17th ESPCR Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 11-13 September 2012

The European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR) is most happy to announce the sponsorship of up to eight Travel/Registration Awards for student/junior scientists ESPCR members willing to attend the 17th ESPCR-2012 meeting, to be held in Geneva (Switzerland) on 11-13 September 2012. Deadline for submitting applications for these travel/registration awards is: 15 June 2012. This web page contains all information and instructions regarding the ESPCR Travel/Registration Awards. These ESPCR travel/registration awards will cover registration fee (150 euros, Student fee, paid directly from ESPCR to Meeting Organizer) and up to 225 Euros accommodation costs (reimbursed to the selected applicants upon presenting the corresponding invoice), usually sufficient for 2-nights standard accommodation in Geneva, following suggested hotels provided by the Geneva Tourist Office.

17th ESPCR Meeting web site launched: Registration OPEN

The 17th ESPCR meeting web site has been launched and registration is OPEN to attend the 2012 ESPCR meeting, which will be held in Geneva (Switzerland), on September 11-13, 2012. This meeting will be taking Place from Tuesday 11th September to Thursday 13th September 2012, at the: Centre Médical Universitaire, University of Geneva, in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by Dr. Bernhard Wehrle-Haller.

The theme for the 2012 ESPCR meeting is: The Melanocyte and its Environment

Meeting theme: Pigment cells come in different flavors and are located in diverse organs and places. Characterized by the production of melanin, one of the functions of melanocytes is to protect organisms from the harmful irradiation of the sun. As for melanocytes in the skin, which reside in the basal layer of the epidermis or within hair follicles, pigmented cells are always in contact with components of the extracellular matrix and with neighboring cells, such as keratinocytes. To survive and to thrive within their environmental niches, melanocytes are stimulated and instructed by paracrine signals providing tight cross-talk. Even in the case of pathological transformation of melanocytes into nevi and melanoma, these cells are still embedded within and interact with their microenvironment in specific ways.

During this upcoming 2012 ESPCR meeting, we do not only want to discuss critical signaling, morphogenetic and pathological mechanisms within melanocyte, but would also like to understand how the environment influences and modulates the behavior of melanocytes or melanoma cells.

Deadline for submitting abstracts: 15 June 2012

Deadline for registering: 1 August 2012

Join the ESPCR / Renew your ESPCR Membership in 2012

Joining the ESPCR or Renewing your ESPCR Membership in 2012 could not be easier! Simply visit the JOIN-RENEW web page within the ESPCR web site and follow the instructions provided. If you need some help or if you have any comment or question please contact the ESPCR Registration Office at registration@espcr.org

Prof. Alain Taïeb, Chair of the 21st IPCC, Bordeaux, France, 21-24 September 2011

Yesterday, September 24, the 21st IPCC finished with the moving song “Black or White“, by Michael Jackson. This was a really nice end for this conference, that progressed with a great success in attendancy (>540 delegates registered) over the past week. The meeting was particularly successful thanks to the excellent scientific program that the Chair of the meeting, Prof. Alain Taïeb, and his team put together. The Organizers of the 21st IPCC must be praised for this memorable superb meeting, where the latest scientific achievements of our pigment cell community were discussed and most adequately mixed with the tasty products of the surrounding vineyards.

Palais des Congres, Bordeaux, France, venue of the 21st IPCC

At the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies we are already preparing our next meeting. Prof. Boon-Kee Goh (ASPCR) will be the Chair of the 22nd IPCC, that will be held in Singapore in September 2014. At the closing ceremony of IPCC-2011, Prof. Boon-Kee Goh presented the highlights of his country and the spectacular resources existing in Singapore. You are all invited to attend the next meeting of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies, IPCC-2014, in Singapore. News and information on the IPCC-2014 will be made available from its web site: http://www.ipcc2014.org

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