ELSO

The European Life Scientist Organisation (ELSO) was created in 2000 to bring together life scientist from different fields. Its main goal was to organise scientific meetings similar to the meetings organised yearly by the American Society for Cell Biology. It was also a lobby group for science in the European Union (EU). At the end of 2008, it has been absorbed by EMBO [http://www.elso.org/downloads/Press_release_ELSO_2008_final2.pdf] .

Description

The European Life Scientist Organisation worked in parallel with the existing national and international societies. Its initial goal was to organize meetings in European cities that each year provide a high profile international forum serving the interests of the European scientific community. Its defining characteristic were that it promotes the science and activities of biologists using molecular tools without regard to national interests.

The highlight of the meeting were the poster sessions which will take place in the midst of the scientific exhibition. The scientific exhibition were planned to become the prime opportunity for the industry to present its products to the European scientific community. A major goal of the meeting was to stimulate and promote mobility and scientific collaboration in Europe. Another important function was to promote the public understanding of new developments in the life sciences and to provide a critical forum for discussing their implications for society.

tructure

The last nomination committee consisted of:
* Paul Nurse (Rockefeller University, New York) - chair
* Julio Celis, Inst. of Medical Biochemistry, Aarhus
* Riccardo Cortese, IRBM, Pomezia (Rome)
* Frank Gannon, EMBO, Heidelberg
* Daniel Louvard, Institut Curie, Paris
* Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen
* Maya Simionescu, Inst. of Cell Biol. & Pathol. Bucharest

The committee selected Kai Simons as last President for ELSO and a council representing different areas of biology. This council has set up the organization and was responsible for the ELSO activities.

ELSO meetings

The first ELSO meeting called ELSO 2000 took place in Geneva, Switzerland from 2-6 September. Subsequent meetings are listed chronological below:
* ELSO 2002 in Nice, France from June 29 - July 3
* ELSO 2003 together with the GBM in Dresden, Germany from 20-24 September
* ELSO 2004 in Nice, France from 4-8 September
* [http://www.elso.org/index.php?id=elso2005 ELSO 2005] in Dresden, Germany from 3-7 September
* [http://elso.org/index.php?id=elso2007 ELSO 2007] in Dresden, Germany from 1-4 September
* ELSO 2008 in Nice

ELSO Gazette

An important activity of ELSO is its electronic magazine the ELSO Gazette. This medium will keep ELSO thriving between its annual meetings. [http://www.the-elso-gazette.org/magazines/ Latest issue]

ELSO career development committee

ELSO’s Career Development Committee (CDC) is a group of around a dozen members at all stages on the scientific career ladder. The group is working to improve the career opportunities for life scientists in Europe both through activities at the annual ELSO congress and through various projects running throughout the year. It organises an annual ELSO Early Career Award, which recognizes the outstanding achievement of a young independent researcher working in Europe. It also organises an open discussion session and small-group career lunches. [http://www.elso-cdc.org/ CDC online]

ELSO office

Ingeborg Fatscher P.O. Box 1151 D-69199 Sandhausen, Germany Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone],11,12

See also

* European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
* European Research Area (ERA)

External links

* [http://www.elso.org/ ELSO homepage]
* [http://www.elso.org/index.php?id=about ELSO about ELSO]
* [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/290/5494/1099 Science article on the creation of ELSO, 2000]
* [http://www.elso-cdc.org/ ELSO's career development committee]
* [http://www.bioclips.com/ biology movies supported by ELSO]