EMBL Events

9 September - 12 September 2025

Developmental metabolism: flows of energy, matter, and information

Alexander Aulehla, Heather Christofk, Heidi Lempradl, Jonathan Rodenfels

This meeting will create an intellectual space to exchange ideas across disciplines and help form a vibrant diverse community at the interphase between developmental biology molecular metabolism mathematics and physics... OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview The fundamental question of the role of metabolism in development has seen a revival in interest over recent years, creating the need for the first edition of this workshop in 2023. This second edition is set to reunite the community two years on, and to ensure the ongoing interactions that can propel progress in developmental metabolism. In this rapidly advancing field, metabolomic methods play a crucial role in unraveling complex processes. The workshop will again aim to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds: developmental biology, genetics, epigenetics, ecology, physics and math, to provide the developmental metabolism community with cutting-edge research and methodologies applied across...

14 September - 19 September 2025

Methods for infectious disease modelling using genomics

Barbara Etzi

This EMBO Practical course will introduce concepts methods and tools for carrying out infectious disease modelling as well as for developing models further by leveraging the power of genomics Modelling infectious diseases can help to understand the mechanisms of pathogen evolution and predict the development of epidemics This had an immense impact on the COVID 19 pandemic and is crucial for the general surveillance of pathogens In this course participants will learn about compartmental models such as Susceptible Infectious Recovered SIR models how to adapt them to a pathogen of their interest and the differences between stochastic and deterministic models Taking this further participants will apply these models to epidemic settings in order to predict changes in case numbers and disease severity Additionally the participants will learn how to implement and adapt genomics informed models for pathogen evolution and they will learn how to make use of genomics to create timed phylogenies and reconstruct ancestral states Finally bringing together transmission modelling and genomic data participants will learn about phylodynamic models and how this can help to detect changes in case numbers and pathogenicity earlier and more reliably than with transmission models alone... This EMBO Practical course will introduce concepts, methods, and tools for carrying out infectious disease modelling, as well as for developing models further by leveraging the power of genomics. Modelling infectious diseases can help to understand the mechanisms of pathogen evolution and predict the development of epidemics. This had an immense impact on the COVID-19 pandemic and is crucial for the general surveillance of pathogens. In this course, participants will learn about compartmental models, such as Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) models, how to adapt them to a pathogen of their interest, and the differences between stochastic and deterministic models. Taking this further, participants will apply these models to epidemic settings in order to predict changes in case numbers and disease severity. Additionally, the participants will learn how to implement and...

14 September - 19 September 2025

Advanced methods in bioimage analysis

Ignacio Arganda-Carreras, Anna Klemm, Perrine Paul-Gilloteaux, Christian Tischer

OverviewTrainers speakers staffProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This course will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Course overview Bioimage analysis has become a keystone of biological research the deluge of data produced by increasingly advanced microscopes calls for experts able to guide life scientists in the methods and... OverviewTrainers, speakers, staffProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This course will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Course overview Bioimage analysis has become a keystone of biological research: the deluge of data produced by increasingly advanced microscopes calls for experts able to guide life scientists in the methods and software to be used to produce quantitative knowledge from this data. Due to the complexity of the data, without such expert guidance, it is very likely that image analysis algorithms may be applied incorrectly, possibly even producing erroneous results. Moreover, the diversity of imaging modalities, analysis algorithms and software solutions is growing so rapidly that even experts are overwhelmed. This advanced course concentrates on teaching cutting-edge concepts and tools for quantitative image analysis...

16 September - 19 September 2025

The human microbiome

Mani Arumugam, Ami Bhatt, Peer Bork, Nicola Segata

OverviewSpeakersProgrammeEMBO trainingPractical informationNature Awards Lunch WorkshopsSponsorsAboutMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Symposium overview Human microbiota the collection of microbes living in and on our body have a significant impact on human health and well being They have been associated... OverviewSpeakersProgrammeEMBO trainingPractical informationNature Awards Lunch WorkshopsSponsorsAboutMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Symposium overview Human microbiota – the collection of microbes living in and on our body – have a significant impact on human health and well-being. They have been associated with numerous diseases, yet we are still far from understanding their role in the context of life-style and genetics. Various initiatives are underway around the world to survey the human microbiota at several body sites, characterize them, understand their interactions with the human hosts, elucidate their role in diseases, and design possible therapeutic or dietary interventions. Recent efforts have started mining the human microbiome data to discover bioactive compounds; detect interactions between...

29 September - 2 October 2025

CANCELLED: NicE-RNA sequencing for multiomics on open chromatin and transcription

Vladimir Benes, Björn Textor

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmeSponsorsMedia kit Overview Update on cancellation Thank you for your interest in the EMBL Course on NicE RNA sequencing for multiomics on open chromatin and transcription Unfortunately due to product release delays we are not able to host this course in September 2025 and have to cancel the event If you would like to receive further details on the... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmeSponsorsMedia kit Overview Update on cancellation Thank you for your interest in the EMBL Course on NicE-RNA sequencing for multiomics on open chromatin and transcription. Unfortunately, due to product release delays, we are not able to host this course in September 2025 and have to cancel the event. If you would like to receive further details on the product/protocol please feel free to contact the NEB Senior Application Manager Dr. Björn Textor. To stay in contact with us you can visit www.embl.org/events​ for a complete list of all EMBL events and subscribe for our newsletter at www.embl.de/events/newsletter​. Course overview This course will focus on the latest state-of-the-art novel library preparation protocols. We will start with experimental design, focusing on hands-on library preparation (including best practices, standards, and potential...

30 September 2025

A life in science: farewell symposium for Anne Ephrussi

Alexander Aulehla, Jürgen Deka, Edith Heard

OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical InformationMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg Conference overview This special one day symposium to celebrate the distinguished career and many achievements of one of our most esteemed colleagues Anne Ephrussi From leading EMBL s developmental biology research unit to setting new directions for the organisation s... OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical InformationMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg. Conference overview This special one-day symposium to celebrate the distinguished career and many achievements of one of our most esteemed colleagues, Anne Ephrussi. From leading EMBL’s developmental biology research unit to setting new directions for the organisation’s training offerings, Anne has made an indelible mark on European life sciences. Anne’s academic path began at Harvard University for her undergraduate studies followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she earned her PhD. After two postdocs – at Harvard University and the Whitehead Institute, MIT – she began her career at EMBL. In 1992, she launched her EMBL research group. Using the oskar gene as a paradigm, her team focused on understanding how RNA molecules are transported and...

1 October 2025

Introduction to pangenomes and why they are worth exploring

Pangenomes offer an alternative approach to using a singular linear reference genome which is becoming increasingly important as both the volume and diversity of genomic data grows rapidly However transitioning to pangenomics also brings along new terminology and challenges both biological and computational all of which are less clearly defined than in the conventional linear reference world Here we ll attempt to define some key differences in pangenomics and how they can improve future genomic analyses... Pangenomes offer an alternative approach to using a singular linear reference genome, which is becoming increasingly important as both the volume and diversity of genomic data grows rapidly. However, transitioning to pangenomics also brings along new terminology and challenges (both biological and computational!), all of which are less clearly defined than in the conventional linear reference world. Here, we'll attempt to define some key differences in pangenomics and how they can improve future genomic analyses.

2 October 2025

A guide to UniProt for students

UniProt provides the scientific community with a comprehensive high quality and freely accessible resource of protein sequence and functional information This webinar will guide you through ways in which students and researchers at all career stages may take a structured approach to access the data in the UniProtKB and Proteomes sections of the UniProt protein function database The webinar will discuss the types of data that can be accessed and using sequence analysis tools how this data can be analysed to answer biological questions We will demonstrate how to find the function of a protein how the protein components of a pathway may be identified features of proteins of interest can be compared similar sections of sequence can be sought in other species and how whole data sets containing all the proteins expressed in an organism can be obtained By accessing sequence structural and functional data through UniProt we want researchers to be part of data s biological journey and support further work and adventures along the way... UniProt provides the scientific community with a comprehensive, high-quality and freely accessible resource of protein sequence and functional information.This webinar will guide you through ways in which students and researchers at all career stages may take a structured approach to access the data in the UniProtKB and Proteomes sections of the UniProt protein function database.The webinar will discuss the types of data that can be accessed, and using sequence analysis tools, how this data can be analysed to answer biological questions. We will demonstrate how to find the function of a protein, how the protein components of a pathway may be identified, features of proteins of interest can be compared, similar sections of sequence can be sought in other species and how whole data sets containing all the proteins expressed in an organism can be obtained. By accessing sequence, structural...

6 October - 10 October 2025

Metagenomics bioinformatics at MGnify

EMBL-EBI Training

Learn about the tools processes and analysis approaches used in the field of genome resolved metagenomics This course will cover the use of publicly available resources to manage share analyse and interpret metagenomics data focussing primarily on assembly based approaches The delivered content will involve participants learning via live lectures and presentations followed by live Q As with the trainers Practical experience will be developed in group activities and in computational exercises run using containerised tools on our training infrastructure... Learn about the tools, processes, and analysis approaches used in the field of genome-resolved metagenomics.This course will cover the use of publicly available resources to manage, share, analyse, and interpret metagenomics data, focussing primarily on assembly-based approaches.The delivered content will involve participants learning via live lectures and presentations, followed by live Q&As with the trainers. Practical experience will be developed in group activities and in computational exercises run using containerised tools on our training infrastructure.

8 October - 11 October 2025

Seeing is believing: imaging the molecular processes of life

Jan Ellenberg, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Satyajit Mayor, Atsushi Miyawaki

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmeIndustry workshopsEMBO trainingPractical informationSponsorsMedia kitAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Conference overview The molecular processes of life are naturally dynamic in space and time from the atomic to the organismal level The rapid development of imaging methods across... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmeIndustry workshopsEMBO trainingPractical informationSponsorsMedia kitAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview The molecular processes of life are naturally dynamic in space and time from the atomic to the organismal level. The rapid development of imaging methods across the full scale of biological organisation is revolutionising our ability to visualise the inner workings of macromolecular complexes, organelles, cells, tissues, organs and whole organisms. Being able to see biological processes unfold in real time allows us to understand the mechanisms of life as well as disease.The symposium will bring together the leading developers of imaging methods with cutting-edge applications that illustrate how imaging can answer biological questions. We will emphasize methods...

13 October - 17 October 2025

Liquid biopsies

Anders Ståhlberg, Martin Dalin

OverviewSpeakers trainers and staffPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course Overview There is an increasing interest and need to analyse biomarkers in liquid biopsies both for basic research and clinical applications Liquid biopsies have several advantages including being minimally invasive allowing repeated sampling and sampling is often clinical... OverviewSpeakers, trainers and staffPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course Overview There is an increasing interest and need to analyse biomarkers in liquid biopsies, both for basic research and clinical applications. Liquid biopsies have several advantages including being minimally invasive, allowing repeated sampling and sampling is often clinical routine. This course will provide an overview of several techniques to detect and analyse liquid biopsy-based analytes such as cell-free tumor-DNA (ctDNA), miRNA, extracellular vesicles, mRNA, proteins and single cells. Participants will be introduced to all aspects ranging from proper sampling through analyte analysis and final data analysis. Experimentally, we will demonstrate ultrasensitive ctDNA analysis using sequencing, antobody-based proteomics and digital PCR. Lectures will cover developments in...

14 October - 17 October 2025

Spatial biology: the melting pot

Sean Bendall, Leeat Keren, Arutha Kulasinghe, Sinem Saka, Denis Schapiro

This EMBL Conference offers the next generation of spatial biologists an opportunity to exchange with the scientists who develop and implement spatial technologies Renowned speakers will cover the latest advances in the field... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Overview This EMBL Conference, co-organised with the European Society for Spatial Biology (ESSB), builds on the momentum of the Society’s inaugural meeting in Berlin in December 2024.  Spatial biology extends beyond analyzing the molecular composition of individual cells—it considers their spatial arrangement and interactions within complex tissues and organisms. This dynamic, interdisciplinary field integrates insights from medicine, biology, physics, computer science, and other disciplines to deepen our understanding of biological systems in health and disease. ​The meeting aims to bring together the rapidly growing academic community, fostering discussions on cutting-edge spatial technologies, innovative data analysis approaches, and their applications in both fundamental and translational...

15 October - 15 November 2025

Inferring bacterial pangenomes with gene-based approaches

The advent of the whole genome sequencing era in bacteria led to both the initial definition of the term pangenome and the rapid realisation that pangenomic methods would be indispensable to understanding bacterial genomics Due to the rapidly rising scale of bacterial genomics of the early 2010 s coupled with the computational constraints of the time many bacterial pangenome methods were developed focusing exclusively on protein coding DNA sequences This type of method remains widely used to this day and they continue to be actively developed and extended beyond their initial constraints including their limitation to protein coding regions In this webinar we will discuss how these methods work and why they are particularly useful in understanding bacterial pangenomes as well as survey recent and ongoing developments to these methods... The advent of the whole-genome sequencing era in bacteria led to both the initial definition of the term 'pangenome' and the rapid realisation that pangenomic methods would be indispensable to understanding bacterial genomics. Due to the rapidly rising scale of bacterial genomics of the early 2010's coupled with the computational constraints of the time, many bacterial pangenome methods were developed focusing exclusively on protein-coding DNA sequences. This type of method remains widely used to this day, and they continue to be actively developed and extended beyond their initial constraints, including their limitation to protein-coding regions. In this webinar, we will discuss how these methods work and why they are particularly useful in understanding bacterial pangenomes, as well as survey recent and ongoing developments to these methods.

22 October - 25 October 2025

Organoids: modelling organ development and disease in 3D

Meritxell Huch, Karl R. Koehler, Madeline Lancaster, Esther Schnapp

The aim of this meeting is to bring together researchers from different fields to enhance our understanding of how organoids can be formed and maintained how they can be used to study disease and how we might eventually use them to regenerate and replace human organ tissue... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmeEMBO trainingPractical informationSponsorsAboutMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Symposium overview The ability to grow tissues from stem cells in 3D culture to generate so-called organoids has revolutionised the study of tissue biology, especially human biology. This exciting technology has great potential for drug discovery and regenerative medicine. Because organoids model a variety of tissues with remarkably high fidelity, they allow for new discoveries in human development, homeostasis, regeneration, and disease. This symposium will bring together the leading researchers in this field, representing the premier conference for this research community, and providing a much-anticipated program that demonstrates how this field is truly pushing the boundaries for our...

22 October 2025

Making sense of massive genomic data by indexing at scale

As genomics and metagenomics datasets continue to grow in size and assembled genomes accumulate due to progress in sequencing and assembly efficient indexing is critical for enabling discovery and analysis across studies This webinar introduces approaches to organising and searching large scale genomic data exploring how indexing strategies improve data accessibility reproducibility and analytical power We ll discuss current challenges practical frameworks and future directions for handling genomics at the population scale... As genomics and metagenomics datasets continue to grow in size, and assembled genomes accumulate due to progress in sequencing and assembly, efficient indexing is critical for enabling discovery and analysis across studies. This webinar introduces approaches to organising and searching large-scale genomic data, exploring how indexing strategies improve data accessibility, reproducibility, and analytical power. We’ll discuss current challenges, practical frameworks, and future directions for handling genomics at the population scale.

27 October - 31 October 2025

Structural bioinformatics

Juanita Riveros

This course provides a guide to the commonly used methods and tools in structural bioinformatics to analyse and interpret experimentally determined and AI predicted macromolecular structure data Structural biology determining the three dimensional shapes of biomacromolecules and their complexes can tell us a lot about how these molecules function and the roles they play within a cell Data derived from structure determination experiments and Artificial Intelligence AI assisted structure prediction enables life science researchers to address a wide variety of questions This course explores bioinformatics data resources and tools for the investigation analysis and interpretation of both experimentally determined and predicted biomacromolecular structures It will focus on how best to analyse and interpret available structural data to gain useful information given specific research contexts The course content will also cover predicting function and exploring interactions with other macromolecules Successful participants may be sent materials prior to the course These might include pre recorded talks and required reading or online training that will be essential to fully engage with the course... This course provides a guide to the commonly used methods and tools in structural bioinformatics to analyse and interpret experimentally determined and AI-predicted macromolecular structure data.Structural biology, determining the three-dimensional shapes of biomacromolecules and their complexes, can tell us a lot about how these molecules function and the roles they play within a cell. Data derived from structure determination experiments and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted structure prediction enables life-science researchers to address a wide variety of questions.  This course explores bioinformatics data resources and tools for the investigation, analysis, and interpretation of both experimentally determined and predicted biomacromolecular structures. It will focus on how best to analyse and interpret available structural data to gain useful information given specific...

28 October - 30 October 2025

The epitranscriptome

Michaela Frye, Tsutomiu Suzuki, Chengqi Yi

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Conference Overview The regulation of the transcriptome is key to cellular processes that underpin cell biology development and tissue function All classes of cellular RNA are subject to post transcriptional... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference Overview The regulation of the transcriptome is key to cellular processes that underpin cell biology, development, and tissue function. All classes of cellular RNA are subject to post-transcriptional modification, be it by direct chemical modification, editing, or non-templated nucleotide additions. This is the fourth edition, ‘The epitranscriptome’ meeting was first held at EMBL in 2016, followed by an edition in 2018, and a virtual conference in 2022. It was the first meeting dedicated to RNA modifications with a focus on mammalian systems. It is now established that biochemical modifications of nucleotides regulate RNA metabolism, modulate cell functions and contribute to severe human...

4 November - 7 November 2025

The mobile genome: genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements

Deborah Bourc'his, Josefa Gonzalez Perez, Joseph Peters, Julius Brennecke

OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical InformationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Conference overview Disparaged as selfish DNA for decades it s now clear that transposable elements TEs underlie the remarkably dynamic nature of bacterial plant and animal genomes This conference builds on the highly... OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical InformationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview Disparaged as “selfish DNA” for decades, it’s now clear that transposable elements (TEs) underlie the remarkably dynamic nature of bacterial, plant, and animal genomes. This conference builds on the highly successful 2021 and 2023 Mobile Genome EMBO workshops and has emerged as the major European venue in this ever-growing cross-disciplinary research field. The 2025 Mobile Genome conference will assemble recognized experts from diverse disciplines (e.g., genomics, epigenetics, structural biology, evolutionary biology, and developmental biology), as well as the next generation of scientists who will become leaders in the field, to discuss the broad impact of TEs on organismal biology. A...

5 November 2025

Pangenome graphs as a new paradigm in comparative genomics

Pangenome graphs are a novel approach to the problem of representing the genomic diversity present in a population Instead of describing genomes in a linear fashion as is done conventionally pangenome graphs represent population diversity as a network compacting similar sequences and implicitly encoding variation In this session we will discuss different types of pangenome graphs and their applications as well as tools developed by our group that leverage pangenome graphs to improve the accuracy of conventional bioinformatics tasks... Pangenome graphs are a novel approach to the problem of representing the genomic diversity present in a population. Instead of describing genomes in a linear fashion, as is done conventionally, pangenome graphs represent population diversity as a network, compacting similar sequences and implicitly encoding variation. In this session, we will discuss different types of pangenome graphs and their applications, as well as tools developed by our group that leverage pangenome graphs to improve the accuracy of conventional bioinformatics tasks.

10 November - 14 November 2025

Hands-on flow cytometry: learning by doing!

Daniel Gimenes, Diana Ordonez, Steffen Schmitt

This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying principles of flow cytometry while also emphasising practical considerations related to the most frequently used assays... OverviewSpeakers and trainersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course overview Flow cytometry is a highly effective method for analysing individual cells that has become widely used in the fields of life sciences and medicine. By utilising flow cytometry, researchers can accurately identify and measure specific cell populations within complex mixtures, as well as assess cell cycle progression, proliferation status, and expression of fluorescent markers. Our course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying principles of flow cytometry, while also emphasising practical considerations related to the most frequently used assays. Through a combination of theoretical instruction and hands-on training, students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively design, execute, and interpret flow cytometry experiments. Audience...

11 November - 14 November 2025

Cancer genomics

Kathleen Burns, Isidro Cortés-Ciriano, Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, Young Seok Ju

OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical informationSponsors SupportersMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Conference overview This conference will provide an opportunity to learn about and keep up to date with the progressing area of cancer genomics It will cover presentations from cancer genome projects the areas of... OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical informationSponsors & SupportersMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview This conference will provide an opportunity to learn about and keep up to date with the progressing area of cancer genomics. It will cover presentations from cancer genome projects, the areas of cancer functional genomics, systems biology, cancer immunogenomics and epigenomics, and the translation and clinical impact of scientific results. The meeting will bring together leading scientists and academic clinicians from across these areas for a unique opportunity to interact and stimulate further integration of these efforts. Topics AI and machine learning in cancer genomics Clonal evolution and tumorigenesis Early detection and molecular stratification Structural variation and mutational...

12 November 2025

Pangenome annotations and resources in Ensembl

Ensembl provides pangenome annotations for many eukaryotic species including human model organisms livestock and crop plants In this talk we will detail the annotation process we have developed for pangenomes including the strengths limitations and future directions We will also highlight some of the resources available in Ensembl around pangenomes and how to access them... Ensembl provides pangenome annotations for many eukaryotic species, including human, model organisms, livestock and crop plants. In this talk, we will detail the annotation process we have developed for pangenomes, including the strengths, limitations and future directions. We will also highlight some of the resources available in Ensembl around pangenomes and how to access them. 

13 November 2025

Chemicals in a biological context: metabolites, drugs, and beyond

Juanita Riveros

Small molecules or chemicals play a crucial role in biological systems acting as precursors to macromolecules cells and tissues Beyond this they are involved in cell signalling regulation energy consumption and production and can be used therapeutically to treat diseases Metabolites a subset of small molecules are the chemical intermediates and or end products of metabolic processes To understand the role of chemicals in a biological context we can study how they bind to and impact the function of their macromolecular targets such as DNA RNA and protein We can also assess their broader functional impact on cells tissues blood and other biofluids This six hour virtual workshop offers hands on experience with EMBL EBI tools and resources to explore the biological effects of small molecules Using a case study we will guide participants through workflows to investigate drug interactions with a protein target as well as assess the downstream effects within a biological system We will use ChEMBL to identify small molecule drugs and experimental data on their impact on targets PDBe to evaluate target binding details and MetaboLights to investigate the small molecule s impact on biological systems Virtual courseThis course will take place on Zoom Trainers will be available to assist during practical sessions answer questions and provide further explanations during the Zoom To join the course you will need to create an EMBL EBI Training website account... Small molecules (or chemicals) play a crucial role in biological systems, acting as precursors to macromolecules, cells, and tissues. Beyond this, they are involved in cell signalling, regulation, energy consumption and production, and can be used therapeutically to treat diseases. Metabolites, a subset of small molecules, are the chemical intermediates and/or end products of metabolic processes.To understand the role of chemicals in a biological context, we can study how they bind to and impact the function of their macromolecular targets, such as DNA, RNA, and protein. We can also assess their broader functional impact on cells, tissues, blood, and other biofluids.This six-hour virtual workshop offers hands-on experience with EMBL-EBI tools and resources to explore the biological effects of small molecules. Using a case study, we will guide participants through workflows to...

17 November - 21 November 2025

Genome bioinformatics: from short- to long-read sequencing

Anca Belu

A guide to the technology analysis workflows tools and resources for next generation sequencing data analysis This course will provide insights and training into how biological knowledge can be derived from genomics experiments and explain different approaches in analysing such data The main focus will be on introducing sequence informatics re sequencing differences between short and long read sequencing and variant calling during the analysis of higher eukaryotes with an emphasis on human genetic research Throughout the week more advanced topics will introduce genome graphs pangenomics the creation of pipelines automation and the scaling up of analysis experiments Practical sessions will be run on datasets prepared by the trainers not on personal research data Participants will learn how to process these training datasets and to apply appropriate statistical methods in their analyses They will also learn the basics to create their own pipelines and use pipelines openly available... A guide to the technology, analysis workflows, tools, and resources for next generation sequencing data analysis.This course will provide insights and training into how biological knowledge can be derived from genomics experiments and explain different approaches in analysing such data. The main focus will be on introducing sequence informatics, re-sequencing, differences between short- and long-read sequencing, and variant calling during the analysis of higher-eukaryotes, with an emphasis on human genetic research. Throughout the week, more advanced topics will introduce genome graphs, pangenomics, the creation of pipelines, automation, and the scaling-up of analysis experiments.Practical sessions will be run on datasets prepared by the trainers, not on personal research data. Participants will learn how to process these training datasets and to apply appropriate statistical methods in...

17 November - 21 November 2025

Solution scattering from biological macromolecules

Clement Blanchet, Melissa Gräwert, Tobias Gräwert, Annette Langkilde

The course is aimed at young biochemists biophysicists and researchers active in related structural methods with little or no experience in solution scattering... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary virtual programme (6 – 10 October 2025)Preliminary on-site programme (17 – 21 November 2025)Practical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Applications only available for the virtual module Course overview This course consists of two parts: a virtual module and an on-site module. The series of online lectures will take place from 6 – 10 October 2025. In addition to this, a small number of selected students that have completed the virtual module will be offered to take part in the practical component of this course that will take place in Hamburg from 17 – 21 November 2025. For the other students we will offer the possibility to collect data remotely. We encourage advanced PhD students, postdocs and junior researchers to apply. The virtual module lectures will cover the basics of SAXS/SANS, instrumentation, data collection, modelling...

18 November - 21 November 2025

Cell biology of the nucleus

Simone Koehler, Patrick Lusk, Thomas Quail, Sara Wickström

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationEMBO trainingSponsorsMedia KitAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Conference overview The nucleus houses the genome and plays a central role in all cellular processes Over the last decade advances in modern genomics have provided important insight into 3D... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationEMBO trainingSponsorsMedia KitAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview The nucleus houses the genome and plays a central role in all cellular processes. Over the last decade, advances in modern genomics have provided important insight into 3D genome organisation but the underlying cell biology of the nucleus is often not considered. The nucleus is not just a passive scaffold for the genome: it is a highly dynamic organelle with a suite of unique mechanisms that help control its biochemical compartmentalization, its integration into both intra and extracellular mechanical networks, and its response to pathological and environmental insults. The goal of this conference is to showcase the cell biological mechanisms that define the nucleus as an...

23 November - 28 November 2025

Volume electron microscopy by automated serial SEM

Christel Genoud, Amanda Lewis, Paolo Ronchi, Yannick Schwab

This course will further contribute to disseminating knowledge on fast evolving techniques to a growing community of vEM users and service providers... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course overview Recent developments in scanning electron microscopes (SEM) have led to ground-breaking opportunities in volume imaging of cells and tissues. This course aims to provide extensive theoretical and practical knowledge on the three main techniques for volume EM based on SEM: microtome-based serial block-face SEM, focused ion beam SEM, and array tomography. The participants will be able to assess the potential of each technique to understand which fits best with their own projects, and acquire the theoretical background to understand the different techniques as well as how to optimize the imaging conditions, the data processing, analysis and management.  This course will further contribute to disseminating knowledge on fast-evolving techniques to a growing community of vEM users and...

25 November - 27 November 2025

27th EMBL PhD Symposium

2025 EMBL PhD Symposium Organising Committee

Join us for the 27th EMBL PhD Symposium Since its conception in 1999 the EMBL PhD Symposium has evolved into a highly respected scientific meeting connecting young researchers and high profile scientists alike... If you are not redirected automatically, please go to PhD Symposium website.

2 December - 5 December 2025

Computational structural biology

Rommie Amaro, Charlotte Deane, Jan Kosinski, Christine Orengo, Sameer Velankar

This conference will update on the impact of AI based structure prediction provide a forum to present new methods and applications build a wider community by integrating the new scientists now massively joining the field and open a platform to discuss future directions and opportunities... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview This second edition of the EMBO “Computational Structural Biology” workshop builds on the success of the 2023 meeting. It aims to present and discuss advancements in computational studies of biomolecular structures, functions, and interactions, encompassing AI-driven innovations and classical methods while exploring future directions in the field. The programme offers a diverse range of sessions covering key topics, from molecular modeling to systems-level analyses and evolution. New sessions for 2025 include drug design, focusing on computational approaches in therapeutic innovation, and infrastructures and software platforms, highlighting the technological frameworks essential for computational...

7 December - 12 December 2025

Genome engineering: CRISPR/Cas in cells and mice

Silke Deckert, Neil Humphreys, Kristof Kersse, Birgit Koch, Elisabeth Zielonka

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course overview This course will provide training in genome editing and cell engineering in mammalian cells and mouse embryos using the highly efficient CRISPR Cas9 system Participants will learn design of CRISPR targets using bioinformatics tools generation of gene knock outs knock ins and target... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course overview This course will provide training in genome editing and cell engineering in mammalian cells and mouse embryos using the highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9 system. Participants will learn design of CRISPR targets using bioinformatics tools, generation of gene knock-outs/knock-ins, and target validation using the most current technologies. The course will be split into two groups (mammalian cells OR mice) based on participants’ expertise. Please note that all participants are expected to engage in all sessions. Participants should plan for approximately 1 hour extra per day for self paced learning modules. Audience This course is aimed at researchers who are familiar with basic molecular and cell biology techniques and who want to learn how to create an engineered mammalian cell line or...

8 December - 10 December 2025

Managing a bioinformatics core facility

EMBL-EBI Training

This knowledge exchange workshop is an opportunity for managers of bioinformatics core facilities to learn from each other and EMBL EBI s service teams These facilities play an essential role in enabling research in the life sciences The landscape is constantly evolving as new research tools emerge as experiments become increasingly data intensive and as their users experimental researchers become more exposed to the power of data driven biology This course will allow participants to share experiences discuss challenges and solutions that they face and plan ways to cope with the ever changing demands raised by the molecular life science field There will be sessions to learn from bioinformatics service providers hear how others have tackled common problems and work together to design core services resource them and measure their impact A limited number of travel bursaries are available Please see the Additional information tab for conditions... This knowledge exchange workshop is an opportunity for managers of bioinformatics core facilities to learn from each other and EMBL-EBI’s service teams. These facilities play an essential role in enabling research in the life sciences. The landscape is constantly evolving as new research tools emerge, as experiments become increasingly data-intensive, and as their users – experimental researchers – become more exposed to the power of data-driven biology.This course will allow participants to share experiences, discuss challenges and solutions that they face, and plan ways to cope with the ever-changing demands raised by the molecular life science field. There will be sessions to learn from bioinformatics service providers, hear how others have tackled common problems, and work together to design core services, resource them, and measure their impact.A limited number of travel bursaries...

2 February - 6 February 2026

Single-cell RNA-seq analysis with Python

Omotoke Labiyi

This course covers the analysis of single cell RNA sequencing scRNA seq data using Python and command line tools Participants will be guided through droplet based scRNA seq analysis pipelines from raw reads to cell clusters You will explore and interpret single cell RNA seq data using Python as well as the Single Cell Expression Atlas Finally you will put their knowledge into practice through a group challenge on the last day Virtual courseParticipants will learn via a mix of pre recorded lectures live presentations and trainer Q A sessions Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer led computational exercises Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and asynchronous communication via Slack Pre recorded material may be provided before the course starts that participants will need to watch read or work through to gain the most out of the actual training event In the week before the course there will be a brief induction session Computational practicals will run on EMBL EBI s virtual training infrastructure meaning participants will not require access to a powerful computer or install complex software on their own machines Participants will need to be available between the hours of 09 00 17 30 BST each day of the course Trainers will be available to assist answer questions and provide further explanations during these times... This course covers the analysis of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data using Python and command line tools. Participants will be guided through droplet-based scRNA-seq analysis pipelines from raw reads to cell clusters. You will explore and interpret single-cell RNA seq data using Python as well as the Single Cell Expression Atlas. Finally, you will put their knowledge into practice through a group challenge on the last day.Virtual courseParticipants will learn via a mix of pre-recorded lectures, live presentations, and trainer Q&A sessions. Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer-led computational exercises. Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and asynchronous communication via Slack.Pre-recorded material may be provided before the course starts that participants will need to watch, read or work through to...

2 February - 6 February 2026

Exploratory analysis of biological data: data carpentry

Renato Alves, Lisanna Paladin, Christian Schudoma

OverviewSpeakersPractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Course overview The missing step between data collection and research progress is a lack of training for researchers in crucial skills for effectively managing and analysing data often in large... OverviewSpeakersPractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview The missing step between data collection and research progress is a lack of training for researchers in crucial skills for effectively managing and analysing data, often in large amounts. This hands-on workshop teaches researchers the fundamental data skills they need to conduct their work and provides high-quality, domain-specific training covering the full lifecycle of data-driven research. The domain-specific approach allows participants to tailor the data, content, and tools to reflect the specific data and analysis needs of different areas. Audience The course is aimed at graduate students and other researchers in the life sciences who would like to learn good practices in data...

9 February - 13 February 2026

Brillouin microscopy for life science applications

Kareem Elsayad, Francesca Palombo, Maddy Parsons, Robert Prevedel

This EMBL Practical Course introduces Brillouin microscopy to enable life scientists to probe mechanical properties of living cells and tissues through hands on training and expert lectures... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsors Overview Course overview Mechanical forces and properties have recently become important in our understanding of processes on the sub-cellular, cellular and tissue level, as they are thought to regulate and underlie a number of different properties and behaviours. Brillouin microscopy is an emerging optical imaging and spectroscopy technique which allows one to probe the mechanical properties of living cells using light. It therefore offers the ability to measure the viscoelasticity in a non-invasive way with high spatial and temporal resolution in living cells, and also gives access to internal structures, i.e. it is not restricted to surface measurements, unlike many other techniques (e.g. atomic force microscopy). In a mix of lectures and hands-on classes this course aims to bring this emerging technique closer to life...

9 February - 13 February 2026

Introduction to RNA-seq and functional interpretation

Anca Belu

Gain an introduction to the technology data analysis tools and resources used in RNA sequencing and transcriptomics The content will provide a broad overview of the subject area and introduce participants to basic analysis of transcriptomics data using the command line It will also highlight key public data repositories and methodologies that can be used to start the biological interpretation of expression data Topics will be delivered using a mixture of lectures practical exercises and open discussions Computational work during the course will use small example data sets and there will be no opportunity to analyse personal data Virtual courseParticipants will learn via a mix of pre recorded lectures live presentations and trainer Q A sessions Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer led computational exercises Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and asynchronous communication via Slack... Gain an introduction to the technology, data analysis, tools, and resources used in RNA sequencing and transcriptomics. The content will provide a broad overview of the subject area, and introduce participants to basic analysis of transcriptomics data using the command line. It will also highlight key public data repositories and methodologies that can be used to start the biological interpretation of expression data. Topics will be delivered using a mixture of lectures, practical exercises, and open discussions. Computational work during the course will use small, example data sets; and there will be no opportunity to analyse personal data. Virtual courseParticipants will learn via a mix of pre-recorded lectures, live presentations, and trainer Q&A sessions. Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer-led computational exercises. Live sessions...

16 February - 19 February 2026

The new cardiobiology: engineering, vascular, and molecular insights

Johannes Backs, Roger Foo, Kristina Haase, Sara S. Nunes de Vasconcelos

This next edition will focus on cardiovascular regeneration modeling the cardiovascular system in synthetic 3D multicellular systems cardiometabolic mechanisms leading to both vascular and cardiac complications the contribution of cardiovascular communication to multi organ disease and on new translational breakthroughs... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia Kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of human mortality, and despite an active research community many of the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Open questions surround molecular triggers, the relationship of GxE, impact of epigenetics, the role of sex, inflammation and microbiome, as well as metabolism and multi-organ links in cardiovascular disease. Advanced molecular and human-mimicking tissue engineering techniques are revolutionizing the way we approach cardiovascular discovery research. These developments led to the inaugural “The new cardiobiology” meeting at EMBL in 2024. In light of further technical advances in the field, the conference will repeat in 2026 and seek to unite...

24 February - 27 February 2026

Collectivity in living systems: emergence, function, and evolution

Tomás Alarcón, Bernat Corominas-Murtra, Jordi van Gestel, Nicoletta Petridou, Allyson Sgro

OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kitAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Symposium overview Many of life s most fascinating phenomena emerge from interactions among its building blocks The initiation of a heartbeat the formation of bird flocks or the appearance of several pathologies can be... OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kitAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Symposium overview Many of life’s most fascinating phenomena emerge from interactions among its building blocks. The initiation of a heartbeat, the formation of bird flocks or the appearance of several pathologies can be explained with surprising accuracy through simple and universal principles arising from the interactions of the microscopic constituents of the system. Understanding how collective behaviour propagates across levels in biological systems – from cells, tissues, organs, organisms to animal groups – becomes, in consequence, a key and pressing issue lying at the core of the understanding of living systems. This symposium aims to cover the common principles underlying the emergence of collective properties...

2 March - 6 March 2026

Introduction to multi-omics data integration and visualisation

Meredith Willmott

With the increase in the volume of data across the whole spectrum of biology more opportunities as well as challenges have been created to identify novel perspectives and answer questions in life sciences This may also include public domain data which can provide added value to data derived through the researcher s own work and inform experimental design This introductory course will highlight the challenges that researchers face in integrating multi omics data sets using biological examples The course will focus on the use of public data resources and open access tools for enabling integrated working with an emphasis on data visualisation This course will not include systems biology modelling or machine learning A major element of this course is a group project where participants will be placed in small groups to work together on a challenge set by trainers from EMBL EBI data resource and research teams This allows participants to explore the bioinformatics tools and resources introduced in the course and to apply these to a set problem providing hands on experience of relevance to their own research The group work will culminate in a presentation session involving all participants on the final day of the course allowing wider discussion on the benefits and challenges of integrating data Curious about what the group projects look like Explore the ones created during the last run of this course for inspiration Group projects 2025... With the increase in the volume of data across the whole spectrum of biology, more opportunities, as well as challenges, have been created to identify novel perspectives and answer questions in life sciences. This may also include public domain data, which can provide added value to data derived through the researcher’s own work and inform experimental design. This introductory course will highlight the challenges that researchers face in integrating multi-omics data sets using biological examples. The course will focus on the use of public data resources and open access tools for enabling integrated working, with an emphasis on data visualisation. This course will not include systems biology modelling or machine learning.A major element of this course is a group project, where participants will be placed in small groups to work together on a challenge set by trainers from EMBL-EBI...

2 March - 6 March 2026

Spatial gene expression at species agnostic level

Vladimir Benes, Monika Dabrowska, Dirk Jürgensen

An interdisciplinary course designed for molecular biologists as well as researchers more familiar with morphology analysis by brightfield and fluorescence microscopy who are seeking to introduce the 10x Genomics Visium Cytassist Spatial Gene Expression application into their labs research... OverviewOrganisersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsors Overview Application is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview This interactive course will introduce participants to a new generation of a spatially resolved transcriptomics assay provided by 10x Genomics. Objectives The Visium Cytassist Spatial Gene Expression Solution uses probes targeting the whole transcriptome for intact tissue sections in morphological context, offering a previously inaccessible view of tissue biology. These two complementary methods to study tissue come together on Visium Cytassist Spatial Gene Expression slides. Through practical work in the lab and theoretical sessions, the participants will learn the entire workflow of sample preparation of fresh-frozen tissue samples, fixation and sequencing library...

9 March - 13 March 2026

Protein quality control for downstream processes

Karine Lapouge, Bertrand Raynal, Kim Remans

This course is aimed at life science researchers of all levels who are using or plan to use purified proteins in their wet lab experiments... OverviewSpeakersProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview Purified proteins are used in various types of scientific experiments and fields. For example, in structural biology, insights into the functional mechanisms can be obtained by elucidating the 3D molecular structure of proteins and protein complexes using technologies such as X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM and NMR. In order for these experiments to produce reliable and biologically relevant results, they must be performed using high-quality proteins that are active, properly folded, in the right oligomeric state and contain correctly inserted co-factors. Ensuring that these parameters are fulfilled requires quality control. In this course, we want to help the participants to...

10 March - 13 March 2026

AI and biology

Mohammed AlQuraishi, Wolfgang Huber, Anna Kreshuk, Mor Nitzan

The aim of this symposium is to catalyse synergistic interactions between AI researchers in different subfields of biology by exploring shared theoretical approaches cross domain experiments and data integration as well as shared topics in dissemination of tools and collaboration with experimental labs... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming virtually all areas of science, and the life sciences are no exception. AI-based methods are pushing the limits of what is possible in experimental design, data analysis, simulation, and modelling. The aim of this symposium is to catalyse synergistic interactions between AI researchers in different subfields of biology and biomedicine by exploring shared theoretical approaches, cross-domain experiments, foundation models, and data integration, as well as shared topics in dissemination of tools, agent-based workflows and collaboration with experimental labs. Furthermore, we...

16 March - 20 March 2026

Microscopy data analysis: machine learning and the BioImage Archive

Omotoke Labiyi

This virtual course will demonstrate how public bioimaging data resources centred around the BioImage Archive enable and enhance machine learning based image analysis The content will explore a variety of data types including electron and light microscopy and miscellaneous or multi modal imaging data at the cell and tissue scale Participants will cover contemporary biological image analysis with an emphasis on machine learning methods as well as how to access and use images from databases Virtual courseParticipants will learn via a mix of pre recorded lectures live presentations and trainer Q A sessions Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer led computational exercises Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and asynchronous communication via Slack Pre recorded material may be provided before the course starts that participants will need to watch read or work through to gain the most out of the actual training event In the week before the course there will be a brief induction session Computational practicals will run on EMBL EBI s virtual training infrastructure meaning participants will not require access to a powerful computer or install complex software on their own machines Participants will need to be available between the hours of 08 00 18 00 GMT each day of the course Trainers will be available to assist answer questions and provide further explanations during these times... This virtual course will demonstrate how public bioimaging data resources, centred around the BioImage Archive, enable and enhance machine learning based image analysis. The content will explore a variety of data types, including electron and light microscopy and miscellaneous or multi-modal imaging data at the cell and tissue scale. Participants will cover contemporary biological image analysis with an emphasis on machine learning methods, as well as how to access and use images from databases.Virtual courseParticipants will learn via a mix of pre-recorded lectures, live presentations, and trainer Q&A sessions. Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer-led computational exercises. Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and asynchronous communication via Slack.Pre-recorded material may be provided before the course starts...

17 March - 20 March 2026

The cellular mechanics of symbiosis: sensing friend from foe

Aileen Berasategui, Thomas Richards, Hassan Salem, Flora Vincent

OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Symposium overview Host microbe interactions can be positive or negative for both a host organism and its symbiotic microbes... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Host-microbe interactions can be positive or negative for both a host organism and its symbiotic microbes. Interacting with microbes can allow eukaryotes to acquire crucial functions such as metabolite synthesis or production of defensive chemicals. However, such interactions are often pathogenic in nature. This cross-disciplinary meeting picks up where the well-received first edition in 2023 left off and will bring together scientists using cellular, molecular, ecological, physiological, and theory-based approaches to explore the evolution of intimate species-species interactions. The aim is to understand the...

23 March - 29 March 2026

C. elegans: from genome editing to imaging

Simon Berger, Simone Koehler, Georgia Rapti, Pavak Shah

This course provides essential training for early career researchers entering the dynamic field of C elegans and specialists seeking to expand their expertise... OverviewPreliminary programmeSponsors Overview Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview C. elegans is a widely used model organism in genomics, cell biology, neurobiology, and evolution, known for its fully sequenced genome, completely mapped cell lineage, and powerful experimental tools like advanced genetics and imaging. Continuous advancements in techniques, such as genome engineering and high-resolution imaging, further enhance its utility for various disciplines. However, cutting-edge methods are often inaccessible even in established labs. This course provides essential training for early-career researchers entering these dynamic fields and specialists seeking to expand their expertise. Through hands-on practicals, participants gain valuable experience in conducting...

24 March - 27 March 2026

Biological oscillators: rhythms and synchronisation across scales

Alexander Aulehla, Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo, Aneta Koseska, Felix Naef, Orit Peleg

Bringing together the community working at the interface between quantitative biology complex oscillatory systems modelling and theory As with the past editions this meeting aims to serve as a bridge between experimentalists and theorists and to reveal common challenges and approaches that can be shared across fields... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAboutMedia Kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Exploring oscillatory phenomena and biological dynamical systems across temporal and spatial scales, this symposium brings together multiple disciplines to examine common themes related to oscillations, rhythms, and synchronisation across a wide range of contexts. This symposium fosters a broad discussion of biological oscillators across a wide range of disciplines. The ecological rhythms perspective is a central theme and the topic of biological rhythms at the ecological scale is of paramount importance. We will address oscillations at the planetary scale, such as climate oscillations (e.g., El Niño cycles)...

13 April - 17 April 2026

Data-driven approaches to understanding dementia

Anca Belu

This course provides individuals working in dementia research with the skills to access and analyse dementia data Participants will learn to apply bioinformatics methodologies combine different data types and utilise relevant dementia data resources enhancing their research capabilities in the field... This course provides individuals working in dementia research with the skills to access and analyse dementia data. Participants will learn to apply bioinformatics methodologies, combine different data types, and utilise relevant dementia data resources, enhancing their research capabilities in the field.

20 April - 24 April 2026

Ultrastructure expansion microscopy: from cells to tissue

Niccolo Banterle, Gautam Dey, Paul Guichard, Virginie Hamel

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsors Overview Course overview Expansion microscopy ExM physically magnifies specimens allowing to obtain super resolution images using a conventional diffraction limited microscope such as confocal microscopy This powerful technique is easy to implement but it requires some hands on training The gain in resolution can be further... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsors Overview Course overview Expansion microscopy (ExM) physically magnifies specimens, allowing to obtain super-resolution images using a conventional diffraction-limited microscope such as confocal microscopy. This powerful technique is easy to implement but it requires some hands-on training. The gain in resolution can be further enhanced with the use of super-resolution microscopes such as STED. This course centered on the Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy (U-ExM) based techniques applied to mammalian cells aims at disseminating and discussing expansion microscopy protocols and is intended for cell biologists, parasitologists, etc, with applications ranging from tissue to cells. Audience This course is intended for researchers ranging from PhD students to post-docs and senior scientists as well as staff from bioimaging...

21 April - 24 April 2026

Brain (epi)genome

Roberto Bonasio, Mathieu Boulard, Kyung-Min Noh, Anne Schäfer

This conference aims to solidify the growing scientific community that shares the longer term vision of understanding how the epi genome impacts brain function... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Conference overview The brain’s remarkable cellular diversity — encompassing hundreds of distinct neuronal and glial cell types — emerges from a single genome through sophisticated regulatory mechanisms. This EMBO Workshop brings together leaders in genomics, neuroscience, and epigenetics to advance our understanding of how the (epi)genome achieves this diversity, shaping brain function and behaviour. Recent technological breakthroughs in single-cell, spatial, and 3D genomics and epigenomics are revealing unprecedented insights into the molecular logic behind neural diversity as well as neuronal connectivity and function. But there is much we do not understand, especially when trying to link these molecular and cellular...

27 April - 30 April 2026

Sex differences in health and disease

Brian Aguado, Kristina Haase, Edith Heard, Irene Miguel-Aliaga

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary ProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Symposium overview Sex differences range from distinct dimorphisms in appearance and physiology to behaviour variations across males and females of the same species These differences are numerous and varied and are... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary ProgrammePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Symposium overview Sex differences range from distinct dimorphisms in appearance and physiology to behaviour variations across males and females of the same species. These differences are numerous and varied and are often driven by combinations of genetic, hormonal and environmental factors. These differences also appear in manifestations of infectious disease, ageing and age-related diseases (cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases). Response to treatments can also vary drastically between females and males. Despite these widespread differences between sexes observed across species, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and the topic has been vastly understudied. This symposium will highlight...

27 April - 1 May 2026

Introduction to metabolomics analysis

EMBL-EBI Training

This course will provide an introduction to metabolomics through lectures and hands on sessions using publicly available data software and tools Participants will become familiar with standardised workflows as well as with the current state of experimental design data acquisition LC MS MS imaging processing and modelling In addition they will learn about community standards and sharing in metabolomics particularly through the use of EMBL EBI s MetaboLights repository and Galaxy infrastructure Participants will learn through hands on tutorials to use tools available for data analysis and data submission Additionally case studies will be discussed to show how to employ the week s learning This course is currently under development please check back again soon for further details You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here... This course will provide an introduction to metabolomics through lectures and hands-on sessions, using publicly available data, software, and tools. Participants will become familiar with standardised workflows as well as with the current state of experimental design, data acquisition (LC-MS, MS imaging), processing, and modelling. In addition, they will learn about community standards and sharing in metabolomics, particularly through the use of EMBL-EBI’s MetaboLights repository and Galaxy infrastructure. Participants will learn through hands-on tutorials to use tools available for data analysis and data submission. Additionally, case studies will be discussed to show how to employ the week’s learning.This course is currently under development, please check back again soon for further details. You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here. 

3 May - 8 May 2026

Analysis and integration of transcriptome and proteome data

Vladimir Benes, Raffaele Calogero, Daria Fijalkowska, Jeroen Krijgsveld, Lennard Martens

This course is targeted at biologists and biochemists who are starting to be involved in both next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry based proteomics but who are not experts in these fields... OverviewSponsorsMedia kit Overview Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview Systems biology is a still expanding field of research aiming to understand at the molecular level how cells, tissues and organisms operate in their biological context. Among the key technologies driving this forward are next-generation sequencing and proteomics, as they provide powerful means to determine global expression levels of genes and proteins. Both fields have matured to a degree that they have now become accessible to researchers in many areas of biology. During this course, participants will gain theoretical insight in the structure of sequencing and proteomic data, and they will receive training in data analysis for the annotation, quantification, and statistical analysis of gene and protein...

11 May - 15 May 2026

Systems biology: from large datasets to biological insight

EMBL-EBI Training

This course covers the use of computational tools to extract biological insight from omics datasets The content will explore a range of approaches from network inference and data integration to machine learning and logic modelling that can be used to extract biological insights from varied data types Together these techniques will provide participants with a useful toolkit for designing new strategies to extract relevant information and understanding from large scale biological data This course is currently under development please check back again soon for further details You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here... This course covers the use of computational tools to extract biological insight from omics datasets. The content will explore a range of approaches – from network inference and data integration to machine learning and logic modelling – that can be used to extract biological insights from varied data types. Together these techniques will provide participants with a useful toolkit for designing new strategies to extract relevant information and understanding from large-scale biological data.This course is currently under development, please check back again soon for further details. You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here. 

13 May - 15 May 2026

Building networks: engineering in vascular biology

Katie Bentley, Christopher Chen, Kristina Haase, Stephan Huveneers

Bringing together vascular biologists and bioengineers from across the world to build research synergies to tackle long standing questions in the field of vascular biology... OverviewSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Barcelona, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Conference overview Vascularisation is a rapidly growing field, with researchers across disciplines recognising its crucial role in organ development, disease progression, and therapeutic delivery. Traditionally, vascular biologists have relied on animal models to investigate key processes such as vascular signalling, angiogenesis, and remodelling. These models remain foundational; however, they do not always fully capture human-specific vascular behaviour. In recent years, advances in multicellular systems, gene editing, stem cell technologies, and bioengineering have created new opportunities to study vascular biology in vitro using human cells. To...

17 May - 22 May 2026

Advanced fluorescence imaging techniques

OverviewSponsors Overview Application is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Course overview This practical course will cover advanced light microscopy techniques and participants will learn how to derive qualitative and quantitative insights on molecular mechanisms in mechanisms in cells tissues and developing... OverviewSponsors Overview Application is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview This practical course will cover advanced light microscopy techniques and participants will learn how to derive qualitative and quantitative insights on molecular mechanisms in mechanisms in cells, tissues and developing organisms. Invited guest researchers together with microscopy experts from EMBL will foster an intense information flow with a balance of lectures and practical workshops. The focus of the course will be on the use of fluorescence microscopy to obtain information about localisation and functions of proteins and other bio-molecules at different spatial scales. What past participants say about the course “I highly recommend this course if you are looking to take your fluorescence microscopy experiments to...

19 May - 22 May 2026

Cellular mechanisms driven by phase separation

Paolo Arosio, Sara Cuylen-Haering, Amy Gladfelter, Alex Holehouse

OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Symposium overview The realisation that intracellular phase transitions underlie the formation of membrane less compartmentalisation... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview The realisation that intracellular phase transitions underlie the formation of membrane-less compartmentalisation in cells has transformed our understanding of cellular organisation in time and space. While the existence of membrane-less organelles, such as nucleoli, stress granules, and Cajal bodies had been known for a long time, it had remained largely unclear until recently how they were formed, maintained, and regulated. To take full advantage of these newly emerging principles, we need to develop new tools and approaches to characterise the emergent properties of phase-separated states and their impact on...

27 May - 29 May 2026

BioMalPar XXII: biology and pathology of the malaria parasite

Maria Bernabeu, Bismarck Dinko, Bjorn Kafsack, Kasia Modrzynska

OverviewSpeakersPractical informationSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Conference overview Malaria remains a major global health burden and progress toward its control and elimination has... OverviewSpeakersPractical informationSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Conference overview Malaria remains a major global health burden and progress toward its control and elimination has been limited by growing drug resistance, the challenge of developing a highly effective and broadly active vaccine, reduced commitments to global public health, and political instability. The goal of BioMalPar is to (1) highlight recent advances in basic and translational research into the biology of malaria parasites, their interactions with their mammalian host and mosquito vector, and the development of new interventions,(2) foster collaboration among researchers in these efforts, and (3) provide...

2 June 2026

From sequences to structures: Protein characterisation using EMBL-EBI APIs

Meredith Willmott

Proteins are fundamental to biological processes and understanding their sequence structure and function is crucial for various applications in research This one day hands on virtual workshop will guide participants through a structured programmatic workflow using EMBL EBI resources Participants will learn how to retrieve protein sequences identify homologs annotate functional domains and explore structural information using REST APIs The course emphasises programmatic access APIs to integrate sequence functional and structural data into a unified analysis pipeline Through a step by step Python workflow participants will apply different EMBL EBI tools to analyse an example protein gaining practical experience in automating large scale protein data analysis Virtual courseThis course will take place on Zoom Trainers will be available to assist during practical sessions answer questions and provide further explanations during the Zoom To join the course you will need to create an EMBL EBI Training website account... Proteins are fundamental to biological processes, and understanding their sequence, structure, and function is crucial for various applications in research. This one-day, hands-on virtual workshop will guide participants through a structured, programmatic workflow using EMBL-EBI resources. Participants will learn how to retrieve protein sequences, identify homologs, annotate functional domains, and explore structural information using REST APIs. The course emphasises programmatic access (APIs) to integrate sequence, functional, and structural data into a unified analysis pipeline. Through a step-by-step Python workflow, participants will apply different EMBL-EBI tools to analyse an example protein, gaining practical experience in automating large-scale protein data analysis.Virtual courseThis course will take place on Zoom. Trainers will be available to assist during practical sessions,...

7 June - 12 June 2026

Whole transcriptome data analysis

Marco Beccuti, Vladimir Benes, Raffaele Calogero, Francesca Cordero

This course will teach the biological researchers how to analyse biological data sets using open source software Most of the analysis will be performed with docker4seq and rCASC packages which was developed to facilitate the use of computing demanding applications in the field of NGS data analysis... OverviewSpeakers, trainers and staffPreliminary programmePractical informationSponsorsMedia kit Overview Course overview This course will teach biological researchers how to analyse biological data sets using open-source software. Most of the analysis will be performed with docker4seq and rCASC packages, which were developed to facilitate the use of computing demanding applications in the field of NGS data analysis. Docker4seq and rCASC packages use docker containers that embed demanding computing tasks (e.g. short reads mapping) into isolated containers. This approach provides multiple advantages: the user does not need to install all the software on its local server, the results generated by different containers can be organised in pipelines, and reproducible research is guarantee by the possibility of sharing the docker images used for the analysis. Computers for hands-on exercises...

9 June - 12 June 2026

Mechanobiology across the tree of life

Alba Diz-Muñoz, Nicoletta Petridou, Enrique Rojas, Xavier Trepat, Kirsty Wan

OverviewSpeakersAboutSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Symposium overview How do cells and tissues build themselves and respond to their environment Over the past decade it has... OverviewSpeakersAboutSponsorsMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview How do cells and tissues build themselves and respond to their environment? Over the past decade it has become clear that physico-chemical properties are rapidly modulated to accommodate or drive changes in shape or behavior and to exchange matter and information with the environment. Solving the grand challenges of this field requires integrating expertise from biology, physics, and engineering. Furthermore, understanding which processes are system-specific and which represent generalizable principles requires us to use the lens of evolution to compare across the tree of life. Responding to this important...

15 June - 19 June 2026

Data science for life scientists

EMBL-EBI Training

This course will introduce life scientists to practical data science topics used in life sciences such as data visualisation image analysis application of AI and use of publicly available databases You will initially be introduced to data science theory and practice including best practices for undertaking analyses data management and reproducibility The course will provide hands on training in tools and resources appropriate to your research including introducing the use of Python for handling and visualising data statistical analysis and the application of machine learning This course is currently under development please check back again soon for further details You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here... This course will introduce life scientists to practical data science topics used in life sciences, such as data visualisation, image analysis, application of AI, and use of publicly available databases. You will initially be introduced to data science theory and practice, including best practices for undertaking analyses, data management, and reproducibility. The course will provide hands-on training in tools and resources appropriate to your research, including introducing the use of Python for handling and visualising data, statistical analysis, and the application of machine learning.This course is currently under development, please check back again soon for further details. You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here. 

16 June - 19 June 2026

Hands-on course for sample preparation and data analysis in proteomics

Dominic Helm, Mandy Rettel, Frank Stein

OverviewSponsorsMedia Kit Overview Course overview The course will give an introduction to the theoretical aspects of the analysis of proteins peptides by mass spectrometry Participants will get hands on experience in sample preparation for a quantitative comparison across samples and perform a state of the art sample preparation and tandem mass tag labelling Samples prepared by the... OverviewSponsorsMedia Kit Overview Course overview The course will give an introduction to the theoretical aspects of the analysis of proteins/peptides by mass spectrometry. Participants will get hands-on experience in sample preparation for a quantitative comparison across samples and perform a state of the art sample preparation and tandem mass tag labelling. Samples prepared by the participants will be measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In a session focused on bioinformatics analysis, participants will use FragPipe and FragPipe-Analyst in order to process the acquired data. What past participants say about the course “The course was an incredible experience, combining well-structured theoretical sessions with exceptional hands-on wet lab practices. The unique opportunity to work directly in the lab was the highlight for me, making this course stand out...

17 June - 20 June 2026

Microtubules: from atoms to complex systems

Carsten Janke, Zdenek Lansky, Francois Nedelec, Kassandra Ori-McKenney

OverviewSpeakersPreliminary ProgrammePractical informationSponsorsAboutMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Symposium overview This symposium initiated in 2010 and held every two years since brings together both early career and established researchers from around the world who share an interest in microtubule... OverviewSpeakersPreliminary ProgrammePractical informationSponsorsAboutMedia kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Symposium overview This symposium, initiated in 2010 and held every two years since, brings together both early-career and established researchers from around the world who share an interest in microtubule biology and its relevance to human health and disease. It has grown into a central venue for fostering collaboration and exchanging new ideas in the field. The microtubule cytoskeleton plays a vital role in diverse cellular processes, including chromosome segregation, vesicle and organelle transport, cell motility, and the establishment of polarity. When microtubule function is impaired, the consequences include human diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, making microtubules key therapeutic...

30 June - 6 July 2026

Synthetic biology in action: maturing tools and their potential

Nico Claassens, Sven Panke, Vitor Pinheiro, Karen Polizzi, Velia Siciliano

This course connects different disciplines to demonstrate how biological complexity emerges how it can be analysed and designed including reaching beyond natural systems... OverviewSponsors Overview Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview Synthetic Biology (SynBio) has become a maturing field: after more than two decades of development, available tools, and knowledge allow wider and more systematic capabilities of designing, engineering, assembling, and controlling biological systems for an increasing number of applications. This course focuses on equipping students with hands-on experience on cutting-edge SynBio tools, while supported by lectures from across the field, discussing different aspects of the engineering cycle that also highlight how those are converging towards a better understanding of biology. This course connects different disciplines to demonstrate how biological complexity emerges, how it can be analysed and designed – including...

6 July - 10 July 2026

Proteomics bioinformatics

EMBL-EBI Training

This course provides hands on training in the basics of mass spectrometry MS and proteomics bioinformatics You will receive training on how to use search engines and post processing software quantitative approaches MS data repositories the use of public databases for protein analysis annotation of subsequent protein lists and incorporation of information from molecular interaction and pathway databases This course is currently under development please check back again soon for further details You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here... This course provides hands-on training in the basics of mass spectrometry (MS) and proteomics bioinformatics. You will receive training on how to use search engines and post-processing software, quantitative approaches, MS data repositories, the use of public databases for protein analysis, annotation of subsequent protein lists, and incorporation of information from molecular interaction and pathway databases.This course is currently under development, please check back again soon for further details. You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here. 

6 July - 10 July 2026

Time-resolved macromolecular serial crystallography

Shibom Basu, Cecilia Casadei, Arwen Pearson, Daniele de Sanctis, David van Stetten

OverviewSponsors Overview Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Course overview Time resolved macromolecular serial crystallography has become increasingly accessible in recent years thanks to the availability of XFELs and dedicated synchrotron beamlines for serial crystallography especially in Europe... OverviewSponsors Overview Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview Time-resolved macromolecular serial crystallography has become increasingly accessible in recent years thanks to the availability of XFELs and dedicated synchrotron beamlines for serial crystallography, especially in Europe. This range of X-ray sources, as well as advances in sample delivery methods and data processing now allow time-resolved crystallography experiments over 15 orders of magnitude (from fs-s) which investigate the atomic details of the biochemical reactions that are crucial for life. The data we can now obtain provide the fundamental basis for next generation drug discovery, biotechnology, and medicine. However, despite the widening availability of the needed infrastructure for these experiments, the...

13 July - 17 July 2026

Bioinformatics for immunologists

EMBL-EBI Training

This course will provide participants with an introduction to a range of bioinformatics resources and approaches applicable to immunological research Participants will gain experience in analysis pipelines for NGS experiments relevant to immunology including immune receptor sequencing RNA sequencing single cell RNA sequencing and flow cytometry data analysis This course is currently under development please check back again soon for further details You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here... This course will provide participants with an introduction to a range of bioinformatics resources and approaches applicable to immunological research. Participants will gain experience in analysis pipelines for NGS experiments relevant to immunology including immune receptor sequencing, RNA sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and flow cytometry data analysis.This course is currently under development, please check back again soon for further details. You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here. 

21 July - 24 July 2026

Metabolic interactions shape ecosystems

Kathrin Fenner, Diane Newman, Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost, Michael Zimmermann

OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Symposium overview Metabolic interactions shape all kinds of biological ecosystems from holobionts to planetary scale environmental... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Metabolic interactions shape all kinds of biological ecosystems, from holobionts to planetary-scale environmental systems, and to anthropogenic, engineered environments. Their paramount importance is evident by a pervasive influence on the development, resilience, and sustainability of ecosystems. In environmental systems, whether marine or land ones, understanding metabolic interactions is key to deciphering nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and overall ecosystem functioning. Recognizing the interconnectedness of these metabolic networks is crucial for advancing our comprehension of ecosystem dynamics and for...

17 August - 25 August 2026

Advances in cryo-electron microscopy and 3D image processing

Tanmay Bharat, Svetlana Dodonova, Sebastian Eustermann, Simone Mattei, Lori Passmore

This course provides a comprehensive foundation in advanced single particle and cellular tomography techniques encompassing the entire workflow from sample preparation to data collection and image processing... OverviewSponsors Overview Application is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview Over the past decade, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has revolutionised our understanding of biomolecular structures across multiple spatial scales. Technological advances have provided unprecedented insights — from atomic-resolution structures of biologically heterogeneous states to the first glimpses into the molecular sociology of the cell. Emerging breakthroughs, such as time-resolved approaches, novel (correlated) imaging technologies, and AI-driven image processing, now highlight the potential of cryo-EM for yet another leap forward. To fully realise this potential, in-depth advanced training is essential to drive innovation and develop new technologies that address emerging biological challenges. This course...

25 August - 28 August 2026

Transcription and chromatin

Shelley Berger, Eileen Furlong, Luca Giorgetti, Yang Shi

The EMBL Transcription and chromatin conference has a long standing tradition in shaping the field of transcriptional regulation The meeting brings together leading experts covering all aspects of transcription including cis regulatory function long range regulation 3 dimensional looping the basal transcriptional machinery RNA polymerase regulation and function nucleosome positioning chromatin modifications chromatin remodelling and epigenetic inheritance of transcriptional silencing... OverviewSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Conference overview The EMBL ‘Transcription and chromatin’ conference has a long-standing tradition in shaping the field of transcriptional regulation. The meeting brings together leading experts covering all aspects of transcription including cis-regulatory function, long range regulation, 3-dimensional looping, the basal transcriptional machinery, RNA polymerase regulation and function, nucleosome positioning, chromatin modifications, chromatin remodelling, and epigenetic inheritance of transcriptional silencing. The meeting contains many talks selected from the abstracts that are interspersed with invited speakers, discussing the latest...

1 September - 4 September 2026

A new view of plankton in the global ocean: celebrating 10 years of Tara Oceans

Detlev Arendt, Chris Bowler, Tom Delmont, Naomi Levine

OverviewSpeakersSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Conference overview The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of the functioning ecology and evolution of plankton... OverviewSpeakersSponsors Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Conference overview The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of the functioning, ecology and evolution of plankton communities at a global scale. Environmental surveys spanning all domains of life, from bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, DNA and RNA viruses, have been performed. Techniques have advanced from single gene surveys to whole-genome-resolved approaches, and recent years have also witnessed advances in cross-scale plankton automated imaging techniques, feedback microscopy, remote sensing from space, and the acquisition of contextual data from the water column, as well as new computational techniques for big data...

6 September - 11 September 2026

Genome engineering: CRISPR/Cas in cells and mice

Silke Deckert, Neil Humphreys, Kristof Kersse, Birgit Koch, Elisabeth Zielonka

OverviewSponsorsMedia Kit Overview Application is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Course overview This course will provide training in genome editing and cell engineering in mammalian cells and mouse embryos using the highly efficient CRISPR Cas9 system Participants will learn design of CRISPR targets using... OverviewSponsorsMedia Kit Overview Application is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Course overview This course will provide training in genome editing and cell engineering in mammalian cells and mouse embryos using the highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9 system. Participants will learn design of CRISPR targets using bioinformatics tools, generation of gene knock-outs/knock-ins, and target validation using the most current technologies. The course will be split into two groups (mammalian cells OR mice) based on participants’ expertise. What past participants say about the course “This course has a lot to offer- from experienced speakers to experienced trainers. Apart from the theory, emphasis on the practical aspects helped me develop a broader understanding of the topic. This course has surely made me...

8 September - 11 September 2026

Chemical biology

Bryan Dickinson, Maja Köhn, Edward Lemke, Xiao Wang

The conference sets the stage for the dissemination and exchange of new developments in diverse emerging fields within chemical biology... OverviewProgrammeSponsorsPractical information Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Conference overview The conference sets the stage for the dissemination and exchange of new developments in diverse, emerging fields within chemical biology. It is the largest and longest-standing conference in the field, being a platform for inspiration, collaboration, and networking for researchers in academia and industry. We aim to provide the possibility for every chemical biologist to meet and discuss with peers topics ranging from tool development to biological applications, from computational protein design to new drug modalities. Session topics Big Data, AI and Design Chemical Technologies to Probe Biology...

15 September - 18 September 2026

Reconstructing the human past: using ancient and modern genomics

Mateja Hajdinjak, Choongwon Jeong, Maanasa Raghavan, Pontus Skoglund

This meeting will involve scientists from population genetics bioinformatics microbiology anthropology archaeology and history and will strengthen future interactions in this young research field that is already changing the way we think about our past and will shape how we study genetic variation in the future... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Combining genome-wide data from ancient and modern populations opens new windows into the past. Population-scale sequencing projects investigating past and present human diversity have already provided us with extraordinary insights into patterns of human variation and mobility through time and space. The available dataset of genome-wide data from modern humans has risen exponentially in size during the last five years, and the ability to carry out further large-scale studies on deeply sampled time transects makes it possible to now ask and answer questions that were simply impossible to address before, including...

4 October - 9 October 2026

Causality in biomedicine: going beyond associations

Barbara Etzi

This course provides an introduction to causal inference and causal representation learning offering both theoretical foundations and hands on training Participants will learn how to apply these methodologies to various biomedical data types including clinical genotype phenotype molecular and multimodal data Causal inference and causal representation learning are emerging fields in AI and biomedical data science enabling a shift from associational to cause effect reasoning These approaches have significant applications in biomedicine such as evaluating treatment effectiveness understanding causal mechanisms identifying genetic risk factors and uncovering causal relationships in complex molecular datasets For instance they can help answer questions like how effective a treatment is in preventing disease whether its effects are direct or mediated by intermediate variables and which genetic variants causally increase disease risk and can be targeted by drugs Participants will gain practical experience using widely adopted tools and resources to apply causal techniques in real world biomedical contexts The course also features keynote talks that will provide insights into the role of causality in genomic molecular and computational biology highlighting recent advancements and future directions in the field This event has been granted the following EMBO sustainability badge Grade 2 of 3... This course provides an introduction to causal inference and causal representation learning, offering both theoretical foundations and hands-on training. Participants will learn how to apply these methodologies to various biomedical data types, including clinical, genotype-phenotype, molecular, and multimodal data.Causal inference and causal representation learning are emerging fields in AI and biomedical data science, enabling a shift from associational to cause-effect reasoning. These approaches have significant applications in biomedicine, such as evaluating treatment effectiveness, understanding causal mechanisms, identifying genetic risk factors, and uncovering causal relationships in complex molecular datasets. For instance, they can help answer questions like how effective a treatment is in preventing disease, whether its effects are direct or mediated by intermediate variables,...

13 October - 16 October 2026

The complex life of RNA

Elena Conti, Olivier Duss, Torben Heick Jensen, Juan Valcarcel Juarez, Karla Neugebauer

Bringing together leaders in the RNA field post docs and students with the aim of disseminating and discussing the most recent results The programme will include topics on transcription RNA processing and modification mRNA export and localisation mRNA surveillance and decay translation the activity of non coding RNAs the control of mRNA expression and coupling among these processes... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Before the genetic information stored in DNA can be used to direct cell growth and metabolism, it has to be transferred into RNA. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that code for proteins and noncoding RNAs are key components in the transmission of genetic information in all life forms – from viruses to complex mammalian organisms. Following the success of the 2024 edition of this long-standing symposium, we are looking forward to returning in 2026, bringing together leaders in the RNA field, post-docs and students, with the aim of disseminating and discussing the most recent results. The programme will include topics on...

19 October - 23 October 2026

Structural bioinformatics

EMBL-EBI Training

This course provides a guide to the commonly used methods and tools in structural bioinformatics to analyse and interpret experimentally determined and AI predicted macromolecular structure data Structural biology determining the three dimensional shapes of biomacromolecules and their complexes can tell us a lot about how these molecules function and the roles they play within a cell Data derived from structure determination experiments and Artificial Intelligence AI assisted structure prediction enables life science researchers to address a wide variety of questions This course explores bioinformatics data resources and tools for the investigation analysis and interpretation of both experimentally determined and predicted biomacromolecular structures It will focus on how best to analyse and interpret available structural data to gain useful information given specific research contexts The course content will also cover predicting function and exploring interactions with other macromolecules This course is currently under development please check back again soon for further details You can find more information about the previous iteration of this course here... This course provides a guide to the commonly used methods and tools in structural bioinformatics to analyse and interpret experimentally determined and AI-predicted macromolecular structure data.Structural biology, determining the three-dimensional shapes of biomacromolecules and their complexes, can tell us a lot about how these molecules function and the roles they play within a cell. Data derived from structure determination experiments and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted structure prediction enables life-science researchers to address a wide variety of questions.  This course explores bioinformatics data resources and tools for the investigation, analysis, and interpretation of both experimentally determined and predicted biomacromolecular structures. It will focus on how best to analyse and interpret available structural data to gain useful information given specific...

20 October - 23 October 2026

DNA replication and genome maintenance: from basic biology to human health

Anja Groth, Helle Ulrich, Johannes Walter

OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Symposium overview There has been tremendous progress in the past few years regarding our understanding of DNA replication in... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAbout Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview There has been tremendous progress in the past few years regarding our understanding of DNA replication in eukaryotes. Many important questions in the field are poised to be answered within the next decade. These include understanding DNA replication at the biochemical and protein three-dimensional structure levels, how origin firing is controlled in space and time and how DNA replication is coordinated with other processes, such as chromatin assembly, epigenome maintenance, transcription and chromosome segregation. Accurate DNA replication is important for genomic stability and several human diseases, most notably...

9 November - 13 November 2026

Introduction to SBX and advanced NGS for genomic research

Vladimir Benes, Gregor Obernosterer, Gerrit Schramm, Nayara Trevisan Doimo de Azevedo

OverviewSponsors Overview Application is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Sponsors Sponsorship opportunities We offer a variety of event sponsoring possibilities with the flexibility to select a set sponsorship package or combine individual sponsorship options to suit your event budget Discounts are... OverviewSponsors Overview Application is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Sponsors Sponsorship opportunities We offer a variety of event sponsoring possibilities, with the flexibility to select a set sponsorship package or combine individual sponsorship options to suit your event budget. Discounts are available for companies sponsoring multiple events at EMBL Heidelberg. View other conferences, or contact sponsorship@embl.de for further information. If you are interested in becoming a media partner of this event, please visit our media partnerships webpage. Request a sponsorship brochure Warning EMBL wishes to warn sponsors of EMBL conferences and courses of fraudulent schemes purporting to offer sponsorship opportunities on behalf of EMBL or affiliated with EMBL officials. One current...

10 November - 13 November 2026

Defining and defeating metastasis: from plasticity to immune evasion to therapy resistance

Eduard Batlle, Andrew Ewald, Daniel Klimmeck, Samra Turajilic, Karin de Visser

OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAboutMedia Kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Symposium overview Metastasis research is a nexus for several of the most exciting areas and technical developments of... OverviewSpeakersSponsorsAboutMedia Kit Overview This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Symposium overview Metastasis research is a nexus for several of the most exciting areas and technical developments of current cancer biology and translational molecular medicine. High-resolution intravital imaging, single-cell sequencing, and integrated genomics approaches, innovative tissue modelling and co-culture systems for disease screening and patient stratification all have enormous implications for our basic understanding of the mechanisms of this deadly disease, and hold great promises for progress in its successful treatment. This symposium will cover emerging key concepts of latent metastasis and dissemination of...

16 November - 20 November 2026

Genome bioinformatics: from short- to long-read sequencing

EMBL-EBI Training

A guide to the technology analysis workflows tools and resources for next generation sequencing data analysis This course will provide insights and training into how biological knowledge can be derived from genomics experiments and explain different approaches in analysing such data The main focus will be on introducing sequence informatics re sequencing differences between short and long read sequencing and variant calling during the analysis of higher eukaryotes with an emphasis on human genetic research Throughout the week more advanced topics will introduce the creation of pipelines automation and the scaling up of analysis experiments The programme is currently under development Please see the 2025 iteration for a reference of the potential content of this course... A guide to the technology, analysis workflows, tools, and resources for next-generation sequencing data analysis.This course will provide insights and training into how biological knowledge can be derived from genomics experiments and explain different approaches in analysing such data. The main focus will be on introducing sequence informatics, re-sequencing, differences between short- and long-read sequencing, and variant calling during the analysis of higher-eukaryotes, with an emphasis on human genetic research. Throughout the week, more advanced topics will introduce the creation of pipelines, automation, and the scaling-up of analysis experiments.The programme is currently under development. Please see the 2025 iteration for a reference of the potential content of this course. 

17 November - 20 November 2026

Quantitative biology to molecular mechanisms

Michael Dorrity, Michael Elowitz, Tineke Lenstra, Teresa Rayon, Mikhail Savitski

OverviewSponsors Overview Event details to be confirmed pending EMBO funding application This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg with the option to attend virtually Registration is not yet open for this event If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest Conference overview Recent decades have witnessed a profound transformation... OverviewSponsors Overview Event details to be confirmed, pending EMBO funding application This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Registration is not yet open for this event. If you are interested in receiving more information please register your interest. Conference overview Recent decades have witnessed a profound transformation in molecular biology research, fueled by revolutionary technologies that have greatly enhanced our ability to systematically and quantitatively measure biological molecules. The use of genomics, proteomics, and imaging have become routine, generating vast amounts of high-resolution data that characterise biological systems across multiple scales, ranging from molecules to organisms. This technological leap allows us to describe biological systems in quantitative terms with unprecedented resolution and provides a...