Cell Functional and Phenotypical Analysis

Synopsis and goals
Target audience
Organizing Committee
Faculty
Programme
Bibliography
Registration

Synopsis and goals

“Cell functional and phenotypical analysis: the usefulness of flow cytometry and related tools” is a hands-on course that will allow participants to learn from fundamentals to advanced applications of flow cytometry. The course will be lectured by researcher from the ICVS, in collaboration with by national and international experts, including flow cytometry facility coordinators, researchers, and specialists on FlowJo software for flow cytometry analysis. The course will be organized in theoretical and practical sessions. Practical sessions will include sessions of hands-on in the laboratory and also theoretical-practical sessions that are allocated for the understanding of data analysis. The course is designed to promote informal discussions and exchange of ideas. The interaction between speakers and participants will be promoted during the practical and theoretical-practical sessions.

A complete pipeline of different biological samples from yeast to human cells, and serum/cell culture supernatants will be used throughout the course.

Special fees were established independently for each course week to meet participants’ needs and demands.

Target audience

This course is oriented towards participants with a diverse range of background and experience in using flow cytometry and related tools. It is especially interesting for Master and PhD students, post-doctoral and senior researchers, with a particular interest on flow cytometry and related tools. To attend the 2nd week of the course, basic knowledge in flow cytometry is required.

Organizing Committee

Belém Sampaio-Marques
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Cláudia Nóbrega
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Margarida Correia-Neves
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Paula Ludovico
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Faculty

Alexandra Fraga
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
ICVS/3B's - Portugal Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Alexandre Salvador
Enzifarma

Andreia Mendonça
Enzifarma

Bruno Fernandes
IPO, Instituto Português do Cancro, Porto, Portugal

Carlos Palmeira
IPO, Instituto Português do Cancro, Porto, Portugal

Catarina Martins
Nova Medical School, Lisbon, Portugal

Catarina Meireles
i3S, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Porto, Portugal

Diogo Silvério
Enzifarma

Laura Ferrer
Waters Biosciences

Mariana Fernandes
GIMM, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal

Rui Gardner
MSKCC, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA

Susana Monteiro
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal

Programme

This course will be held from May 11th to 29th, 2026 and is structured as follows:

1st Week (May 11-15, 2026)

This week will be dedicated to explore, using interactive and student-centered strategies, principles of cell functional and phenotypical analysis including fundamental concepts on antibodies, fluorochrome selection as well as the fundamentals of flow cytometry and cell sorting. Emphasis will be given to the detection and analysis of extracellular vesicles (a tool available at the new flow cytometer). Lectures and discussions will be followed by hands-on laboratory sessions on a wide variety of flow cytometry techniques ranging from experimental set-up, sample preparation, data acquisition and data analysis.

2nd Week (May 18-22, 2026)

This week will be dedicated to advanced flow cytometry techniques on the analysis of RNA, cell cycle, cell death, metabolism and cytokine quantification.

For the students enrolled in the MSc and PhD programs of the School of Medicine, the course will have 1 mandatory additional week (May 25-29, 2026).

Click here to download the detailed programme of the full course.

Bibliography

Recommended web resources:
- Introduction to Flow Cytometry
- Flow Cytometry Resource Center

Additional bibliography will be supplied before the beginning of the course.

Registration

To register, please fill out the registration form. Within 24/72h, we will send you the confirmation and details for the payment. Please contact us if you do not receive a response in the next 5 days.

Registration deadline

April 24th, 2026

Fees for external participants

Full course [May 11-29, 2026]........................400 EUR
Only module 1 [May 11-15, 2026].................250 EUR
Only module 1 [May 18-22, 2026].................250 EUR

Fees for ICVS/EM members

Full course [May 11-29, 2026].........................250 EUR
Only module 1 [May 11-15, 2026]..................150 EUR
Only module 1 [May 18-22, 2026]..................150 EUR

The fee includes/strong>

- All the necessary material for the course
- Certificate of attendance

Details for the payment

This information will be sent to the accepted participants.

Payment and invoicing policy

After submit the registration form, you will receive an email with the payment details (this may take up to 72 hours). To complete the registration process, you should proceed with the payment and send the receipt to upg-cursos@med.uminho.pt within 5 days.

Your registration will be effective after confirmation of the payment. If payment is not made in due time we will have to cancel the registration.

The correct indication of customer data for the purposes of registration and billing are the sole responsibility of the customer. UMinho is not responsible for any errors that may result from inaccurate information provided by the customer, particularly in the issuance of tax documents which are not susceptible to cancellation after issued. If you do not indicate the tax identification number you will be considered as final consumer (non-taxable person).

Cancelation and refund policy

You may cancel your registration at any time, but you will forfeit the full amount, irrespective of the date of cancellation. We cannot refund or return the fee, unless the course suffers any changes or it is cancelled.