DERC Enrichment Program
The Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center (DERC) supports an Enrichment Program to facilitate communication and collaboration among investigators. This program plays an important role in the exchange of information within the DERC community as well as with scientists outside the DERC. The program consists of
Guest Lecturers
Since 1988, forty-three outside guest speakers have been participated in our guest lecture program.
The DERC also jointly sponsors lectures with the Endocrinology Training Grant Guest Lecture Series, where visiting scientists spend a full day at UMass Medical School lecturing on their research and attending break-out sessions for more in-depth discussions.
DERC investigators are encouraged to recommend to the Director and the Executive Committee the names of scientists they would like to see invited as guest lecturers in the future.
New England Regional Workshop on Autoimmune Diabetes
The DERC also assists in the organization of the annual New England Regional Workshop on Autoimmune Diabetes. This is New England's annual informal gathering to review autoimmune diabetes research. Participants present one or more posters and join in off-the-record discussions. Any diabetes-related research (autoimmunity, transplantation, tolerance, human IDDM, NOD mice, BB rats) is welcome.
Workshops are held at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, MA, sponsored by The University of Massachusetts Medical School, and assisted by the Novo Nordisk Corporation.
Keynote addresses at these meetings have been presented by
- Charles Janeway, MD
- Terry Strom, MD
- Pietro DeCamilli, MD
- George Eisenbarth, MD, PhD
More information: http://www.umassmed.edu/diabetes/events/autoimmune/.
The DERC Enrichment Program at The Jackson Laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory (TJL), located in Bar Harbor, Maine, is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center which organizes itself around one research program: Modeling Cancer: Stem Cells to Therapy. Research is focused on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of cancer initiation and progression in the context of mouse biology and genomics. TJL offers DERC members access to various collaborative and educational opportunities, including several intensive two-week courses:
TJL Interest Groups
TJL scientists participate on a regular basis in research interest groups. There are several including Genetics, Biochemistry-Cell Biology, and Hematology-Immunology. Each group meets weekly for one hour during the fall, winter, and spring. These groups provide a wider sounding board for ideas and constitute an in-house peer evaluation system. These interest groups will be open to DERC members.
TJL Seminars
Regular TJL Staff Seminars that are held each Thursday afternoon, as well as at other times throughout the year. During the 12 months ending 12/31/98, there were 83 Staff Seminars at the Laboratory, most were presented by visiting speakers.
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TJL Courses
TJL sponsors the Short Course in Medical & Experimental Mammalian Genetics held each summer. This is an ideal opportunity for DERC members whose work involves experimental genetics to talk with outstanding mammalian and medical geneticists from the United States and abroad.
The Graduate Course in Experimental Genetics of the Laboratory Mouse will also be available to UMMS trainees participating in DERC-related research. The course, a combination of lectures, discussion groups, clinics, and demonstrations, was developed in response to a demand for a rigorous graduate course in mouse genetics.
A third course, Genomic and Proteomic Approaches in Complex Heart, Lung and Blood Diseases, was added in 1996 and is available for DERC members. This comprehensive, interdisciplinary course on the genetics and molecular biology of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hematologic diseases of complex genetic etiology is designed for investigators early in their research careers.
The format is a mix of formal lectures, discussion groups, demonstrations, and tutorials focused on using the powerful informatics tools developed at The Jackson Laboratory and its resources.
Faculty includes clinical researchers, genetic epidemiologists, statistical geneticists, and molecular biologists.
Topics include analysis of complex inheritance with particular reference to heart, lung and blood disease, genome analysis, gene mapping and identification, phenotype determination, animal studies in genetic research, informatics resources and software tools, and clinical applications including gene therapy.
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TJL Scientific Meetings
The Jackson Laboratory hosts several international scientific meetings and workshops each year. The purpose of the Meetings program (as well as the seminars program) at TJL is to promote meaningful exchanges of information on the latest scientific developments in specific topics in mammalian genetics.
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Pre- or Postdoctoral Training/Visiting Scientist
Pre-and postdoctoral trainees at TJL have exposure to the numerous scientists from other institutions who visit the Laboratory for temporary research appointments. These visiting appointments are for periods of a week up to a year or more, with a typical period in residence being about one month.
Visitors may be appointed as Visiting Investigators, who conduct bench research in the laboratory of a Research Staff member, or as Guests, who utilize their time for consultation, reading, and writing.
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