Program

The draft schedule at a glance is available here for both MGSA and Mutation Detection meetings together. This also includes bus transfer times from and back to Launceston airport. The bus times were chosen to fit with the most appropriate flight arrivals & departures from around Australia. SCHEDULE HERE

Invited Speakers

• Rob Elles
  Director of Molecular Genetics, Regional Molecular Genetics Service, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Genetic Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom

• Charles Schwartz
  Director of Research, Head J.C. Self Research Institute, Director, Center for Molecular Studies, Greenwood Genetic Center, SC, United States

Sessions

Audit of Fragile X laboratory analyses in Australia and New Zealand for 2008

Each laboratory will present an audit of what they have done in 2009.

Laboratory Methods: old and new

A number of labs are using new techniques to amplify larger repeats and identify methylation of the FMR1 gene.

Clinical update

Our invited speaker Charles Schwartz will co-chair this session.

Developing Australasian best practice guidelines

This is designed as an interactive session. A preliminary document will be forwarded to all labs. Our invited speaker Rob Elles will likely discuss new sizing repeat standards available to UK/European labs.

New directions: Population Carrier and Newborn Screening

At least two trails from Melbourne/Sydney are being considered. Also allows adding presentations for other mental retardation screening such as GOLD (Genetics of Learning Disabilities).

Company Lectures

Abbott -

Development of A High-Throughput Assay For Detecting Fragile X Expanded Alleles

Illumina -

TBA