Conference Grant call 5

Fifth call for a Conference Grant from the COST Action EuroXanth

Grantees

We received two applications, one of which has been approved by the ITC Conference Grant Committee. We are happy to announce that the ITC Conference Grant was given to:

Aitana Ares Yebra, Instituto Pedro Nunes, Coimbra, Portugal (Scientific Report for Download)

Aitana Ares Yebra presented a poster on “Characterization of the olive xylem microbiome community composition by metabarcoding greatly depends on the matrix used to extract DNA and 16S universal bacterial PCR primers“. You may download the Abstract of the poster and the Poster.

Call

Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to announce the opening of the 5^th call for a Conference Grant from the COST Action EuroXanth. Conference grants are intended to support the participation of Early Career Investigators^[1] from Inclusiveness Target Countries^[2] at international conferences.

We are receiving applications for the 2^nd European Conference on Xylella fastidiosa in Ajaccio (Corsica), France, from October 29 to 30, 2019. A post-conference field visit on 31 October will allow participants to become familiar with the Corsican landscape, crops and potential host plants for X. fastidiosa and its vectors in this environment.

The latest results from European research projects dealing with X. fastidiosa will be presented, in particular the final results from the Horizon 2020 POnTE project. The conference will also be an opportunity for participants to catch up on the latest advances and achievements of other national and transnational research activities that are ongoing worldwide and to discuss ways of strengthening coordination and synergies.

The programme includes presentations and discussions on the latest data and insights on X. fastidiosa, its host plants and vectors and control options. The conference is covering the most recent results of research on:

Biology and pathogenicity;
Detection and surveillance;
Ecology, epidemiology and modelling;
Insect vectors;
Risk assessment and assessment of impacts (including environmental and socio-economic impact);
Sustainable management strategies.

The conference is organised jointly by EFSA; the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA); the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES); the Office de l’Environnement de la Corse (OEC) through its department the Conservatoire Botanique National de Corse; the EU-funded projects POnTE, XF-ACTORS, CURE-XF and EuroXanth; and the Euphresco network for phytosanitary research coordination and funding.

To apply for support by the EuroXanth COST Action, please send a letter of motivation (including a budget request), the abstract of your presentation, a confirmation of acceptance of your presentation and your CV (max. 2 pages plus list of publications, if applicable) to the ITC Conference Grant Coordinator (Dr Katarina Gasic, gasickatarina@yahoo.com) and to the Chair (Dr Ralf Koebnik, ralf.koebnik@ird.fr) until June 30, 2019.

All applications will go through selection by the STSM/ITC Conference Grant Committee and successful applicants will be made aware of the decision by August 31, 2019. Evaluation criteria are the scientific quality of the presentation, a clear link to the EuroXanth COST Action and how the mission can support the Action in achieving its scientific objectives.

Successful applicants will receive a EuroXanth COST Action Conference Grant. A Conference Grant is a fixed financial contribution which takes into consideration the budget request of the applicant and the outcome of the evaluation of the application by the delegated person(s). Conference Grants do not necessarily cover all of the expenses related to participating in a given conference. A Conference Grant is a contribution to the overall travel, accommodation and meal expenses of the selected Grantee.

The calculation of the financial contribution for each Conference Grant must respect the following criteria:

Up to a maximum of EUR 2 500 in total can be afforded to each successful applicant;
Up to a maximum of EUR 160 per day can be afforded for accommodation and meal expenses;
Up to a maximum of EUR 500 can be claimed for the conference fees to be incurred by the selected Grantee.

Please consult the relevant COST website for more details on eligibility for application and the reimbursement rules. Please be aware that you need to provide a report about your mission, all travel documents and relevant receipts (registration fee) within 4 weeks after return from the conference in order to receive the Conference Grant.

If you are aware of other conferences with relevance to the EuroXanth COST Action, please feel free to share your suggestions with us so that we can include them in future Conference Grants calls.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

With kind regards,

Katarina Gasic (ITC Conference Grant Coordinator)

Ralf Koebnik (Chair)

^[1]An individual who is within a time span of up to 8 years from the date they obtained their PhD/doctorate (full-time equivalent).

^[2]Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey (countries in red did not join the EuroXanth COST Action yet and are therefore not eligible for support by this COST Action).