Stein Aerts
KU Leuven
Belgium
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
This EMBO Workshop explores the regulation of the genome in the brain and sensory systems across various animals and model organisms. Recent technological breakthroughs in single-cell genomics and chromatin analysis have revolutionized our understanding of brain genome regulation, making this conference particularly timely. Single-cell RNA sequencing and chromatin accessibility assays have revealed unprecedented neural cell type diversity and their unique regulatory landscapes, while advanced chromatin conformation capture techniques have illuminated how three-dimensional genome organisation directs neuron-specific gene expression.
These advances have exposed fundamental questions about how identical genetic instructions generate hundreds of neural cell types and guide their connectivity. The emerging field has also seen remarkable progress in understanding activity-dependent chromatin modifications and their role in neural plasticity and aging. However, addressing these complex questions requires bridging neuroscience and epigenetics — disciplines that traditionally operate in separate spheres.
The conference aims to solidify the growing scientific community that shares the longer-term vision of understanding how the (epi)genome impacts brain function.
Speakers
Mareike Albert
TU Dresden
Germany
Andrea Brand
Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge
UK
Anne Brunet
Stanford University
USA
Daniele Canzio
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco
USA
Gonçalo Castelo-Branco
Karolinska Institute
Sweden
Zoe Donaldson
University of Colorado Boulder
USA
Joseph Ecker
Salk Institute
USA
Maria Cristina Gambetta
University of Lausanne
Switzerland
Oliver Hobert
Columbia University
USA
Tae-Kyung Kim
Pohang University of Science and Technology
South Korea
Erica Korb
University of Pennsylvania
USA
Jelena Radulovic
Aarhus University
Denmark
Filippo M. Rijli
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Switzerland
Anne Schäfer
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing
Germany
Yang Shi
University of Oxford
UK
Tomohisa Toda
DZNE Dresden
Germany
Scientific organisers
Matthieu Boulard
EMBL Rome
Italy
Roberto Bonasio
University of Pennsylvania
USA
Kyung Min Noh
Aarhus University
Denmark
Anne Schäfer
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing
Germany
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.org for further information on sponsoring possibilities.
If you are interested in becoming a media partner of this event, please visit our media partnerships webpage.
Warning
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Date: 21 - 24 Apr 2026
Location: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual
Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre
Organisers:
-
Roberto Bonasio
University of Pennsylvania, USA -
Matthieu Boulard
EMBL Rome, Italy -
Kyung-Min Noh
Aarhus University, Denmark -
Anne Schäfer
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Germany
Contact: Adela Graf