Award details

MICROELECTRODE TECHNIQUES FOR CELL PHYSIOLOGY: AN ANNUAL WORKSHOP HELD AT THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION PLYMOUTH

Reference	BB/J002046/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Colin Brownlee
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr David Ogden
Institution	Marine Biological Association
Department	Marine Biology
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	109,760
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/10/2011
End date	30/09/2016
Duration	60 months

Abstract

The Plymouth Microelectrodes course is a 2 week residential Workshop started in 1984 to teach electrophysiological techniques for cell physiology and developmental biology. The venue, the Marine Biological Association, has proved to be very practical as a venue from the point of view of organisation, infrastructure and support, as well as being historically appropriate. The continuing, and increasing need for workshops of this type is evident from the increasing numbers of students accepted on the Workshop over recent years. It has generated two editions of the Plymouth Workshop Handbook. A significant feature of the Workshop is the exceptional support that it receives 'in kind' from major equipment suppliers. A large number of commercial suppliers provide their equipment on loan for the workshop period and several participate in the teaching and demonstrating. These relationships have been built up and maintained over the years and represent an irreplaceable resource. The structure of the Workshop has been changed from one that teaches purely theory and technique to one that includes academic topics in neuroscience and cardiovascular physiology. There have been changes to the specialist techniques taught on the Workshop. We will retain the tuition in basic techniques (e.g. patch clamp, single and 2-electrode voltage clamp, microinjection, ion-selective microelectrodes) but will continue to introduce new lectures and methods for example in cardiovascular electrophysiology and optical recording of membrane potential. In 2008 new teachers with smooth muscle expertise and an experiment with multielectrode array recording from cardiac muscle were incorporated. The emphasis of the lecture programme and practical experiments will change through the years 2010-2015 to incorporate lectures highlighting experimental design and physiological significance of research results as well as the traditional emphasis of technique.

Summary

Much of what we know about how cells function, how they communicate and process information and how they transport essential elements and molecules has come from the application of electrophysiological approaches. The most well known example of this is the pioneering work of Hodgkin and Huxley, carried out at the Marine Biological Association (MBA) with the giant nerve fibre of the squid which led to the discovery of how nerve cells transmit impulses and formed the basis of much modern neurobiology. Since these seminal discoveries the field of electrophysiology has expanded dramatically and electrophysiological approaches are applied to study a wide range of processes in cells, including the functional characterization of molecules that are increasingly being characterised at the molecular level. In 1984 it was decided that there was a need for an annual research workshop to provide training in the varied uses of microelectrode techniques. This has proven to be a very valuable contribution to cell biology and biophysics and has had significant impact on the training of new generations of cell physiologists. The MBA was chosen as the venue for this workshop since it provided both excellent workshop facilities and a continuing tradition of microelectrode and associated biophysical approaches in cell biology. The workshop has continued uninterrupted since then and is now recognised worldwide as one of the leading advanced research workshops in this field. The need to train the new generation of electrophysiolgists continues, particularly with the increased emphasis on functional characterisation of membrane proteins and a wide range of cell biological areas. The workshop continues to be over-subscribed with applications 3-4 fold each year for the 20 places available. To meet this continuing need the proposed 5-year extension to the ongoing workshop will provide training in both the basic principles and more advanced practical and theoretical aspects of electrophysiology. New approaches are planned to be incorporated over this period. The basic workshop fomat will continue with a core of teaching and demonstrating staff recruited mainly from research laboratories in the UK and Europe along with an intensive series of talks and demonstrations from invited international experts. The workshop also benefits from the good relations that have been established over 28 years with a large number of commercial instrument manufacturers that ensures significant in-kind contributions of equipment and who also contribute expertise as instructors.

Impact Summary

The objectives of this proposal are to bring about knowledge exchange via an annual advanced research workshop. Specifically we aim to: 1. Provide continuation of intensive training in the use of microelectrodes for the next generation of researchers in cell biology, biophysics and neurosciences. 2. Attract national and international participation of postgraduate, postdoctoral and experienced researchers. 3. Introduce new techniques and applications as they are developed. 4. Continue to foster unique relations with major suppliers of electrophysiological and microscopy equipment to ensure the provision of state of the art equipment for the Workshop. BBSRC-funded PhD students and postdoctoral workers represent some of the main direct beneficiaries of this workshop, as reflected in the numbers of BBSRC-funded student participants (representing approximately 25% of the total student intake). Moreover, the workshop provides a major knowledge exchange activity, benefiting BBSRC-funded scientists who both teach on the workshop and discuss the latest developments in single cell biophysics. Attendance at this workshop is viewed by student participants as valuable currency for their future employment prospects. The benefit to established scientists is evident from the large numbers of scientists who have willingly come to teach on the workshop on an expenses-only basis. The workshop is cross-research council with significant numbers of participants funded through other UK and European bodies. An important criterion for selection of student participants is the degree to which the techniques acquired during the workshop will be applied back in their host laboratories. UK scientists in a range of cell biological and physiological disciplines therefore represent another major group of beneficiaries. Likewise, European and international research groups benefit from the opportunities to send postgraduate and postdoctoral participants on the workshop. There is significant exchange of know-how between workshop participants and manufacturers of electrophysiological and imaging equipment. The commercial sector benefits in two ways - through academic interactions with scientific users leading to improved functionality of products and through increased exposure to the academic sector and marketing opportunities. Some instrument manufacturers (e.g. Cairn Research Ltd, NPI electronics, HEKA) have participated actively in the workshop and have taken advantage of the intensive interactions with scientists to develop their products to meet user requirements. Researchers who gain experience with a particular piece of commercial equipment are more likely to purchase that model for their own experiments. For these reasons instrument manufacturers are very willing to loan equipment and to provide demonstrations. More generally the workshop represents a highly efficient mechanism for knowledge exchange across a broad range of scientific disciplines with obvious direct and indirect benefits to basic biological and biomedical sciences as well as biotechnological and medical fields.

Committee	Research Committee D (Molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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