News & Events

LGC contributes to MIQE guidelines course

20 July 2010

0n 5^th- 9^th July a workshop was held at the European Molecualr Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany on ‘Following MIQE Recommendations’. LGC’s Dr Jim Huggett, Science Leader in Diagnostics and one of the authors of the MIQE guidelines, attended as a course tutor to guide the students in the principles of standardisation of qPCR.

MIQE (The Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments) is a set of guidelines which are set out to increase standardisation of real time qPCR. Published is 2009, the aim of the guidelines is to provide the information that must be reported for a qPCR experiment in order to ensure its relevance, accuracy, correct interpretation and repeatability.

The workshop delegates were a combination of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Dr Huggett tutored sessions around discussing inhibition and normalisation when performing qPCR, and facilitated the students' understanding by generating a number of theoretical problems for them to work through. He also acted as a facilitator to guide general and focussed discussions around practical laboratory results as well as chairing presentations on theoretical problems.

The workshop was received very well with 70 % of the delegates finding the theoretical problems 'very useful'.

The workshop was held at the EMBL Advanced Training Centre (ATC); a new DNA-shaped double helical conference venue in the heart of Europe which provides the setting for a new era of scientific conferences at EMBL and promotes advanced training and education for scientists from all over the world.

Images courtesy of Hugo Neves - EMBL Photolab, Heidelberg and EMBL Photolab, Heidelberg.