European Mast Cell and Basophil Research Network
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The 2021 EMBRN meeting scheduled for Utrecht has been postponed to the summer of 2022 due to COVID-19.
In the meantime, we would like to host a series of 90-minute webinars, every 2-3 months, with a keynote speaker and presentations from MSc, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, who will be completing their studies, or other graduate students with very interesting results. This will give them a chance to present their results as there are currently no opportunities to present in person at scientific conferences.
We ask EMBRN members with junior researchers to select one person from their group to submit an abstract to the webinar that fit the theme of the research best (Title, Authors (Surname & initials), Affiliations, max. 100-200 words main text) for consideration to be included in the first webinar. Seven students will be selected to make presentations of 8 minutes each (plus 2 minutes Q&A). If many abstracts will be sent, the chance is that many will also unfortunately not be able to be selected. Please, do not be too disappointed if your abstract is not selected. We will provide an additional opportunity to present your work at our next EMBRN meeting in 2022.
The theme of the first webinar is Mast cells as targets for novel treatments (Chair: Prof. Marcus Maurer) - Date of webinar: Monday 11th January 2021, 17:00 CET - successfully finished -
The theme of the second webinar is From mast cell biology to mast cell-targeted treatments (Chair: Prof. Francesca Levi-Schaffer) - Date of webinar: March 3rd, 2021: 09.00 – 10.30 CET
Further webinars are planned in March and June next year on “Basophils in health and disease” and “Mast cell functions in allergies and infectious diseases”. A separate call for these topics will be sent at a later date.
We look forward to your abstracts and hope, despite the difficult circumstances, that our webinars will provide a stimulating forum for presenting your research.
Kind regards,
Francesca Levi-Schaffer & EMBRN Council
1st EMBRN Webinar: “Mast cells as targets for novel treatments”
Chair: Prof. Marcus Maurer
January 11, 2021: 17.00 – 18.30 CET
We thank the presenters of the first EMBRN webinar and all the participants. We are incredibly happy with the interest in this first webinar exceeding our expectations.
The recording is now available for everyone to watch here.
Introduction Aim and scope of the EMBRN webinars
Prof. Francesca Levi-Schaffer, EMBRN President (5 minutes)
Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics Unit, Institute of Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Keynote presentation
Mast cells as targets for novel treatments
Prof. Marcus Maurer, EMBRN Past President, webinar chair
(20-25 minutes)
Director of Research, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin,
Germany
Selected oral presentations (6 min presentation and 4 min Q&A and discussion each)
Brief summary, 2nd webinar announcement, farewell
2nd EMBRN Webinar: “From mast cell biology to mast cell-targeted treatments”
Chair: Prof. Francesca Levi-Schaffer
March 3rd, 2021: 09.00 – 10.30 CET
Join the Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/98022806955
Meeting ID: 980 2280 6955
Keynote presentation
From mast cell biology to mast cell-targeted treatments
Prof. Francesca Levi-Schaffer, EMBRN President (20-25 minutes)
Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics Unit, Institute of Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Selected oral presentations (6 min presentation and 4 min Q&A and discussion each)
Brief summary, next webinar announcement, farewell
Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/98022806955
Meeting ID: 980 2280 6955
Login and installation
You received an invitation link to the zoom room as well as a meeting ID. A password is not needed. Click on the link and follow the instructions on the screen. zoom will install itself on your computer or, if it is already installed, open the corresponding meeting. If you have access to zoom yourself and would like to use it, open zoom, select “Join”, and enter the ID.
Please use your real name if you dial into the meeting. Our moderators must be able to identify you when you dial in so that they can connect you.
Location
When logging on, please make sure you are in a well illuminated room, ideally in front of a neutral white wall without any decorations. Please avoid patterned clothes.
Illumination
Use a light source in front of you. Make sure there are no shadows in the background and do not use any illumination from behind.
Camera
If your camera is still switched off, switch it on using the camera button. Please use a clean camera with a resolution of at least 720p. Choose the right space between you and the camera (at eye level). Use a laptop stand or even books to find the right angle.
Please refrain from using virtual backgrounds as there could be copyright concerns. If you are required to use a particular background for presentations, please let us know beforehand.
Audio
Please use a quiet room without echo when recording and eliminate every background noise from open windows or doors. Make sure you are using a wired headset.
The meeting will begin, and you will be requested to join via the computer audio. The system will first run a test. Check if you can hear the ringtone and confirm by clicking on “Yes”. If you do not hear any sound, please check if your volume is high enough or if you can select another output device (monitor with speakers, headphones, internal speakers, etc.)
Then check your microphone. The system will repeat your input with a time delay. If you don’t hear anything, change the input device if possible (built-in microphone, headset microphone, USB camera microphone, etc.).
You can switch your microphone on and off using the microphone button. Speak loudly and clearly to the camera.
Presenting
You will start the presentation from your computer. Open your presentation. Click on “Share screen” in the zoom window. You will then see an overview of your monitors in the first row.
Select the screen on which you can see your presentation. If you want to use multiple screens, check beforehand on which screen your presentation is presented in full screen. Zoom will show the screen number to be selected on the bottom left. If your presentation also includes audio content, select “Share computer sound”, otherwise please do not select this point.
Confirm by clicking on “Share”. Click on your presentation since it may have been set in the background, and briefly check if you can move forward. To return to the zoom menu, end your screen sharing by clicking on “Stop”.
Exiting the zoom session
You can exit the video conference only outside the screen sharing. To do this, click on “Exit meeting” on the bottom right in the video conference. If possible, please exit the meeting close to the end of your time slot.
Other information
If you call up other programmes during the video conference, you can also minimise zoom. zoom will now appear in a minimised window. To return to the full screen mode, move the mouse over the small window and select “Exit minimised video”.
Please close the programmes used parallelly or mute them.
Regardless of explicitly scheduled meetings, you can test the system requirements at any time on www.zoom.us/test.
Here you will find a corresponding instruction:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-meeting
1st EMBRN Webinar: "Mast cells as targets for novel treatments"
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