Final Activity Report Summary - ECMTB05 (European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology 2005) The European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ECMTB05) has been the main international event for the mathematical and theoretical biology community in the year 2005. The event took place from July 18-22 in Dresden (Germany), was the sixth tri-annual conference of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ESMTB) and also served as the 2005 annual meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB). ECMTB05 was devoted to one of the fastest growing domains in science where experimental biology and medicine, biochemistry, mathematics, computer science, physics and various fields of technology. The conference served two objectives, (1) to communicate the best of recent advances in mathematical modelling approaches in the life sciences and to identify key targets of future work and, (2) to provide a networking platform for young researchers. This was ensured by world leading keynote speakers who represented 10 hot topics: cellular biophysics, regulatory networks, development, neural systems and the brain, evolution and ecology, immune systems, biomedical applications, biotechnology, innovative mathematical methods, inter-disciplinary education. This outstanding program of ECMTB05 attracted almost 800 scientists from 44 countries worldwide. It should also be mentioned that more than 250 students and 200 young researchers presented their exciting results in a very rich program of talks including 37 Mini-Symposia as well as poster sessions. A special mentoring programme was installed to initiate contacts between young researchers and experts. One full day of introductory lectures before the conference enabled newcomers to optimally benefit from the event. Communication was fostered by ample discussion opportunities and a social programme with boat excursions to Castle Pillnitz. ECMTB05 also featured a public lecture by James D. Murray, who was awarded the Akira Okubo prize. Many of the presented results have now been compiled in two book volumes. The participation of 242 students and young researchers at ECMTB05 was made possible by a contribution of 150.000 Euro through the European Commission's Marie-Curie Programme. The conference was organised by Dr. Andreas Deutsch and the Center for High Performance Computing at the Dresden University of Technology (Germany). For more details please visit htt[://www.ECMTB05.org.
