Scientists from the University of Cambridge Biomedical Campus recently hosted the 2nd EAS Advanced Course in Cardiometabolic Phenotyping in Rodents. This 3-day course combines the state of the art facilities and expertise within the Disease Model Core at the WellcomeTrust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science and the BHF Cardiovascular Centre. By integrating the expertise of these two specialized phenotyping centres, it provides a unique opportunity to learn about many of the skills required for in depth cardiometabolic phenotyping in small animals.
The 32 participants, selected from centres across Europe, were treated to a programme of lectures, phenotyping demonstrations and data analysis sessions. A further 1-day workshop at the Sanger/EBI focused on mouse genetics, genetic engineering and informatics resources, highlighting the great opportunities provided by recent advances in genetic engineering purpose-made mouse models. Participants particularly appreciated the mixture of hands-on experience, combined with opportunities to ask detailed questions on how the techniques demonstrated should be used to suit their own research priorities.
The course was sponsored by the European Atherosclerosis Society, British Heart Foundation and TSE systems, with organisation led by Prof Toni Vidal-Puig, Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit Disease Model Core.