Training School 2018 (Heraklion)
Training School on “Prognosis & Advanced Diagnosis on Xanthomonadaceae“
The 1st Training School of the EuroXanth COST Action on “Prognosis & Advanced Diagnosis on Xanthomonadaceae” took place in Heraklion/Crete, Greece, from February 12 to 16, 2018. This Training School addressed tools and technologies used to detect bacteria of the Xanthomonadaceae family and approaches to study the genetic diversity and population structure of bacterial isolates, including MLST/MLSA, VNTR/MLVA and NGS approaches. The Training School involved seminars, demonstrations, use of software and databases as well as hands-on activities.
The Training School was organised by three collaborating institutions from Crete.
| Name | Institution | Department |
| Prof. Filippos VERVERIDIS | University of Applied Sciences | Department of Agriculture |
| Prof. Dimitrios GOUMAS | University of Applied Sciences | Department of Agriculture |
| Assoc. Prof. Panagiotis SARRIS | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) | Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology |
| Ass. Prof. Emmanuel LADOUKAKIS | University of Crete | Department of Biology |
The Training School brought together 17 Trainees from 10 participating COST Countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain and Turkey), a few local Trainees and the following Trainers:
External Trainers
| Name | Affiliation | Country |
| Marcos AMATO | agdia EMEA, Grigny | France |
| Vittoria CATARA | University of Catania, Catania | Italy |
| Joana COSTA | Instituto Pedro Nunes, Coimbra | Portugal |
| Tanja DREO | National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana | Slovenia |
| Maria HOLEVA | Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Athens | Greece |
| Marie-Agnès JACQUES | Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences, Beaucouzé | France |
| Ralf KOEBNIK | Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier | France |
Trainers from local Organising Institutes (@ Heraklion – Crete)
| Name | Institution |
| Prof. Electra GIZELI | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology & University of Crete, Department of Biology |
| Prof. Dimitrios GOUMAS | University of Applied Sciences, Department of Agriculture |
| Ass. Prof. Emmanuel LADOUKAKIS | University of Crete, Department of Biology |
| Dr. Pavlos PAVLIDIS | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Computer Science |
| Assoc. Prof. Panagiotis SARRIS | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology |
| Dr. Pantelis TOPALIS | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology |
| Dr. Emmanuel TRANTAS | University of Applied Sciences, Department of Agriculture |
| Dr. George TSEREVELAKIS | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser |
| Dr. Ioannis ZACHARAKIS | Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser |
As the first EuroXanth event bringing together Trainers and Trainees of European institutions working on Xanthomonas and Xylella, this event can be considered as a great success of this COST Action. The success is not only due to the presentations, demonstrations, excursion and exercises, but it is also linked to the lively exchange among all participants. The social activities certainly helped to generate a very friendly and open-minded atmosphere. There was ample of time for discussions, which were not restricted to the focus of the Training School and which will certainly help all of the participants in their future career.
The EuroXanth COST Action would like to thank all the organisers, trainers and trainees for their commitment to this event.