Spring 2015
European Iron Club
Newsletter Spring 2015
Welcome to the EIC Newsletter for 2015!
Highlights of this edition include: a review of EIC 2014
at Verona, a look forward to EIC 2016 in Innsbruck,
notification of other iron meetings, and some links to
iron biology stories ‘in the news’.
From the Secretary: future EIC meetings
Greetings to all EIC members! This Newsletter is designed to convey
iron biology –related activities to EIC members. In this issue we have a
retrospective of the marvellous congress at Verona including an
interview with its chief organizer, Domenico Girelli.
We also look forward to the next EIC meeting in Innsbruck in 2016.
After much discussion, we decided not to hold the Innsbruck meeting
this year as originally intended, as the best available dates would clash
with the BioIron meeting in China in September. In part this is because
as the popularity of iron research in Europe has increased, so the size
and reach of EIC meetings has grown to the extent that they have
become more ‘international’.
A similar situation is likely to arise in 2017 when BioIron is in the US.
Michael Zimmermann wishes to host an EIC meeting in Zurich in
2018. There are multiple other meetings in the EU aside from the EIC
that often incorporate aspects of iron biology (for example EHA
meetings and some Nutrition symposia), so that EIC members can
attend iron meetings in the absence of a dedicated EIC Annual
Congress. Nevertheless it may be worthwhile, in years where there is a
BioIron meeting, for ‘regional’ Iron meetings to take place in the EU.
The EIC could help with the publicity for such events and we could
potentially provide a limited number of Bursaries.
Contents
Page 2
Retrospective of EIC
2014 and list of Prizes
given
Page 3
The Gentleman of
Verona – interview with
Domenico Girelli
Page 4
From the Secretary ctd;
Tom Ganz award
Page 5-6
Forthcoming meetings
(BioIron 2015 and EIC
2016); iron in the news
Page 7
In memory of Jorge
Pinto; subscription
information
Continued on page 4
The European Iron Club exists to foster communication and collaboration among
biomedical scientists and clinicians whose work is concerned with iron. Europe-based
research groups cover a wide variety of iron-related topics, ranging from iron biochemistry
to the genetics of iron metabolism and the treatment of iron-associated human diseases
European Iron Club Newsletter
Spring 2015
“In fair Verona, where
we lay our scene”
William Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet
The European Iron Club Congress of 2014 met in warm late summer
sunshine in the beautiful city of Verona. Domenico Girelli, Paolo Arosio
and colleagues organized a wide-ranging scientific and social programme
that began with an Educational Symposium; beginning with Tomas Ganz
of UCLA, attending his first EIC meeting, who lectured on hepcidin
pathophysiology. Clara Camaschella, Günter Weiss and Hal Drakesmith
then gave talks to complete the first session on ‘Hepcidin, anemia and
infections’. The second session of the day was on ‘Primitive and
secondary hemochromatosis’ and featured lectures from Pierre Brissot,
Mario Cazzola and Maria Domenica Cappellini. Afterwards, the
delegates were happy to be greeted with a ‘Welcome Party’ and a visit to
the art gallery (see opposite).
The main sessions of the conference proper (nine in total) began on 12th
September with ‘Basic aspects of iron biology’. As for subsequent
sessions, the talks began with a longer lecture, in this case from Eric
Oswald (Toulouse, France) who discussed iron and the gut microbiota,
and was followed by a series of shorter presentations selected from
submitted abstracts. Session II was entitled ‘iron and oxidative stress /
neoplastic diseases’ and was led by Antonello Pietrangelo (Modena,
Italy), whose lecture described ‘Analogies and intersections between iron
and glucose homeostasis’.
continued on page 4…
The Social Side of EIC 2014
The social programme of the EIC meeting in
Verona was special. A newly curated
collection of work by the renaissance artist
Veronese was being
exhibited in the same
building, the Palazzo
della Gran Guardia, in
which the conference was
taking place. Delegates
were given an expert
briefing on Veronese
before viewing the
wonderful paintings by special arrangement.
The Social ‘Gala’ Dinner was also a
picturesque affair, with a wonderful menu
provided by the Chefs of the Hotel Due Torri.
A great deal of fun was had (see photos on
page 6), with speeches from Domenico
Girelli, from Barbara Butzek (EFAPH
President) and from the Secretary, who also
presented Pr Girelli and Paolo Arosio with a
gift from the EIC as a symbol of gratitude for
their hard work in making the meeting a
spectacular and noteworthy success.
Prizes
Prizes were awarded for the three best posters and the three
best oral presentations at EIC 2014. The winners were:
Awardees received an EIC certificate (pictured)
and prizes: DVDs of productions of “Two
Gentlemen of Verona” and “Romeo and Juliet”;
books on the art of Veronese; and an antique map
of northern Italy, centred on Verona.
1st Oral:
Aurelie Gineste, Toulouse, France
2nd Oral:
Vickie Braithwaite, Cambridge, UK
3rd Oral:
Guus Kortman, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
1st Poster:
Simona Buracco, Turin, Italy
nd
2 Poster:
Giuliana Montosi, Modena, Italy
3rd Poster:
Nissrine Daou, Paris, France
2
European Iron Club Newsletter
Spring 2015
The Gentleman of Verona
The European Iron Club congress in Verona in
September 2014 was a great success. Many people
played a role in its organization, but the leading
influence, along with Paolo Arosio (University of
Brescia), was Domenico Girelli of the University
of Verona.
“First, assemble a
‘dream team’ of
enthusiastic and
tireless collaborators”
Here, we ask Professor Girelli about the
conference from his perspective.
EIC: Thank you for organising a fantastic
meeting in Verona. In the time leading up to the
meeting, was there a great deal of work to do,
and I heard you even needed to meet the Mayor
- how did that go? DG: Although the first idea,
for economic reasons, was to host the meeting at
our University, my dream was to use the
Palazzo della Gran Guardia, in the heart of
historic centre, during the Veronese exhibition. I
took courage and met the Mayor in May 2013 to
illustrate my project. Beyond my expectations,
he approved it in less than 2 minutes, asking no
more than a symbolic charge.
EIC: Who had the idea for the fantastic and
enormous EIC cake? DG: At the end of August
we had a "taste meeting" with the chef of the
"Ristorante Due Torri", to choose the Social
Dinner's menu. He seemed a very creative guy,
and promised us a final "surprise"...
EIC: During the meeting itself, the organisation
seemed to be extremely smooth - was it like that
from your perspective also? DG: I have to
confess that I was a little bit nervous in the
preceding weeks, but once the meeting started
any anxiety magically disappeared.
EIC: Finally, what advice would you give to
future organisers of EIC Annual Congress
meetings? DG: First, assemble a "dream team"
of enthusiastic and tireless collaborators (in my
case: Paolo, Natascia, Annalisa, Maura, and all
the Cogest team). Second, start planning and
working long before the meeting, at least 15-18
months. Third, keep asking to any possible
institutional and private sponsor and ‘Think Big’
but without losing the traditional EIC
perspective of a friendly/informal atmosphere
and particular attention to young investigators.
EIC: What were the highlights of the meeting
for you - both scientific and social? DG: It is
hard to me to draw up a scientific ranking.
Anyway, the high scientific quality of the
meeting is demonstrated by the recent
publication of some abstracts in top journals, i.e.
the paper on PNAS by Samira Lakhal-Littleton
and colleagues describing the role of cardiac
ferroportin.
3
European Iron Club Newsletter
Spring 2015
…continued from page 1
If EIC members wish to get in touch with me to discuss these issues
and to propose regional meetings with some help from the EIC, please
email me at [email protected]
In other news, members will have seen that the EIC website has been
substantially revamped www.european-iron-club.eu/
The new website could still do with further development however, and
if any EIC member has ideas for its improvement, and (better still)
could help with enacting the improvements, again do let me know by
email.
In particular, a sections on Job vacancies could be added to the
website, although at present I am also happy to email details of these
to the EIC membership on a case-by-case basis.
Lastly, I would at all times welcome suggestions to host future EIC
meetings. In the last decade or so we have been to Verona, Rennes,
Nijmegen, Louvain-la Neuve, London, St Gallen, and Barcelona. The
next two meetings will be in Austria and Switzerland. Perhaps there
might be interest to host EIC Congresses in countries not recently
visited, but in which iron research has a strong and most noble heritage
– Ireland and Germany do both spring to mind..!
Tomas Ganz honoured
with lecture at ASH 2014
Professor Tomas Ganz of UCLA was
invited to deliver the prestigious E.
Donnall Thomas Lecture at the
American Society of Hematology
Annual Meeting in San Francisco in
December 2014. The lecture and
accompanying award, named after the
Nobel Prize Laureate and past Society
president E. Donnall Thomas, MD,
With best wishes to you all for a
prosperous and successful 2015,
recognizes pioneering research
achievements in hematology that have
Hal Drakesmith, Oxford, UK
represented a paradigm shift or
significant discovery in the field.
..continued from page 2
Session III of the
conference, on ‘iron, heme and erythropoiesis’ was begun with a lecture from
Emanuela Tolosano (Torino, Italy), who presented her laboratory’s work on
‘Heme export and degradation in the control of erythropoiesis’. The final
session of the day was on ‘iron and neurodegeneration’, with an opening
lecture by Ioav Cabantchik (Jerusalem, Israel) on ‘Disorders of
neurosiderosis: causes and possible treatment’. Saturday 13th September began
with Sesssion V, on ‘Iron deficiency, pathophysiology, diagnosis and
treatment’, and a very interesting lecture on ‘Exploiting plant science to
reduce nutrition iron deficiency’ given by Irene Murgia (Milan Italy). Session
VI was on ‘Iron in inflammatory, infectious, metabolic diseases’, with an
invited lecture from Michael Zimmermann (Zurich, Switzerland) on ‘Iron
nutrition in the topics: interactions with malaria, diarrhea and the gut
microbiome’. The final session of the day was on ‘Next Generation
Sequencing in genetic disorders of iron metabolism’, with an invited lecture
from Massimo Delledonne (Verona, Italy) on ‘From Next Generation
Sequencing to Next Generation Diagnostics and Therapy’.
continued on next page…
4
The lecture was entitled “Iron,
Erythropoiesis, and Host Defense: A
Ménage à Trois”. The Secretary can
report that the presentation was
exceptionally good, and the audience
of (a surely nerve-wracking) twentythree thousand delegates showed their
appreciation with prolonged applause.
Afterwards a happy and relieved Tom
said, “I am still getting over the shock
of it all. If it gives our field a higher
profile, it was worth it.”
I hope the EIC can join me in
congratulating Tom on his very welldeserved award.
European Iron Club Newsletter
Spring 2015
::: International BioIron Society ::: Welcome
18/03/2015
FORTHCOMING MEETING
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
6TH MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL
BIOIRON SOCIETY
September 6 – 10, 2015
Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China
MEETING REGISTRATION OPENING
SOON!
BIOIRON 2015 PROGRAM OUTLINE
Dates: September 6 – 10, 2015 (Sunday – Thursday)
Venue: Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
AN EXCITING PROGRAM OF CONTEMPORARY IRON RESEARCH WILL BE PRESENTED AT
BIOIRON 2015 IN CHINA AND WE HOPE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN US. HANGZHOU IS
RENOWNED FOR ITS BEAUTIFUL SCENERY AND IS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE AS
‘HEAVEN ON EARTH’.
The program will begin with an Introductory Course that covers the following topics:
The chemistry of iron in biological systems
Anemia of cancer and inflammation
Diagnosing and treating iron disorders
The Core Program will consist of a range of plenary and concurrent sessions that focus
on the following main areas:
Cardiac iron homeostasis (Special Symposium)
Iron, immunity and infection
Iron metabolism in the kidney
Aging, chronic disease and iron
Methods for measuring and imaging iron
New perspectives on cellular iron metabolism
In addition to these activities, there will be a special series of Meet the Expert
Sessions for trainees.
Abstract Submission Dates:
2/28/2015 – 4/30/2015 (12pm Noon CST)
The conference is the premier event of the International Bioiron Society and is the focus
for the international community of scientists and clinicians who work on the basic
biology, physiology and pathophysiology of iron. It will feature the very best speakers in
the iron field from around the world.
SUBMIT ABSTRACT
…continued from pevious page
seond
‘invited’
in thisknowledge
session was
given
The International Bioiron SocietyA
(IBIS)
was
founded talk
to advance
about
the
biological and medical roles of iron and the processes in which it participates with
by Nathan Subramanian, who had travelled from Brisbane, Australia to present his results on ‘A novel nextparticular reference to those processes of medical and industrial importance. IBIS's
TRAVEL FUND DONATIONS
generation sequencing platform for the identification
of genetic
application
to the diagnosis
non-HFE
specific objectives
are to variants:
provide a forum
for discussions,
to promoteof
research
and its
publication
and
advance
public
education
on
iron
chemistry
and
biology
well as on
haemochromatosis’. After this excellent session, delegates spruced themselves up (the Secretary was veryasimpressed
disorders due to iron deprivation or excess
Members Only Login
with the general transformation that occurred) and attended the absolutely marvellous Social Dinner at the Hotel
IBISNET Login
Due Torri.
President's Message
International BioIron Society
News from the Board
Two Woodfield Lake
Most delegates
recovered from their evening and attended Sunday’s lively sessions: the
first
‘The Road,
hepcidinNews from had
IBIS members
1100
E. on
Woodfield
Suite 350
Schaumburg,
IL 60173
In Memoriam
ferroportin
axis / hepcidin modulators’ that began with an invited lecture from Ella Nemeth (Los Angeles,
USA),
P: 847-517-7225 | F: 847-517-7229
and the second on ‘iron overload, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment’, which was led by an intriguing
talk on
[email protected]
‘HFE genotypes in elite athletes’ from Jean-Françoise Toussaint (Paris, France). The Secretary then concluded the
formal meeting with the awards of Prizes to the best posters and oral presenters (see bottom of Page 2). There was
still important activity however, as the gathering was completed by the Annual General Meeting of the European
Federation of Haemochromatosis Patients, with several talks from clinicians, scientists, and crucially, from patients
and patient representatives.
5
European Iron Club Newsletter
Spring 2015
EIC CONGRESS
2016
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On behalf of the organizing committee we cordially invite all European Iron Club Members to attend the
2016 annual meeting, which will be held in Innsbruck from the 7th to the 9th of April 2016.
Stay tuned and watch out for further details, which will soon be published on the EIC website.
Igor Theurl & Heinz Zoller
Iron in the news
Research on iron in a biological context has often reached the news media, and some recent instances
that may interest EIC members are included here. They also provide examples of very nice popular
science writing – click on the underlined links to read.
A recent study in Science on the consequences of the battle for iron on genome evolution in apes and
humans received attention in the New York Times and in National Geographic. Effects of iron from
volcanoes on delaying the development of life in general were discussed here. Lastly, whether anaemia
is a good thing or a bad thing was explored in a possibly slightly provocative piece in the Washington
Post.
Hope you enjoy them! HD
6
European Iron Club Newsletter
Spring 2015
In memory of Jorge Pinto
It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of Dr. Jorge Pinto, who
passed away on February 24, 2014, after a long and brave battle against
cancer. He was only 47 years old.
Jorge’s background was in Marine Biology, an area where he earned a PhD
at the University of Algarve in south Portugal. Jorge was first attracted to
the Iron Biology field through the influence of the work of Maria de Sousa
on the interactions between iron and lymphocytes, and he joined her
research group at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC) in
Porto in 2003. Jorge contributed to clarify several aspects of unusual
lymphocyte biology that are evident in patients with Hereditary
Hemochromatosis. Jorge’s subsequent independent research demonstrated
that lymphocytes are able to take up oligomeric species of non-transferrinbound iron, which provides a plausible explanation for how lymphocytes
can contribute to control systemic iron homeostasis, and how alterations in
the lymphocyte pool may contribute to disorders of iron overload.
Those who have worked with Jorge recall him as a very dedicated and
serious scientist and recognise him as an enthusiastic regular active
participant of the European Iron Club for the last 10 years. Jorge was also a
wonderful and engaging colleague, and is very sadly missed.
Subscriptions
Dr Jorge Pinto
Institute of Molecular
and Cell Biology
Porto, Portugal
Membership of the European Iron Club is 15 Euros, or 12 Pounds Sterling, annually.
Please make electronic payments to the appropriate Bank Account:
For Euros:
Bank
ING, Rue Haute23, 1300 Wavre, Belgium
CODE Swift
BBRUBE BB 400
IBAN
BE38 310 1174171-72
Number
310-1174171-72
Account Name
European Iron Club
Or send cheques payable to The European Iron Club to:
For British Pounds Sterling:
Bank
HSBC plc, 108 London Rd, Headington, Oxford OX3 9AP, UK
BIC
MIDLGB2133R
IBAN
GB11MIDL40240151516493
Sort code
40-24-01
Account Number
51516493
Name of account
The European IRON Club
The European Iron Club
c/o Hal Drakesmith
WIMM, JR Hospital
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
For a receipt, please email the Secretary [email protected]