STEP Conference #2

Towards the Virtual Physiological Human

To be held in Brussels, Belgium, 5-7 November 2006

Description     Preparation before the Conference     Venue    Registration     Reception     Programme     Banquet     Hotel Booking

As new stations have opened in the last few weeks, you may find it useful to download the latest map of Brussels metro, which includes indicators of where the conference hotels and conference banquet are sited.

Description

The STEP Consortium actively encourages a wide participation in the Internet-based debate started after STEP Conference 1 , which took place in May 2006.

This debate should allow a draft Roadmap (the final version of which is to be published by the STEP project in March 2007) to be broadened and deepened and will identify particular issues that will need to be discussed in detail at Conference 2, attendance at which is open to all.

Your participation in the debate is encouraged. The discussions will influence the programme of Conference 2, and from them will emerge a revised version of the early draft Roadmap. The refinement and enhancement of this document will form the focus of STEP Conference 2.

To see the latest public version of the Roadmap click here. You can also post comments relevant to the EuroPhysiome on the STEP Action Forum

Preparation before the Conference

On Monday, 6 November, we shall start by considering the questions:

What are the research/implementation challenges of VPH? and therefore...What is the organization we need to meet those challenges?

It would be helpful if you could read the synopsis of the current roadmap before you arrive so that we are all ready to "hit the ground running" and contribute to taking this work to the next level.

Venue

The Conference will take place in the Dupréel Room (Salle Dupréel) in the Institute of Sociology Building at Solbosch campus of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

The address of the building is ULB - Campus Solbosch, Building S, Avenue Jeanne 44, 1050 Brussels.

A map of the venue and the travel directions can be obtained by following the links.

Registration

Registration is now open – to register write an e-mail message to Prajay Kamat

There is no registration fee, but numbers are limited by the size of the auditorium and applications will be treated in order of receipt. Current interest levels suggest that the conference will be fully booked, so early registration is recommended.

As there is no registration fee for the conference and we want to make the event accessible to as many delegates as possible by reducing the number of applicants who register, but don’t subsequently attend, all applicants offered places will be asked for confirmation of attendance nearer the time. This will be performed by replying to an email sent by us on 2 October – failure to respond to this will mean that the place provisionally reserved will be passed to another delegate.

We have a tight agenda and we shall have to register over # 250 delegates on Monday 6 November before 09.00 a.m. start. Please help us by arriving early - coffee will be available since 08.00

Reception

The conference reception will take place on Sunday 5 November from 6.00-7.00pm. The venue is the Hotel Amigo, rue de l'Amigo 1-3, which is located near to the Grand Place and is possibly the foremost hotel in Brussels. Map of location

Available drinks will include Spumante Carpene Malvolti, white and red wine, Belgian beers, sherry, port, kir and fruit juices, with olives, nuts, dry snacks, etc. We hope that you will join us at the reception to get the conference off to a relaxed and enjoyable start.

It is probable that many delegates will wish to go together from the Reception to have dinner. To facilitate this, we have reserved some places at Friture Chez Léon, rue des Bouchers, 18, which is at a short walking distance from the Reception (see the map for the Reception).

Please note that this is on a pay-as-you-go basis and does not form part of the conference “package”.

To help our liaison with the venues about numbers of persons to be provided for, we ask that delegates confirm their attendance at the above, in advance, to Prajay Kamat

Programme

Sunday, 5th November 2006

14:00 - 16:30 STEP Consortium & Advisory Board joint meeting

18:00 - 19:00 Welcome Cocktail

19:00 - 22:00 Advisory Board, Coordination and other informal dinners

Monday, 6th November 2006

08:00 - 09:00 Coffee available

09:00 - 09:20 Welcome

• Welcome and Conference Objectives - Gordon Clapworthy, STEP Consortium
• The conference process – Isabelle Read, conference facilitator

09:20 - 12:45 What are the research/implementation challenges? What organisation do we need in order to meet them? - Chair: Randy Thomas, CNRS

• The scope, content and organisation of the Physiome - James Bassingthwaighte, University of Washington
• Expectations from the EuroPhysiome roadmap - Ilias Iakovidis, European Commission
• Computational biology: a clash of cultures? - Brian Goodwin, Schumacher College
• Challenges at the interface between the physical, biological and computational sciences - Denis Noble, University of Oxford

11:00 Plenary Discussion

11:15 Breakout session # 1 (including coffee) - Isabelle Read

12:45 - 14:15 Lunch

14:15 Consortium summary from the morning session

14:30 - 16:10 What are the infrastructures do we need? - Chair:Peter Coveney, UCL

• HPC infrastructures for the VPH - Victor Alessandrini, DEISA Project
• Distributed computing for the VPH - Johan Montagnat, EGEE Project
• Including the middle ground - Peter Coveney, STEP Consortium

15:30 Breakout session # 2 (including coffee)- Isabelle Read

16:30 - 17:30 What are the social/legal/PR challenges do we need to overcome? - Chair: Rod Hose, University of Sheffield

• VPH: Ethical and Gender issues - Jessica Wright, SIBLE Institute
• VPH: Legal issues - Jean Herveg, CRID - Belgium
• The Public face of VPH: how proper Technical PR works - Andrew Mackay, Insights

Plenary Discussion - Isabelle Read

• Conclusions – Marco Viceconti, STEP Consortium

18:00 Close

19:30 - 22:30 Banquet

Tuesday, 7th November 2006

09:00 - 09:15 Welcome

• Welcome – H. Rod Hose, STEP Consortium
• The conference process – Isabelle Read

09:15 - 10:45 What achievements do we hope for, what impact will they have, and what opportumities will they provide? - Chair: Hans Gregersen, Aalborg University

• Challenges and opportunities for integrative research in basic science - Peter Kohl, STEP Consortium
• The impact of integrative research on the biomedical industry - Alex Bangs, Entelos Ltd.
• The impact of integrative research on clinical practice - Renè Rizzoli, University Hospital of Geneve, WHO Center for Osteoporosis

10:30 Coffee Break

10:45 - 13:00 What future do we want to create for the VPH? - Chair: Peter Kohl, University of Oxford

• Opportunities for integrative research in FP7 Health Program - Stephane Hogan, European Commission
• Opportunities for VPH research in the FP7 IST Programme – Ilias Iakovidis, European Commission

11:15 Breakout session # 3. Open Space discussion & collaboration - Isabelle Read

12:10 Plenary wrap-up - Isabelle Read

• The future of Physiome research - Peter Hunter, IUPS Physiome Project
• Conclusions – Peter Kohl, STEP Consortium

13:00 Conference close

Banquet

The banquet will take place on the evening of Monday 6 November at the Caves de Cureghem (Cureghem Cellars). The cellars are within easy reach of the Louise district in which the recommended hotels are situated (see below) - travel directions

We have booked the Breughel buffet: "While the guests enjoy a splendid Breughelian buffet, numerous artists conjure up a pleasant medieval mood: troubadours, fools, falconers, archers, fire-eaters, etc. A stunning spectacle with typical Belgian cuisine."

All delegates are invited to attend ; delegates may bring guests but these will have to pay the full cost. As we shall have to book accurate numbers in advance, all delegates interested in joining us for the banquet will be asked to confirm their attendance shortly ahead of the conference.

Hotel Booking

We have reserved rooms at discounted rates at a number of hotels in the Louise area of Brussels; this area was chosen as it provides easy access to the conference venue by public transport. On-line booking is available.

Please note that all the rates given include breakfast and all local taxes, VAT/TVA, etc.

The numbers of rooms booked by us in the different hotels vary, but all are strictly limited. To obtain the hotel of your choice, you are advised to book as early as possible. Detailed travel instructions to these hotels are provided

In addition, we have been offered substantially reduced rates at some luxury hotels Warwick Barsey Hotel and the Brussels Hotel that cannot be booked via the above site but have to be reserved directly with the hotel in question – please quote “STEP 2” to receive the discounted rate. These hotels are also in the Louise area.