Institute Curie (IC) is focused on cancer and cell biology, with strong coordination with Curie Hospital and Translational Department. IC provides a unique combination of excellent pluridisciplinary research and training, with strong commitment towards individual career development and public outreach. Prof. AH Monsoro-Burq's research has been dedicated to understanding the molecular mechanisms of neural crest (NC) induction and its epithelial to mesenchymal transition for the last 15 years, and has internationally recognized expertise using frog and chick embryos and recently patient-derived and cancer cell lines. AHMB team's main contribution has been to construct the early NC gene regulatory network in vertebrates, and pinpoint major molecular actors necessary and sufficient for NC induction.

N. Bondurand (NB) and V. Pingault (VP) are member of the team “Embryology and genetics of human malformation”, aiming to identify genetic alterations responsible for congenital malformations and answer important questions in clinics, biology and developmental genetics, with a special interest for tissues derived from the neural crest (neurocristopathies). Since 1998, NB and VP developed expertise in human and mouse genetics and developmental biology, focusing on the role of SOX10 during neural crest development, using several cellular and engineered mice models and adequate patient cohorts as well as on the identification of new genes involved in Waardenburg syndrome (WS).

Dr Karen Liu’s (KJL) group has deep expertise in studying the normal and pathological development of the neural crest in mammals (human, mouse) and amphibians (Xenopus). This group is based in the Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, which has been at the forefront of craniofacial research for several decades.

Dr Grant Wheeler’s (GNW) group is well known for using Xenopus as model to study neural crest development and a s a tool to carry out chemical screens and develop toxicity assays. The GNW group is based in the The School of Biological Sciences at UEA which is itself firmly embedded in the internationally renowned Norwich Research Park (NRP) and is thus part of a vibrant research community, boasting state-of-art research facilities as well as modern teaching laboratories. The School plus other Schools and Institutes on the NRP host rich seminar programs contributing to Post-doc and student training. In addition, the school holds a Silver award of the Athena SWAN charter that promotes the advancement of women’s careers in science.

M Angela NIETO research group has been studying cell movements and plasticity more than 20 years. In particular, they have studied the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) during embryonic development since their description of the Snail family of transcription factors and their involvement in the development and migration of the neural crest in 1994. Their main contribution has been the impact that the reactivation of this developmental program has in adult disease, as they made the connection with tumour progression. In the last ten years, they have continued describing new developmental EMTs and extended the concept of its reactivation in pathologies related to bone development and homeostasis and also organ degeneration (fibrosis), opening new avenues for antimetastatic and antifibrotic therapies.

Dr. Schlosser’s lab is based in the newly opened (2014) state-of-the-art Biomedical Science Building (BSB). The Schlosser group has a long experience in studying early vertebrate development and pioneered the study of cranial placodes in frogs (Xenopus). After providing the first detailed anatomical and molecular characterisation of placodes in Xenopus, we have established the signaling pathways required for early placode induction and elucidated the function of placodal transcription factors for neuronal and sensory development.

Expert center for congenital craniofacial anomalies; care, research and education.

The Medical University of Vienna (briefly: MedUni Vienna) is one of the most traditional medical training and research facilities in Europe. It is today the largest medical training institute in the German-speaking area with about 8,000 students. With its 26 university hospitals, three clinical institutes, 12 theoretical medicine centres and numerous highly specialised laboratories, it is included among the most important cutting-edge research institutes of Europe in the area of biomedicine. Its own laboratory building with highly specialised "Core Facilities" was inaugurated in June 2010 with the "Anna Spiegel Research Building”.

The Levy's lab is located at the Genetic Department in the Faculty of Medicine. TAU provides a unique combination of excellent multidisciplinary research and training, with strong commitment towards individual career development. Prof. C Levy's research has been dedicated to understand the molecular mechanisms of melanocyte development and melanoma formation for over 15 years with major contribution in the establishment of mouse models, understanding of melanoma microenvironment and the role of microRNAs in both processes.

STEMCELL Technologies, Ltd is an independent, EU certified SME located in Cambridge, UK. The main activities of STEMCELL are to provide the European marketplace with sales, product support and customer training of product lines developed and marketed by STEMCELL Technologies Inc. (over 2000 different products). In 2014, STEMCELL established its own independent Research Facility where active research and development of specialized products for iPSC culture and 3D organoid culture is performed. Over time, STEMCELL will establish its own portfolio of IP and cell culture products. STEMCELL is a beneficiary of several EU research grants.

AZELEAD is a French biotechnology company, established in France since 2014. The principal activities of the company are dedicated to medicine and toxicology applications. The research is focused on cancerology with the screening of anti-metastatic compounds and the analysis and diagnosis of metastatic process. In parallel, toxicity tests have been developed to detect the earliest toxic effects of candidate molecules.

Currently, worldwide more than 6,000 employees at over 90 locations on all continents are working on the permanent challenge of continuing to build Bruker upon its extensive range of products and solutions, its broad base of installed systems and a strong reputation among its customers. Bruker is enabling innovation, productivity and allows scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life in the field of molecular research, in applied and pharma applications, and in microscopy, nano-analysis and industrial applications. In recent years, Bruker has also become a provider of high-performance systems for clinical microbiology, for molecular pathology research, for preclinical imaging and cell biology. In particular, the Bruker Fluorescent Microscopy unit is the leading innovator of in vitro and in vivo imaging techniques, including two-photon, multipoint scanning confocal, single molecule localization and light sheet microscopes for a wide range of applications, including neuroscience, cellular and developmental biology, oncology and immunology.

The foundation Hubrecht Organoid Technology (HUB) is a not-for-profit organization founded by the Royal Dutch Academy of Science and University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. HUB was founded to translate and implement the organoid technology for pre-clinical and clinical applications. The Organoid Technology is an adult stem cell based technology to in vitro establish and expand human (epithelial) cells while maintaining genetic stability. This proprietary technology was developed at the Hubrecht Institute in the group of Prof Dr Clevers. HUB generates ‘Living Biobanks’ of multiple diseases such as Cancer and Cystic Fibrosis. In addition, HUB develops new disease models and experimental programs to study disease using the Organoid model. The biobank organoids and the organoid technology are available for the academic world. Furthermore, HUB collaborates with, and licenses the technology to the pharmaceutical industry for drug development and screening. Finally, the HUB and partners are performing clinical trials to validate the organoid technology as a predictive and diagnostic tool for personalized medicine.

Production of human iPSC from patient’s blood samples and derivation of pathological cells with associated assays.

EMBL-EBI is one of two organisations worldwide with a mandate to provide biomolecular data resources to the research community, and forms a component of several global and pan-European research infrastructures: it is the European node of several global data collections for the life sciences. Demand for access to EMBL-EBI’s services is high and growing, averaging 28 million web requests per day and 3.2 million unique IP addresses per month to the website. Training is embedded in EMBL-EBI’s mission. The Training Programme (www.ebi.ac.uk/training/) works with colleagues and collaborators worldwide to deliver an extensive portfolio of advanced training via face-to-face and online courses and workshops. In 2017, EMBL-EBI reached >18000 individuals face-to-face through its training and outreach activities; furthermore, >400000 unique IP addresses accessed its e-learning resource, Train online (www.ebi.ac.k/training/online). Predoctoral students at EMBL-EBI join The EMBL International PhD Programme (www.embl.de/training/eipp) and gain their PhDs through the University of Cambridge. Students have access to a full programme of both scientific and transferrable skills training.