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At least that's what it seemed like when 118 scientists from 14 different countries including France, Italy, Australia and even a scientist from South Africa, got together for Abcam's recent Apoptosis and Cancer: The Bcl-2 family of proteins conference. This was not your average venue: the meeting was held in Hanover, New Hampshire, the quaint town where Dartmouth College is located. The delegates bunked in the college dorms and shared meals together in the dining hall.

While it does sound fun to go to Abcam summer camp it's the world-renowned reputation of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center that brought us to Dartmouth College. Dartmouth and Norris Cotton bring together cutting-edge research and innovative medicine with over 150 clinical trials currently in progress.

"It is unusual that there are such good discussions and interactions." said meeting chair Marie Hardwick."Having such a relaxed and laid-back venue certainly allowed delegates plenty of one-on-one discussion time and many potentially fruitful relationships were formed."

The two day meeting included 25 oral presentations and over 45 posters. In addition to the innovative science, delegates enjoyed a group dinner. But the evening didn't end there - many delegates found themselves continuing their collaborative discussions at one of Hanover's local watering holes.

Topics

• Apoptotic functions of Bcl-2 family members
• Mechanisms of action of Bcl-2 family members
• Models for apoptotis studies
• Non-apoptotic functions of Bcl-2 family members
• Regulatory mechanisms of apoptosis
• Role of Bcl-2 family members in tumorigenesis
• Bcl-2 family members as targets for cancer therapeutics

Scientific highlights

There might not have been any campfire songs or delicious hot S'mores on offer, but the delegates lucky enough to attend this meeting were treated to great science and excellent networking. Many great talks were presented, here are just a few of the highlights:

• Cell death and tissue remodeling in Planarian regeneration - Jason Pellettieri - University of Utah School of Medicine
• Non-genetic origins of cell-to-cell variability in TRAIL-induced apoptosis - Sabrina Spencer - Harvard Medical School
• BCL-2-DB: the Bcl-2 family database - Abdel Aouacheria - Universite de Lyon
• How mathematical dynamics informs mitochondrial dynamics: the case of Bcl-xL - Fernando Pineda - John Hopkins University

Learn about Abcam's Bcl-2 products

Speaker comment

"This was definitely the most useful meeting I've been to in quite a while, advancing our work through interactions with others in the most exciting and unanticipated ways. And what a fabulous setting."
Dr. Barbara Conradt, Dartmouth Medical School

Image gallery

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Update: Congratulations to Stephane Rolland (Dartmouth Medical School ) who was the winner of the delegate feedback survey. A $50 Amazon gift certificate is on it's way to you!

If you attended the conference you can add your thoughts and feedback in the comments below!