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Report of the Third Hungarian cell analysis conference: 16–18 May 2002, Budapest, Hungary

This conference was a successful continuation of previous conferences such as the Hungarian Cell Analysis Conference, Budapest, 1998 and 2000, and the ISAC-Sponsored International Conference for Flow Cytometry and Image Analysis, Epona, 1999. The Cell Analysis Section of the Hungarian Biophysical Society organized all four conferences. The popularity of the conference was hallmarked by the large number of participants (close to 300). The form of the conference proved to be very attractive: In the mornings, experts from specific fields delivered scientific lectures. In addition to Hungarian scientists, such as Margit Balazs, Gyula Hadlacky, Bela Molnar, Laszlo G. Puskas, Janos Szollosi, and Gyorgy Vereb, experts from abroad significantly raised the scientific standards of the conference. The international speakers included Peter Adorjan, Francis Mandy, Abe Schwartz, Howard M. Shapiro, and the authors of this introduction. In the afternoons, practical demonstrations were presented, ranging from basic techniques to stateof-the-art instrumentation. Practical training included cell culturing; mechanical cell separation for flow cytometry; methods for detection of cell proliferation; detection of apoptosis; fluorescence microscopy, image acquisition, and processing; confocal laser microscopy; fluorescence in situ hybridization; magnetic cell separation; magnetic mRNA isolation; real-time and traditional polymerase chain reaction; and detection of mutation. During the conference the attendees were able to choose six sessions of 11 topics. These demonstrations were headed by one of the speakers and sponsored by commercial companies that provided special kits and/or instruments to ensure a stable basis for successful practical training. An impressive selection of commercial companies provided contacts and improved awareness of advanced analytical cytology for the participants. The purpose of the conference was multifaceted. It served as a forum for presentations from Hungarian scientists, and, with the active participation of foreign experts, it opened a window to state-of-the art methods and techniques. The conference also facilitated the research cooperation between well-established scientists and Ph.D. graduate students, with the major purpose of the conference being education. The average age of the attendees was approximately 30 as more than 50% of the participants were Ph.D. students. Graduate students were able to earn credit points toward their final examination. The venue for the conference was the Medical University of Semmelweis in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The university has great traditions, with its name reflecting the rich history of scholastic activity in Budapest. It was over 150 years ago that Ignaz Semmelweis completed his classic epidemiologic study in Budapest, studies that led to effective prophylaxis against childbed fever that still stands as the hallmark of evidence-based studies in epidemiology. At the conference both the lectures and the posters proved to be of high quality, demonstrating the high scientific standards of the community. The topics of the posters ranged from oncology (basic and applied research) to signal transduction, genetics, fertility research, and investigation in lower organisms such as Drosophila and earthworm. The methods applied were varied and highly sophisticated. Of 29 poster presentations, three prizes were awarded. Originally the poster awards committee (Margit Balazs and Attila Tarnok) was supposed to give only one award, but the decision was not easy because of the large number of excellent posters. With the financial help of commercial companies, the committee was able to present three poster awards instead of one. These awards were: First prize: Generation and Characterization by Flow Cytometry of Dendritic Cells, by Gizella Veszely, Janos Fent, Agnes Nagy, and Furesz Jozsef, Department of Pathophysiology, Institute for Health Protection of HDF, Budapest. Second prize: Hemocyte-Specific Molecular Markers in the Hematopoiesis and Innate Immunity of Drosophila melanogaster, by Istvan Nagy, Eva Kurucz, and Istvan Ando, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged. Third prize: Astrocytes Support the Neuronal Differentiation of Neuroectodermal Progenitor Cells, by Vanda Szlavik, Zsuzsanna Kornyei, and Emilia Madarasz, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. On the following pages, the reader will find the rich program of the Third Hungarian Cell Analysis Conference through the lecture and poster abstracts.