In this 15th issue of the VLAG FLASH you will find our regular topics. Beside these we would like to share a few photos from the latest events with you, like the group picture of the 19th PhD week and one of the poster prize winners of the symposium Pectins & Pectinases.

There are still places available for the next courses, please register as soon as possible:

•	Summer Course Glycosciences (9-12 June 2008)
•	Bioreactor Design and Operation (23-27 June 2008)

It is also possible to register on-line for other courses later this year, including the following PhD week organised in the fall of 2008. Please check the website regularly for updates.

The deadline for submitting information for the 16th VLAG FLASH is 24 June 2008.

The next edition of the meeting will be devoted to bibliometrics (citation analysis) in the context of the External Peer Review of the Graduate School and participating groups.
Wouter Gerritsma and Marianne Renkema, subject librarians at Wageningen UR Library, are the guest speakers. The meeting is scheduled from 15:00-17:00, followed by drinks and an informal dinner.
Date: Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Venue: Lecture room C 417, Forum Building (WUR building 102, Droevendaalsesteeg 2, Wageningen)
For additional information please contact Vesna.Prsic@wur.nl.

VLAG announces the 7th open round. The call text will be distributed by e-mail next week (week 21).
The pre-proposals are due before 3 October, 12:00.
For additional information, call text and project forms please contact Vesna.Prsic@wur.nl.

The research groups from Wageningen University participating in the Graduate School VLAG can submit a request for a subsidy for incoming sabbaticals. The candidate should be a senior scientist (minimum associate professor) and stay in Wageningen for at least 3 months.
For additional information and call text please contact Vesna.Prsic@wur.nl.

The 2008 edition of the Intermediair Career Orientation Guide claims to contain information about everything you need to know about career planning and job hunting. If you are a PhD student approaching your thesis defense do come by the VLAG office to pick up a copy of the book.
For additional information please contact Vesna.Prsic@wur.nl.

•	Being at the helm of food and nutrition security interventions 4 June 2008, Wageningen The objectives of the seminar are to explore: the approach of "navigating for impact" on food and nutrition security (FNS), the usefulness of recent methods for rapid assessment of household food security within the wider context of indicators for assessment, monitoring and evaluation (AME), ways forward for AME praxis in FSN.
•	Summer Course Glycosciences - 10th edition 9 - 12 June 2008, Wageningen This course combines general introductions in the field of polysaccharides and glycoproteins with in depth parallel sessions.
•	Bioreactor Design and Operation - 4th edition 23 - 27 June 2008, Wageningen Products from biotechnology cover a wide range, from pharmaceutical blockbusters to bulk energy carriers. In the research phase for new products main attention goes to the optimization of the microorganism. Genomics, physiology and metabolic engineering are the main study tools. Scale of operation is not really important in this case.
•	Evidence-based Nutrition: From Requirements to Recommendations and Policies 9 - 14 September 2008, Warsaw, Poland This course is based on the VLAG-course Nutritional and lifestyle epidemiology and four participants from Eastern-Europe that attended the 2007 edition of this course and suggested modifications to make this course more suitable for participants from Central and Eastern Europe. This special edition of the Nutlife course is sponsored by EURRECA, a FP-6 funded Network of Excellence.
•	Management of Microbiological Hazards in Foods - 11th edition 15 - 19 September 2008, Wageningen The aim of this course is to further improve the knowledge of course participants regarding the management of micro-organisms that may compromise the safety of foods. The course programme combines lectures and group work ("case studies") with plenary discussions.
•	Advanced Course on Applied Genomics of Industrial Fermentation - 3rd edition 13 - 17 October 2008, Wageningen (organised by BODL) This course aims to familiarize industrial and academic research professionals with the modern concepts of genomics, their use in microbial research and development, and their utility in contemporary biotechnological industry. The link above gives information on the previous edition of this course.
•	Proteomics - 2nd edition 20 - 23 October 2008, Wageningen
•	VLAG PhD-week - 20th edition 27 - 30 October 2008, 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.

• T.W.J.M. van Herpen (Teun) Coeliac disease safe gluten: The challenge to reduce toxicity while preserving wheat technological properties. 23-05-2008, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. R.J. Hamer, Prof. H.J. Bosch, Dr. L.J.W.J. Gilissen, Dr. M.J.M. Smulders • L.M. Wijnands (Lucas) Bacillus cereus associated food-borne disease: quantitative aspects of exposure assessment and hazard characterisation. 02-06-2008, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. T. Abee, Prof. M.H. Zwietering, Dr. R.R. Beumer • P.A. Berk (Petra) In vitro and in vivo virulence of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104. 05-06-2008, 11:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. T. Abee, Prof. M.H. Zwietering, Dr. R. de Jonge • A. Haegens (Astrid) Role of myeloperoxidase in lung inflammation. 06-06-2008, 14:00 hrs, Maastricht Prof. E.F.M. Wouters, Prof. B.T. Mossman • C. Akkermans (Cynthia) Protein fibrillization: preparation, mechanism and application. 06-06-2008, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. R.M. Boom, Prof. E. van der Linden, Dr. A.J. van der Goot, Dr. P. Venema • B.R. Postmus (Bart) Polymer vs. surfactant. Competitive adsorption at the solid-liquid interface. 10-06-2008, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. M.A. Cohen Stuart, Prof. F.A.M. Leermakers

• E.S. Martens-Uzunova (Elena) Assessment of the pectinolytic network of Aspergillus niger by functinal genomics - Insights from the transcriptome. 11-06-2008, 16:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. W.M. de Vos, Prof. C.A.M.J.J. van den Hondel, Dr. P.J. Schaap • G.M. Buijsse (Brian) Antioxidants, oxidative stress, and cardiovascular diseases - Cross cultural comparisons and prospective cohort studies. 11-06-2008, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. D. Kromhout, Prof. F.J. Kok, Prof. E.J.M. Feskens • Z.I.T.A. Soons (Zita) Advanced monitoring and control in biopharmaceutical production. 13-06-2008, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. G. van Straten, Dr. A.J.B. van Boxtel • E.J. Kok (Esther) The application of transcriptomics in the comparative safety assessment of (GMO-derived) plant products. 13-06-2008, 11:00 hrs, Wageningen Prof. I.M.C.M. Rietjens, Prof. M. Müller • I.K. Voets (Ilja) Opposites attract?! - On the electrostatically driven co-assembly of polymers in aqueous solution. 18-06-2008, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. M.A. Cohen Stuart, Dr. A. de Keizer • A. Smeets (Astrid) Triggers for food intake regulation; sensory and metabolic effects of specific food components. 19-06-2008, 16:00 hrs, Maastricht Prof. M.S. Westerterp-Plantenga • M.E.J. Terpstra (Marjolein) Oral texture perception of semisolid foods in relation to physicochemical properties. 20-06-2008, 13:30 hrs, Wageningen Prof. E. van der Linden, Dr. A.M. Jansen

The TSP is being evaluated within the university. There are some major differences between the different graduate schools. The idea is to make it more standardized, but still with respect for cultural differences between the schools. Also VLAG is involved in this process. More information will follow when the outcomes are presented.

The Doctorate Conferral Regulations change regularly, however last time the changes were quite essential. PhDs are now only allowed to have one article in their thesis on which they are not the first author. It appears that information about these changes often does not reach PhD students. The Wageningen PhD Council tries to change this.

The council is looking for a new chairman. Interested or for more information feel free to mail Bart.deKoning@wur.nl.

Everybody is invited to come to the public meetings! Next meeting: 28 May at 16.00, Canteen Biotechnion

The Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences of the University of Copenhagen and the Rector Magnificus of Wageningen University have decided to explore the possibilities to intensify the cooperation. As part of this initiative the Graduate School VLAG will provide financial support for the travel costs involved in participation in the course 'Food, medicine and philosophy in East and West'. First step for potential participants is to contact the course organiser to ensure that they can participate in this activity.
The course consists of a series of lectures in combination with field studies to food markets, hospitals, universities and religious sites.

University of Copenhagen, Denmark (13 - 20 November) and
Hong Kong/Guangzhou, China (21-30 Nov) and
examination (5 Dec, Denmark) (visit LMC FOOD)

•	Career Assessment - May/June (visit WGS)
•	PhD Competence Assessment (visit WGS)
•	Career Orientation - 16 May (visit WGS)
•	Presentation Skills - 19 May (visit CENTA)
•	Mobilising your scientific network - 23 May (visit WGS)
•	Information Literacy, incl. Introduction Endnote - 27 May (visit WGS)
•	Coping with Climate Change in Integrated Watershed Management - 30 June (visit WGS)
•	Techniques for Writing and Presenting a Scientific Paper - 1 July (visit WGS)
•	Project- and Time Management - 9 September (visit WGS)
•	Scientific Writing - 18 September (visit Centa)
•	Career Perspectives - 21 October (visit WGS)
•	Science, the press and the general public: communication and interaction - 23 October (visit WGS)
•	Interpersonal Communication for PhD students - 27 October (visit WGS)
•	Personal Efficacy - 29 October (visit WGS)

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Professional in Supervision (start next workshop: 22 October 2008) The workshop ‘Professional in Supervision’ aims at staff members and postdocs of Wageningen University. The workshop is offered by Wageningen Graduate Schools (WGS) and organised by Barend vd Broek and Frans Houdé, two professionals who have many years of experience in research, education, international management and coaching. They are involved in educational activities for PhD candidates at WUR and other universities. The workshop is scheduled for 22, 23 October & 3 December 2008 and is preceded by a personal intake. (visit WGS)

On 4 June there will be an introductory lunch for all Wageningen based PhD students who started recently. The lunch is from 12:30-13:30 hrs 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.

During the 3rd International symposium on Pectins & Pectinases, 21-23 April in Wageningen, four poster prizes were awarded.

•	1st prize: Ruben Jolie, KU Leuven
•	2nd prize: Katja Cankar, WU
•	3rd prize: Gerd-Jan Coenen WU (former VLAG PhD) and Tom Erik Grønhaug, University of Oslo

The symposium was concluded with a farewell symposium for Professor Fons Voragen.

Rianne Ruijschop of NIZO Food Research has won the prestigious Unilever Young Scientist Award. The prize was awarded based on her ground breaking work on the role of aromas on satiation.
Ruijschop proved for the first time in the world that aromas that reach the nose from the oral cavity - retronasal - during consumption have an effect on intra meal satiation. Intra meal satiation has an effect on meal termination.
This PhD research project, carried out in the framework of the EC project DiOGenes (Diet, Obesity and Genes, www.diogenes-eu.org), showed that also the length of release has an effect on satiation. In liquid foods, the aroma release is considerably shorter than for solid foods. This opens the way to develop and engineer satiating foods together with food industry that are from their side looking for solutions for the current obesity epidemic.
Ruijschop received the first prize - a glass sculpture and € 15 000 - from Prof. Emmo Meijer, Senior Vice President world wide R&D food at Unilever

•	Rubicon Rubicon offers researchers who have completed their doctorates in the past year the chance to gain experience at a top research institution outside the Netherlands (maximum of two years). Deadlines are 2 September and 2 December 2008. read more
•	NIH Research related to genomics, incl. analysis of genome structure and function, genetic variation, population genomics and ethical, legal and social implications. Deadline is 7 September 2008. (visit NIH)
•	British Council and Platform Bèta Techniek Within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the British Council and Platform Bèta Techniek applications can be submitted for subsidies for research visits to the UK or for organising joint workshops or seminars with British researchers. Deadline is 15 August 2008. (visit British Council)

•	49th International Conference on the Bioscience of Lipids The overall theme of this year's meeting is ‘Lipidology: bridge between basic science to clinical pathology’. 26 - 30 August 2008, Maastricht (visit NUTRIM)
•	Seminars Laboratory of Biochemistry, WU Monthly, usually on Thursday, the laboratory of Biochemistry organises seminars for external speakers. Details about each seminar, as well as titles and abstracts will be regularly posted on their website. (visit laboratory of Biochemistry)
•	Colloquia Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Colloid Sciences, WU Every week, the laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Colloid Sciences organises colloquia. read more
•	Bio Career Event This fourth edition of the Bio Career Event will take place in the Amsterdam RAI. This unique network & recruitment event brings talent in the Life Sciences in touch with future employers, recruitment agencies, training agencies and other parties that play an important role in their career development. 21 May 2008 (visit Bio Career Event)
•	7th PhD Course on ‘in vivo NMR’ Topics will include principles of NMR imaging and spectroscopy, advanced MRS, MR contrast mechanisms, MR angiography, diffusion and perfusion MRI, functional MRI, cellular and molecular MRI, MR data processing and analysis, MR hardware etc. May 26 - June 13, Wageningen more info
•	Short Course: Lecithin & Phospholipids in Emulsions This course is meant for people working working with lecithins, phospholipids, emulsifiers and emulsions in the food, pharmaceutical and other industries, institutes and academia. 5 - 6 June, Gent, Belgium more info
•	NWO-Talent Classes A Talent Class is an extensive workshop, based on the Talent Day. In 2008 the following dates are planned for the Talent Classes: 20 May, 17 June, 23 September, 4 November and 9 December. Registration for the last three Talent Classes in 2008 is still possible. (visit NWO)