism to the general public
•Building a scientific and medical state of the art of albinism
•Improving clinical and molecular diagnosis
•Supporting therapy development programs
 
Conference place: “Plateforme maladies rares“, Hôpital Broussais, 96 rue Didot, 75014 Paris.
 
Organizing commitee: Genespoir, French organization of albinism
 
Scientific committee:

Robert Aquaron, Marseille, France
Benoît Arveiler, Bordeaux, France
Glenn Jeffery, London, UK
Barbara Käsmann-Kelner, Homburg, Germany
Lluis Montoliu, Madrid, Spain
Maria-Vittoria Schiaffino, Milan, Italy
Alain Taïeb, Bordeaux, France 
  
Contact address: conference@genespoir.org

In addition to the indicated researchers, from the scientific committee, it is confirmed the attendance as invited speakers of Enrico Surace (TIGEM, Naples, Italy) and Brian Brooks (NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA), responsible of the two pioneer experimental therapeutic attempts to potentially treat some types of albinism.

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit Paris to discuss about albinism!

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Melanins and Melanomes, Borovansky & Riley (eds.), Wiley 2011

A new book has been published on Pigment Cell Biology. The book is entitled “Melanins and Melanosomes: Biosynthesis, Biogenesis, Physiological, and Pathological Functions“, has been edited by Jan Borovansky and Patrick A. Riley, and published by Wiley (2011). Both Patrick Riley and Jan Borovanskly are ESPCR Honorary members. The chapters have been prepared by world-known experts in the field of Pigment Cell Biology, most of them are members of the IFPCS, through any of its affiliated sister societies.

Table of contents:

• Chapter 1: History of Melanosome Research (Jan Borovansky).
• Chapter 2: Classical and Nonclassical Melanocytes in Vertebrates (Sophie Colombo, Irina Berlin, Veronique Delmas, and Lionel Larue).
• Chapter 3: Biological Chemistry of o-Quinones (Patrick A. Riley, Christopher A. Ramsden, and Edward J. Land).
• Chapter 4: Biosynthesis of Melanins (Jose Carlos Garcia-Borron and M. Concepcion Olivares Sanchez).
• Chapter 5: Inhibitors and Enhancers of Melanogenesis (Alain Taieb, Muriel Cario-Andre, Stefania Briganti, and Mauro Picardo).
• Chapter 6: Structure of Melanins (Shosuke Ito, Kazumasa Wakamatsu, Marco d’Ischia, Alessandra Napolitano, and Alessandro Pezzella).
• Chapter 7: Properties and Functions of Ocular Melanins and Melanosomes (Małgorzata Rozanowska).
• Chapter 8: Biological Role of Neuromelanin in the Human Brain and Its Importance in Parkinson’s Disease (Kay L. Double, Wakako Maruyama, Makoko Naoi, Manfred Gerlach, and Peter Riederer).
• Chapter 9: Biogenesis of Melanosomes (Cedric Delevoye, Francesca Giordano, Michael S. Marks, and Graca Raposo).
• Chapter 10: Transport and Distribution of Melanosomes (Mireille Van Gele and Jo Lambert).
• Chapter 11: Genetics of Melanosome Structure and Function (Vincent J. Hearing).
• Chapter 12: Physiological and Pathological Functions of Melanosomes (Jan Borovansky and Patrick A. Riley).
• Chapter 13: Dysplastic Nevi as Precursor Melanoma Lesions (Stanislav Pavel, Nico P.M. Smit, and Karel Pizinger).

IFPCS Members are entitled to a 25% discount on books published by Wiley

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Prof. Marco d'Ischia at the ESPCR 2010 meeting in Cambridge (UK)

On behalf of the President of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (IFPCS), Prof. Shigeki Shibahara, the President of the European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR), Prof. Lionel Larue, and of the ESPCR Awards Committee, it is my pleasure to announce and congratulate the next H. S. Raper Medal awardee: Prof. Marco d’Ischia (University Federico II, Naples, Italy).

The H.S. Raper Medal is an Award selected by the ESPCR as an international recognition of outstanding contributions to the biochemistry and molecular biology of pigmentation. At the time of the official banquet of the forthcoming XXIst IPCC2011 (September 24-26, 2011; Bordeaux, France), the IFPCS President will present the H.S. Raper Medal to the Awardee. The H.S. Raper Medal was instituted by the ESPCR to perpetuate the memory of Prof. Henry Stanley Raper, for his pioneer contributions to the field of biochemistry of melanins and its precursors. The list of previous H.S. Raper Medallists include: Profs. John Pawelek (1993), Giuseppe Prota (1996), Kowichi Jimbow (1999), Anthony Thody (2002), Sho Ito (2005) and José Carlos García-Borrón (2008).

Prof. Marco d’Ischia leads the group of Bioactive and Bio-inspired Product Chemistry at the Department of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of Naples University Federico II. He has published  some 200 publications in the fields of organic and bioorganic chemistry and biochemistry, on peer-reviewed international journals but also reviews and book chapters, including more than 45 papers on melanin-related topics. Currently, Prof. Marco d’Ischia is the promoter and scientific coordinator of EuMelaNet, an interest group/research network within ESPCR constituted in 2009, with the aim of promoting research on melanins and melanogenesis at multidisciplinary level and offering their collective knowledge and expertise to meet the growing demand for new bio-based materials on the part of companies and health institutions.

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ESPCR Bulletin n. 65 (December 2009)

A new issue of the ESPCR Bulletin (number 65, December 2009) has been published. This ESPCR Bulletin can be browsed through the members-only section. ESPCR Members will require a valid username and password to access.

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EuMelaNet

EuMelaNet stands for European Network for Melanin Research. EuMelaNet is a new Interest Group born within the European Society of Pigment Cell Research. Realizing the increasing interest in melanins and related biopolymers in Europe and several countries all over the world, in 2009 during the XV ESPCR meeting, held in Muenster, a number of researchers from academic and research institutions decided to implement a research network, the European Network for Melanin Research (EuMelaNet), with the aim of promoting research on melanins and melanogenesis at multidisciplinary level and offering their collective knowledge and expertise to meet the growing demand for new bio-based materials on the part of companies and health institutions.

The scientific coordinator of EuMelaNet is Prof. Marco d’Ischia (Department of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy). Those interested might contact EuMelaNet by sending an email message to eumelanet@espcr.org or by visiting the “contact us” web page.