4^th EIGMO Meeting
"Ecological Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms"
14-16 May 2009, Rostock, Germany

First Announcement - 4^th Meeting on the EIGMO

IOBC/WPRS Working Group "GMOs in Integrated Plant Production"
Ecological Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms (EIGMO)
14-16 May, 2009 Rostock, Germany

We are glad to announce the 4^th EIGMO meeting by the IOBC/WPRS Working Group "GMOs in Integrated Plant Production" in Germany in 2009. The meeting will be organised by Thomas Thieme from the BTL Bio-Test Laboratory in cooperation with BioOK (Kerstin Schmidt) and institutes of the University of Rostock. Please reserve these dates.

The IOBC/WPRS working group aims to present a platform for exchange or research results and to stimulate collaborative projects dealing with genetically modified plants and their potential impact on the environment. For details on the objectives of this group see the IOBC/WPRS newsletter Profile Nr. 34 (http://www.iobc-wprs.org/pub/index.html).

The working group has hold three earlier meetings, in November 2003 in Prague, Czech Republic, in June 2005 in Lleida, Spain, and in May 2007 in Warsaw, Poland. The meetings had been a great success with up to 100 participants from more than 20 countries attending each meeting. Contributions from the first two meetings have been published in the IOBC/WPRS Bulletin 27(3) (2004) and 29(5) 2006. The proceedings from the last meeting in Warsaw are currently in press.

To ensure a good coverage of the different aspects related to the working group's activity a scientific committee has been established to put together the programme for the upcoming meeting. This committee comprises the following colleagues:

Scientific committee:

Ramon Albajes	ramon.albajesirta.es (University of Leida, Leida, Spain)
Franz Bigler	franz.biglerart.admin.ch (Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART, Zurich, Switzerland)
Marco Gielkens	marco.gielkensrivm.nl (RIVM - Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, Bilthoven, The Netherlands)
Alan Raybould	alan.raybouldsyngenta.com (Syngenta, Bracknell, United Kingdom)
Jörg Romeis	joerg.romeisart.admin.ch (Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART, Zurich, Switzerland)
Thomas Thieme	thomas.thiemebiotestlab.de (BTL Bio-Test Laboratory, Sagerheide, Germany)

Further information on the focus of the meeting, key note lectures and the deadlines for submission of abstracts and title of presentations will be distributed in the second announcement.

In case that you have any suggestions regarding the organization or structure of the meeting or any further question contact someone from the organizing committee.

Second Announcement

I’m very happy to announce the following key-note speakers for our meeting:

Next week Tuesday (16 December) the local organizer Thomas Thieme will activate a website (http://www.eigmo-rostock.de/) which will provide you all necessary information regarding the meeting. The website will be updated regularly.

Please note that the deadline for abstract submission is February 28, 2009. Deadline for registration is March 15, 2009

Please distribute this announcement to colleagues who are possibly interested to attend the meeting.

Kind regards,

Joerg Romeis

Third Announcement

Dear colleagues,

I would like to inform you that we have extended the deadline for the submission of abstracts. The new deadline is: March 15. Please consult the meeting website at http://www.eigmo-rostock.de for info on the abstract format and to register. The full programme of the meeting will be published soon afterwards on the website.

For your planning I would like to inform you that the meeting will start on Thursday, May 14 morning. So you are adviced to arrive in Rostock on Wednesday, May 13.

Kind regards,

Joerg Romeis

Additional information: registration, accommodation, presentations

Please notice that registration will only be effective after the submission of a completed registration form and payment of registration fee!
See Registration for all information on registration, abstract submission and payment of registration fees.

Please keep in mind that the reduced prices for the hotels "Trihotel am Schweizer Wald" and "Hotel Sonne" are only available until March 10^th or April 1^st respectively. Afterwards both hotels dramatically increase charges.
See Accommodation for all information on accommodation and a list of recommended hotels.

Please be aware of the extension of the deadline for the submission of abstracts.
The new deadline is March, 15^th 2009.

Venue of the Meeting

All the meeting sessions and poster presentations will take place at the lecture hall of the Institute for Chemistry of Rostock University, Albert-Einstein-Straße 3a, Rostock.
The campus is located in southern part of Rostock; 10-15 minutes from the Rostock downtown. http://geoportal.rostock.de/ provides fine printable maps for a better orientation. There are public transport connections available at varying prices (1.30-1.70 Euro per trip).

Fourth Announcement

Dear Collegues,

Finally we did it. You can find the approved programme for the 4th EIGMO-Meeting on our homepage http://www.eigmo-rostock.de/programs.htm.

Since most of you arrive on Wednesday, May 13th we invite you to a "Get Together" at the Steigenberger Hotel Sonne. This Warm-Up-Meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 13th at the Havanna Lounge of the hotel and begins at 7.30pm. A welcome cocktail will be provided.

You can reach the Steigenberger Hotel Sonne using trams 1, 2, 5 or 6. Get of the tram at stop "Neuer Markt". The hotel is located next to the town hall, 100m away from the tram stop.

On http://www.eigmo-rostock.de/location.htm you can find an interactive map showing the most important locations for the meeting. The meeting begins on Thursday, May 14th at 8.00am and takes place at the lecture hall of the Department for Chemistry of Rostock University (Albert-Einstein-Straße 3a). Use tram stops "Mensa" (Tram 6) or "Erich-Schlesinger-Straße" (trams 2, 5, 6) and walk for about 5 minutes to get there. You can find time-schedules and other information on public transport at http://www.rsag-online.com.

For the way from the tram stops mentioned above to the lecture hall and other information regarding orientation in Rostock please have a look at the maps provided.

Looking forward to welcoming you to the meeting and best regards

Your EIGMO team

webmastereigmo-rostock.de