In this VLAG FLASH attention will be paid to upcoming courses, thesis defenses and events, grants & awards.

Special attention is asked for:

•	The symposium 'N-3 fatty acids and mental health' on 12-13 June 2007, WICC, Wageningen The symposium is organised by the Division of Human Nutrition (WU) and consists of a series of lectures and discussions. The symposium is followed by the PhD defenses of George Mamalakis and Boukje van Gelder. Please register before May 11th at the symposium website (visit VLAG).
•	The symposium 'Chronic inflammation and obesity: friendly or hostile fire' on 18 June 2007, WICC, Wageningen The symposium is organised by the Division of Human Nutrition (WU), Centre for Human Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenomics Consortium/TIFN. The symposium is followed by the PhD defense of Rinke Stienstra. Please register before June 11th. (visit VLAG).

The deadline for submitting information for the 9th VLAG FLASH is 22 June.

•	NUTRIM master class and lecture 24 May 2007, Maastricht by Prof. Mike Jensen, Prof. of Medicine, Endocrine Research Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester Master class: 9:00 - 11:00, DEB 1, room D.003 PhD Students who want to participate, please send an e-mail message to Yvonne Sondeijker before May 14, and indicate if you want to give a presentation about your research. Lecture: 11.30 - 13.15, DEB 1, room D.001 Adipose tissue fatty acid uptake - a potential mediator of body fat distribution (title tentative)
•	A unified approach to mass transfer 4 - 8 June 2007, Wageningen In this course you will learn a method to describe all mass transfer processes.
•	Nutritional and lifestyle epidemiology - 8th edition 4 - 9 June 2007, Wageningen The aim of this advanced training course is to acquire knowledge and expertise in the design, conduct and analysis of epidemiologic research on lifestyle and nutritional factors in chronic disease etiology.
•	Metabolomics - 2nd edition 6 - 8 June 2007, Wageningen The aim of the course is to give insight in the relevant techniques of metabolomics, insight in the development in specific fields of applications of metabolomics.
•	N-3 fatty acids and mental health 12 - 13 June 2007, Wageningen During this symposium the focus will be on depression as well as cognitive functioning. These fields will be assessed from different points of view with results of epidemiological studies, trials and reviews. Furthermore the implementation of the current knowledge on these areas will be discussed.
•	Advanced Microscopy and Vital Imaging 18 - 21 June 2007, Maastricht Information: F. Ramaekers, Moleculaire Celbiologie, 043-3881351
•	Nutrition & sports - 2nd edition 27 - 28 September and 1 - 2 October 2007, Wageningen This course is designed for trainers, coaches, sports dieticians, PhD students in human or animal nutrition as well as product development managers (with a minimum of a BSc education level) with an interest in improving their knowledge in the domain of nutrition and sports.
•	Production and use of food composition data in nutrition - 8th edition 1 - 13 October 2007, Wageningen
•	Food fermentation - 3rd edition 15 - 19 October 2007, Wageningen After an introduction into the biodiversity of fermentation micro-organisms and the product technologies involved, this course deals with the specific aspects of functionality related to health, flavour and ingredients, models and control of fermentation and quality, and ~omics in particular the relevance of proteomics, genomics and metabolomics in fermentation innovation and control.
•	Polysaccharides as Food Colloids and Biomaterials: Fundamentals and Applications - 1st edition 22 - 24 October 2007, Wageningen
•	VLAG PhD-week - 18th edition 5 - 8 November 2007, Wageningen This activity is a compulsory part of the VLAG education programme and it is meant for the PhD students that have recently started their PhD study.
•	Management of Microbiological Hazards in Foods - 10th edition 19 - 23 November 2007, Wageningen The link above gives information on the previous edition of this course.
•	Master class Nutrigenomics - 7th edition 19 - 22 November 2007, Wageningen During the Master class we will discuss new developments in nutrigenomics research including specific aspects of human and mouse studies, molecular epidemiology, applications of microarray analysis, metabolite profiling or biomarker identification strategies. The link above gives information on the previous edition of this course.
•	Food perception and food preference - 4th edition 26 - 30 November 2007, Wageningen The course will focus on how food preferences develop and how they are maintained or changed in later life. Special attention will be devoted to perceptual and sensory determinants of preference behaviour and food intake. The link above gives information on the previous edition of this course.
•	Genetics and physiology of food-associated microorganisms - 3rd edition 10 - 12 December 2007, Wageningen This advanced course aims to develop expertise in the genetics and physiology of food-associated micro-organisms, in particular with respect to their reactions to variety of stresses that can be imposed deliberately on micro-organisms during food processing, by food preservation techniques and during distribution and storage. The link above gives information on the previous edition of this course.

• V.C.J. de Boer (Vincent) Towards functional effects of polyphenols. Modulation of energy metabolism revealed. 11-05-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. I.M.C.M. Rietjens, Dr. P.C.H. Hollman, Dr. J. Keijer • M. Derrien (Muriel) Mucin utilisation and host interactions of the novel intestinal microbe Akkermansia muciniphila. 15-05-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. W.M. de Vos, Dr. E.G. Zoetendal • J.M. Manski (Julita) Flow-induced structuring of dense protein dispersions. 16-05-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. R.M. Boom, Dr. A.J. van der Goot • B.J.H. Kuipers (Bas) Aggregation of peptides in soy protein isolate hydrolysates: The individual contributions of glycinin- and β-conglycinin-derived peptides. 21-05-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. H. Gruppen • S. de Caralt Bosch (Sonia) Sponge culture: learning form biology and ecology. 29-05-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. R.H. Wijffels, Prof. M.J. Uriz • I.E.J. Milder (Ivon) Lignan intake in the Netherlands and its relation with mortality. 30-05-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. D. Kromhout, Dr. P.C.H. Hollman, Dr. E.J.M. Feskens • M.J.T.J. Arts (Mariken) Assessing Antioxidant Activity. 31-05-2007, 14:00 hrs, Maastricht Prof. A. Bast, Dr. G.R.M.M. Haenen, Dr. H.-P. Voss • M.M.M. Vissers (Marc) Modeling to control spores in raw milk. 06-06-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. J.M.G. Lankveld, Dr. M.C. te Giffel, Dr. P. de Jong

• A.A. Dihal (Ashwin) Biomarkers of quercetin-mediated modulation of colon carcinogenesis. 08-06-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. I.M.C.M. Rietjens, Dr. R.H. Stierum, Dr. R.A. Woutersen • M. Rajilic-Stojanovic (Mirjana) Diversity of the human gastrointestinal microbiota - Novel perspectives from high throughput analyses. 11-06-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. W.M. de Vos • B. van Gelder Determinants of cognitive decline in older European men. 13-06-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. D. Kromhout, Dr. S. Kalmijn • G. Mamalakis (George) Cytokines, fatty acids and depression 13-06-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. D. Kromhout, Prof. A. Kafatos • S.M.F. Jeurissen (Suzanne) Bioactivation and genotoxicity of the herbal constituents safrole, estragole and methyleugenol. 15-06-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. I.M.C.M. Rietjens, Prof. E.J.R. Sudhölter, Dr. T.A. van Beek, Dr. G.M. Alink • R. Stienstra (Rinke) The role of PPARs in inflammation and obesity. 18-06-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. M. Müller, Dr. A.H. Kersten • H.G.M. Ruis (Hilde) Structure-rheology relations in sodium caseinate containing systems. 19-06-2007, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. E. van der Linden, Dr. P. Venema • G. Palaniswamy (Ganesan) Amorphous electron-accepting materials for organic optoelectronics. 22-06-2007, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. E.J.R. Sudhölter, Prof. H. Zuilhof

There have been several changes in the PhD Council.
This is the new list of members:

•	Heidy den Besten (Food Microbiology) temporary acting representative: Mark de Been
•	Carla Dullemeijer (Human Nutrition)
•	Marieke Koopmans (Food and Bioprocess Engineering)
•	Bart de Koning (Microbiology), Chair
•	Jeroen Knol (Product Design and Quality Management)
•	Jurjen ter Maat (Organic Chemistry)
•	Ardy Nijboer (Food Physics)
•	Ana Sotoca Covaleda (Toxicology)
•	Yvonne Vissers (Food Chemistry)

If you think that your research group is under-represented and you are interested in joining the PhD council you can contact the VLAG office or Bart de Koning (Chair).

On 9 May there will be an introductory lunch for all Wageningen based PhD students who started after 1 January 2007. The lunch is from 12.30-13.30 in the Blauwe Zaal (Biotechnion). Please send an e-mail to Yvonne Smolders (Yvonne.Smolders@wur.nl) if you would like to join this lunch.

•	Career Assessment - May (visit WGS)
•	Scientific Writing - 10 May (visit Centa)
•	Information Literacy, incl. Introduction Endnote - 14 May (visit WGS)
•	Presentation Skills - 21 May (visit Centa)
•	Techniques for Writing and Presenting a Scientific Paper - 3 July (visit WGS)
•	PhD Competence Assessment - 5 September (visit WGS)
•	Project- and Time Management - 11 September (visit WGS)
•	Career Orientation - 17 October (visit WGS)
•	Professional in Supervision - 17 October (visit WGS)
•	Personal Efficacy - 18 October (visit WGS)
•	Career Perspectives - 23 October (visit WGS)