EFEM
European Federation 
for Experimental Morphology

EFEM Travel Grants

EFEM Travel Grants call

The stated purpose of the European Federation for Experimental Morphology (EFEM) is the advancement of science and education related to experimental morphology in the European region. This is achieved through promotion of information exchange, both scientific and professional; encouraging joint meetings, supporting scientific training and exchanges; organizing the EFEM Lecture; facilitating training programmes in morphological education; and considering ethical matters pertaining to morphology.
The EFEM is offering up to 2 research travel grants, each of €750, for 2019. In accordance with the EFEM Statutes §2 [http://www.efem.eu/statutes.php#EFEM_Grants]The objectives include stimulation and facilitation of

  • training [scientific and professional]
  • international scientific research projects in morphological fields.

The Grants are intended for travel i) between anatomical institutes of a Constituent Society of EFEM; ii) Research Centers of Excellence or, iii) active participation to international conferences where the applicant is presenting their own contribution (*).

Applicants shall be active members of a Constituent Society of the EFEM which has paid its annual EFEM membership dues to date (EFEM Statutes §15: Procedures for EFEM travel grant, http://www.efem.eu/statutes.php#EFEM_Grants).

Closing date for applications is April 1st, 2019

(*) the scientific contribution must highlight the support obtained from the EFEM travel grant 2019 and the EFEM logo

Applications should be made to the EFEM Secretary General:

Prof. Paolo Onori,
Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics Sciences
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine
Sapienza University of Rome
Via A. Borelli, 50
I-00161 Rome
Italy
Phone: +39 4991 8075-8067
E-mail: paolo.onori@uniroma1.it

List of the 2019 EFEM Travel Grantees:

Dr. Jacopo Junio Valerio BRANCA (University of Firenze, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Human Anatomy Section; Member of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology),  Ass. Prof. Nikola VUCINIC, MD, PhD (University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy; Member of the Serbian Anatomical Society) and Dr. Christina Francisca VOGELAAR (University Medical Centre, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Department of Neurology, Section Neuroimmunology, Paul-Klein-Center for Immune Intervention; Member of the German Anatomical Society).

List of the 2018 EFEM Travel Grantees:

Maria Alexandra Brito (Portuguese Anatomical Society) and Jesse Hannekam (Anatomical Society, UK).

A short report from our 2018 Travel Grantees:

“Both my teaching and research activities at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, are in the field of morphological sciences. In fact, I am the Chair of subjects such as “Human Anatomy” and “Development and Organization of the Nervous System”, and contribute to the course of Histology and Embryology, which strongly rely on morphological analysis. Regarding my research activity, it also strongly relies on histological, immunohistochemical, immunocytochemical and immunofluorescence (simple, double and triple labelling) analysis, in addition to electron microscopy (transmission and scanning).
The travel grant that I received from EFEM allowed me to attend the 10th International Symposium of Clinical and Applied Anatomy (ISCAA) that took place in Moscow, Russia, September 13-16, 2018. ISCAA meetings gather together professors and researchers from all over the world, with professionals coming not only from Europe and Russia, but also from countries such as Korea, Japan and  Nigeria, to name a few. The program was very interesting, including the presentation of different approaches used in Anatomy courses (e.g., problem-based learning and the use of virtual reality and 3D printing), as well as the relevance of anatomic knowledge in the clinics (e.g. 3D visualization of anatomical structures in surgical procedures). Importantly, I had the opportunity to present two oral communications, one related with my activity as a Human Anatomy professor, entitled “strategies for teaching/learning Human Anatomy at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon“ and another related with my research activity, under the subject “breast cancer brain metastasization: comparison of hippocampal and cerebellar patterns”. This represented a great opportunity to disseminate my work throughout the academic and scientific community, fostering interactions and contributing to the improvement of the teaching and research developed at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon.
Collectively, my participation in the 10th ISCAA was very fruitful in terms of both my academic and research activities, with anticipated impacts particularly in the training of the new generations of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ students. To highlight that my participation in the 10th ISCAA was possible thanks to the EFEM 2018 travel grant and, so, I deeply acknowledge EFEM for having awarded this important travel grant.” Associate Professor Maria Alexandra Brito, Faculty of Pharmacy, Un iversity of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)E-mail: abrito@ff.ulisboa.pt

"Thanks to the 2018 EFEM Travel Grant I was able cover most of my accommodation and travel costs for visiting research institutions on Sicily, mainland Italy, Switzerland and Germany. These visits enabled me to include the majority of all documented fossil specimens in a morphometric study on insular dormice. A part of the collections will be digitised using imaging techniques like photogrammetry and microCT scanning. This 3D data will be essential for my PhD project and will result in these specimens becoming more easily accessible for future research purposes. Thanks to this grant, a large dataset on the morphology of this giant rodent is realised, increasing our understanding of insular gigantism in Mediterranean rodents as well as morphological variation within dormice in general. I am very grateful to have been awarded this grant." Jesse Hennekam, PhD student at Hull York Medical School, Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences, The University of York, York (UK) (E-mail: jjh556@york.ac.uk)

Jesse Hennekam, the PhD student at Hull York Medical School (note logo in upper left corner) and  the 2018 EFEM Travel Grantee (logo in the upper right corner), in front of his poster during the 66th Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy in Manchester (September 2018).

List of the 2017 EFEM Travel Grantees:

Omur Karaca Saygili (Turkish Society of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy), Hana Kolesova (Czech Anatomical Society) and Fabian Garreıs (Anatomische Gesellschaft).

A short report from our 2017 Travel Grantees:

"I am very excited when I have been learned awarding by the EFEM 2017 Travel Grant.  Because I have captured an opportunity to present results of our study is named ‘Evaluation of the Basal Ganglia Volume in Patients with Major Depression by Stereological Methods’ at Fifth International Conference on radiation and applications in various fields of research on 12-16 June 2017 in Budva/Montenegro. Moreover, I can meet researchers studying about stereological methods in patients with major depression and establish new cooperation with them. I want to thank you for your contribution to improve my professional carrier in field of Anatomy.  I approve this message to be published on the EFEM website. Best Regards, Assist. Prof. Dr. Omur Karaca Saygili, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Balikesir University (Balikesir, Turkey), E-mail: omurkaraca@balikesir.edu.tr 

"I would like to express my gratitude that I have been awarded by the European Federation for Experimental Morphology (EFEM) the 2017 Travel Grant. It allowed me to participate on Cardiovascular Development Meeting organized in Charleston, USA, where I have met outstanding researchers in the field of cardiovascular biology and I was able to actively present our research results and discussed it. Also subsequent two week stay in the laboratory of Prof. Sugi at the Medical University of South Carolina gave me a chance to start a new cooperation with her laboratory and broaden methods used in our research. Therefore the EFEM travel grant enabled me to actively participate and discuss our work with colleagues, networking, started new cooperation and learned new methods. I am grateful that EFEM travel grant helped me to start an international cooperation and provided a basis for my further professional development." Assist. Prof. Hana Kolesová, Ph.D., Institute of Anatomy, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University (U Nemocnice 3, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic), E-mail: hana.kolesova@lf1.cuni.cz

"It is a great pleasure and honor for me to have received the2017 travel grant of the European Federation for Experimental Morphology (EFEM). This travel grant gives me the opportunity to participatein the 112th Annual Meeting of the AnatomischeGesellschaft in Würzburg, Germany as well as 115th DOG congress (German ophthalmologist association) in Berlin, Germany. During both congresses I had the opportunity to present our results for the establishment of a human Meibomian gland epithelial cell line (HMGEC) as a model to study Meibomian gland dysfunction. At the DOG congress, our study was honored as a poster of the day, which was a great honor for me. Both congresses are outstanding platforms for scientific presentation and discussion in front of an international audience. Especially the interdisciplinary approach of anatomy-relevant research as well as the relations with clinical medicine at both meetings was an excellent opportunity to present my research work in the field of experimental ophthalmology to a broad scientific public. Furthermore, it was a very good opportunity to get into contact with anatomists as well as basic and clinically researchers from other European countries and the world. In times of increased national efforts as well as political declaration of a “post-factual time”, international meetings and discussions are the best way to counter these efforts.  In addition, thanks to financial support from the EFEM travel grant, I met anatomist from Innsbruck, Austria and Lviv, Ukraine at the annual meeting of the AnatomischeGesellschaft and we are about to start a scientific collaboration on a immunology topic. Again it is outstanding that EFEM promotes and facilitates such important activities for anatomist. Many thanks again!" Fabian GarreisPhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), E-mail: fabian.garreis@fau.de.

List of the 2016 EFEM Travel Grantees:

Dario Coletti (Italy), Mazhar Ozkan (Turkey), Marcela Bezdickova (Czech), Luka Djudaric (Croatia), Marek Hampl (Czech)

A short report from our 2016 Travel Grantees:

"It is with the uttermost sincerity that I express my gratitude to EFEM for the 2016 EFEM Travel Grant I had the honor to be awarded.
This grant supports a still ongoing experiment to histologically analyze the effects of neuromodulation on skeletal muscle homeostasis in pathological conditions, such as cancer cachexia. This experiment involves several European universities: Liverpool (where the hardware used was conceived), Vienna (which provided the electrodes), Padua (where I actually went to perform the in vivo experience), and Paris (where the sample are analyzed); such an approach is iconic of the spirit of EFEM, by highlighting the importance of European collaboration and by placing the morphological approach as the core of biomedical investigations at the same time. I particularly appreciated the availability of a support for a short mobility stay, in a period in which travel grants are scarce and the quote for such expenses in research grants is
decreasing steadily. Having the possibility to support a trip to a high level laboratory was great!" - Dario Coletti (Rome, Italy)

"It was a great honor to be granted by the European Federation of Experimental Morphology. As a neuroanatomist, I could get the opportunity to attend to the biggest neuroscience meeting in Europe, FENS Forum 2016. During the meeting I presented a part of my PhD thesis as a poster. I made so many useful and informative conversations with the researchers from all around the world. In the symposia I attended, I could listen really amazing talks and realized there are still many questions to be answered about the morphology of the nervous system with their importance in neuroscience. The contradiction about the existence of layer IV in primary motor cortex has not been solved since Cajal and Golgi’s works. Also, the connections between motor cortex and somatosensory cortex are very important for execution of the movement. With this amazing opportunity you gave me, I found the chance to see the most recent technologies and methods which can be used in neuroscience. I tried to spent my time ideally by connecting many new people from the universities, research labs and companies for the studies and colloborations in the future. I am so thankful to EFEM Council for the opportunity." - Mazhar ÖZKAN (Istanbul, TURKEY)

"I would like to express my big gratitude for the fact that I have been awarded by the EFEM 2016 Travel Grant. I do really appreciate that grant, because it allows me to keep in touch with my colleagues and with the latest scientific news in the field of Anatomy, to what I am devoted to, within the International Scientific Meeting this year in Budapest. It is essentially important continuously work on our professional grow and networking within the Europe is one of these important parts. I want you thank you for helping me to enhance my professional carrier and the grant will be immensely useful for me in that aspect." - Marcela Bezdickova (Swansea, United Kingdom)

"It is a great pleasure for me to be awarded with 2016 EFEM Travel Grant. It gives me an opportunity to attend the International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology in Washington DC. There I would like to present my concurrent results focused on the morphology and development of secondary palate in chameleon. Moreover, I can meet there scientists from the field of my interest and establish new cooperation with them. For me as a Ph.D. student, it is great opportunity to prepare oral talk for such large morphological meeting and it will be definitely very important step in my carrier. Thank you that EFEM Travel Grant helps to mediate cooperation, not only in Europe, but all over the World, between scientists from morphological fields and gives possibility to students to be actively involved in scientific community." - Marek Hampl (Brno, Czech Republic)

List of the 2015 EFEM Travel Grantees:

Marcela Buchtova (Czech Republic) + Abigail Saffron Tucker (UK)Srikanth Karnati (Germany)
David Angelo (Portugal)

A short report from our 2015 Travel Grantees:

"I am very pleased to have been awarded this joint travel grant with my collaborator Dr Buchtova. The award will allow students from our labs to undergo a reciprocal exchange to learn new anatomical techniques. This grant will help strengthen relations between the UK and Czech Republic and enhance the quality of research in experimental morphology. The students will benefit from learning new techniques but also from interacting with a new lab. Such grants are very important to allow research into morphology to thrive and I think it is wonderful that EFEM is funding such activities." - Abigail Tucker (London, United Kingdom)

"It´s a great honor to receive this prestigious EFEM Grant ! I´m developing my PhD thesis in Lisbon Medical University and my main goal is to regenerate Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disc in sheep. To improve human health, scientific discoveries must be translated into practical applications. It is inherent in the development of these technologies  the role of preclinical trials using animal models. The TMJ anatomy in sheep is similar to human and we used it  as our animal model. Currently, no alloplastic options exists to replace safely and effectively a degenerative, non-repairable TMJ disc in humans. Available TMJ total joint devices are categorized class III (highest risk category) by Federal Drug Administration (FDA). TMJ disc implants failures are usually due to lack of complete knowledge on TMJ and its disorders. Presently surgical treatment of TMJ ankylosis consists of ankylotic block resection, followed by reconstruction of the condyle-ramus unit and filling of the intra-articular space with biological or alloplastic materials. Biological grafts commonly used are taken from buccal fat and temporal fascia; alloplastic grafts are silicone or polytetrafluoroethene (teflon®), which have been associated with foreign body reactions. Furthermore these interpositional materials do not take in consideration cellular, biochemical and biomechanical characteristics of TMJ disc. The main purpose of interpositional grafts is to prevent ankylosis recurrence, with a high incidence rate reported; however, none has proved to be universally successful. In conclusion, none of the currently used methods can prevent TMJ ankylosis and lead to complete satisfactory TMJ reconstruction. The appropriate 3-D scaffold can induce selective cell recruitment, if located in the site specific environmental niche, mimic the native disc. Morphological, histological, biochemical and biomechanical mechanisms are concerned, to prevent reankylosis and promote a functional biological TMJ implant.   In this first stage our main goal is to make a 3D reproduction of six sheep TMJ disc. For this we are using a white light 3D scanning system (Steinbichlen - Comet5). This grant supports my scientific participation in International Congress of Clinical Anatomy - Rouen 2015 with my oral communication: Novel approach for 3D virtual model of TMJ disc morphology. Preliminary results. This is a unique opportunity to be in an recognized international  congress organized by the European Association for Clinical Anatomy, British Association of Clinical Anatomists and Sociedad Anatomica Espanola with prestigious international members. I congratulate and thank the EFEM Board for the opportunity. Thank you!" - David Angelo (Lisboa, Portugal)


List of the 2014 EFEM Travel Grantees:

Joseph George (UK)Maria Ines Simoes Salva (PORTUGAL)
Marina Maria Boido (ITALY)
Radik Khayrullin (RUSSIA)

A short report from our 2014 Travel Grantees:

"The European Federation for Experimental Morphology (EFEM) has given me the amazing opportunity to attend the Lehigh Microscopy School’s “Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy: From Fundamentals to Advanced Applications” course, a well-known course that I have been meaning to attend for a long time. This unique learning opportunity will strengthen scientific knowledge in this area, including use of specific techniques and interpretation of images. Scientific training in Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy is of upmost value in my research pathway. I will thus be able to refine some methods and learn new trends in this area, to apply specifically in hair development research." - Maria Ines Simoes Salva (Lisboa, Portugal)

" (...) For me was a big and pleasant surprise the receiving of the travel-grant 2014 of the EFEM! (...) Due to it I fulfilled all the items of the work's program of the scientific trip to the medical faculty of the University of Rijeka (Croatia) and has participated in the 6 International Symposium of Clinical and Applied Anatomy (ISCAA). I learned a lot about of the scientific and organizational experience of the anatomical society of Croatia, which is a permanent member of the European Federation of Experimental Morphology and about good experience of the organizing international scientific forum. I established the contacts with the leadership of society and anatomical departments of Croatia for the opportunities and prospects for joint research projects in the field of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology; for the exchange of experience in the organization of researches students and post-graduates at the departments of anatomy, planning of joint scientific web-conferences. One important outcome of the trip was a preliminary agreement with the organizing committee of the ISCAA, of this important tool of the development and the promotion of the anatomical sciences of the European countries, about of the possibility of one of the closest forums in Russia." - Radik Khayrullin (Ul’yanovsk, Russia)

"I am most grateful and humbled to receive the European Federation of Experimental Morphology travel grant. Primarily, it has allowed me to present my work in paediatric heart surgery at the Annual International Symposium on Congenital Heart Disease in Florida, USA. The conference also allowed me to network with other paediatriac cardiac surgery trainees and surgeons. It provided me with a strong understanding of the latest research and outcomes in the various anatomical anomalies causing congenital heart disease. Especially useful were the lectures by cardiac pathologists describing the detailed morphology of congenital defects. As a first year Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialty Registrar, receiving this grant is a substantial academic and financial support, especially in relation to my research interests in congenital anomalies.  I thank the EFEM council for supporting my early career research interests in paediatric cardiac surgery." - Joseph George (London, United Kingdom) 

"The travel grant offered by “European Federation for Experimental Morphology (EFEM)” gave me the precious opportunity to visit a lab which is leader in Europe in studying the molecular and morphological aspects of cell death, a pivotal topic in my research field. I was particularly interested to examine in depth the morphological ultrastructural alterations related to autophagy/apoptosis in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) pathogenesis: to this aim the expertise in the electron microscopy field of Prof. Puyal, group leader at the Department of Cellular Biology and Morphology (University of Lausanne), has been extremely helpful. This experience has strongly improved my theoretical and technical knowledge in this research field, strengthening my knowledge relative to pathogenic mechanisms of SMA. Moreover it represented an amazing opportunity to exchange information between two European groups of morphologists, and to establish a long-lasting collaboration, as encouraged by EFEM Statute". - Marina Boido (Torino, Italy)


A short report from our 2013 Travel Grantee:


"With the support from European Federation for Experimental Morphology (EFEM Travel Grant) I have visited Institute of Osteology and Biomechanics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. The visit to one of the leading osteology and bone research centers in Europe provided me with excellent opportunities for scientific training in osteological research, as well as with insights into new trends and challenges in bone research. In particular, I learned two new methods for assessment of bone morphology and mechanical properties. During this visit I completed a research project related to bone morphological changes in aging and osteoporosis. Moreover, this visit strengthened international cooperation and networking in bone field, and provides a basis for my further professional development." - Petar Milovanovic (Belgrade - Serbia)

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