The 13^th Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria will be held in the Congress Centre “Hotel Zuiderduin”, Zeeweg 52, Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands from

 

 August, 22 – 26 2021

 

The Symposium will start with an opening and keynote lecture, followed by a Welcome Reception and a buffet dinner.

      

 

The Symposium is organised under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Society for Microbiology (KNVM) and the Federation of European Microbiological Societies(FEMS).

 

Aim of the Symposium

Throughout the world Lactic Acid Bacteria play important roles in the production of food and feed, and promote health through different probiotic applications. The incessant scientific and industrial interest in these microorganisms continues to provide many important scientific breakthroughs and new applications.

This series of tri-annual symposia on Lactic Acid Bacteria was started in 1983 to communicate and stimulate research on Lactic Acid Bacteria and their application. The aim of these LAB symposia is to offer a unique platform for academic and industrial researchers interested in the state of the art of LAB research, to present recent work, to obtain information on new developments and to exchange views with colleagues from all over the world on scientific progress and applications.

The 13th Symposium will be held at the Congress Centre “Hotel Zuiderduin” in Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands. This Congress Centre is located in a beautiful North Sea village, easily accessible by car and public transport.

 

Scientific programme

The programme will include invited plenary lectures providing overviews of state-of-the-art developments in five selected scientific areas; short plenary lectures that cover the most recent advances in LAB research and application; as well as several poster sessions.

The scientific areas that will be covered are

[1] Microbial Communities,

[2] Genetics and Genomics,

[3] Fermentation and Metabolism,

[4] Host-Microbe Interactions,

[5] Bacteriophages and Antimicrobials.

In addition, leading scientists from outside the LAB-community will be included in the Programme for coverage of important emerging fields. Finally, the Programme encompasses two thematic sessions and two plenary poster-flash sessions.

All participants will receive an Abstract Book containing extended abstracts of the invited short lectures and poster abstracts, as well as the Proceedings Book that will be published as a special edition of FEMS Microbiology Reviews.

Poster contributions in all areas of research on Lactic Acid Bacteria, especially on industrial applications, are encouraged. There will be ample time for poster viewing and the posters will be on display during the whole Symposium.

 

Practical information

Language

The symposium language will be English.

 

Venue

The recently renovated Congress Centre “Hotel Zuiderduin” is in an attractive coastal setting near the city of Alkmaar, about one hour by train from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Information on reaching “Hotel Zuiderduin” by car, train or bus can be found on the Symposium website (www.labsymposium.org).
The hotel can accommodate most of the participants and has ample space for lectures and poster exhibitions. It also has indoor and outdoor recreational and sports facilities and it is within walking distance from the North Sea beach.

The number of participants will be limited to 650. In case the number of applicants exceeds this limit, the Organising Committee will prioritize participants presenting a poster.

 

Weather

Sunshine is quite common at the end of summer but the evenings may be cool. It is advisable to bring a sweater and a light raincoat.

 

Insurance and liability

The Organising Committee accepts no responsibility and cannot be held liable for accidents, illness, loss of life or loss of property incurred by participants or partners while in transit to and from the Symposium or during the Symposium, Symposium Social Events and their stay in the Netherlands.

 

Travel to and from Egmond aan Zee

Egmond aan Zee does not have its own station and is served by station Heiloo. The approximate journey times are:

From Schiphol Airport – 50 minutes (trains in the direction of Hoorn change at Zandaam, trains in the direction of Amsterdam Centraal change at Amsterdam Sloterdijk)
From Amsterdam – 30 minutes (trains in the direction of Alkmaar)
The Dutch railways have recently switched to a paperless ticket system which will require the purchase of a chip-card ticket available from the ticket machines. With the exception of some machines at Amsterdam Central station and Schiphol Arport, the ticket machines do not accept credit cards. There will be a €1 surcharge per trip to cover the costs of the card.

The chip cards are activated by passing them over card readers at the start of the journey.

For visitors from neighbouring countries it may be possible to purchase an e-ticket from their local rail company. These tickets contain a code which is readable by the card readers at the station (although no all of them have this facility, the one by the disabled access always does).

A shuttle bus service will be arranged from Heiloo station to Hotel Zuiderduin on the afternoon of Sunday august 22nd and there will be the possibility to purchase a ticket for a bus to Schiphol on the afternoon at august 26th from Hotel Zuiderduin.

 

Please forward all further correspondence to :

For scientific matters:
Dr. John Chapman (Secretary)
Unilever Research & Development
Postbus 114
3130 AC Vlaardingen
The Netherlands
Tel: +31-10-4605247
E-mail: john.chapman@unilever.com