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C. elegans: from genome editing to imaging – Course and Conference Office

EMBO Practical Course

C. elegans: from genome editing to imaging

Overview

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 experiments, while lectures and discussions with leading faculty highlight how these technologies address key scientific questions.

The topics of the lectures include genome organisation, cell division, development, tissue function, physiology, evolution, and environmental interactions. Practical sessions range from basic techniques, including handling, staging, and maintenance, to advanced and specialised techniques in genome editing, sample preparation, imaging, and image analysis, incorporating new methods like microfluidics-based high-throughput microscopy and analysis techniques, including AI-driven segmentation and spot detection. This course offers a stimulating learning experience, empowering researchers to fully leverage C. elegans in advancing their scientific work.

Audience

This practical course is aimed at early career scientists, mostly postdocs and advanced graduate students with an interest in C. elegans. You are welcome to join if you have little or no prior experience in working with C. elegans and want to use this model organism to advance your research, but also if you are an experienced C. elegans researcher who wants to expand their tool set. The course will cover state-of-the-art techniques that are – or will become – essential for a broad range of research topics.

What past participants say about the course

“This course is fantastic! If you want to start working with C. elegans, this course will give youan amazing overview of what you will be able to do with this elegant worm. The trainers andspeakers are extremely motivated and helpful. You will be picked up at whatever level you maycurrently be and they do their best to teach the key steps of all the important techniques. The other attendees were also super nice and helpful and I hope that the contacts gained from this course will develop into long-lasting collaborators and friends. I can absolutely recommend this course!” — Martin Vogel, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Germany

“This course was everything I had hoped and more. I have come away from it feeling like an allround better scientist, with new techniques, new ideas, and new friends! The organisers created a wonderful environment to learn and network.” — Charlie Collingham, University of Reading, UK

Speakers

Speakers, trainers, and staff

Simon Berger

University of Zürich

Switzerland

Andre Brown

Imperial College London

UK

Hannes Buelow

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

USA

Cecere Germano

Institut Pasteur

France

Netta Cohen

University of Leeds

UK

Marie Dellatre

CNRS Délégation Rhône-Auvergne

France

Zhao Du

Chinese Academy of Sciences

China

Julien Dumont

Institut Jaques Monod

France

Servinc Ercan

New York University

USA

(Remote)

Simone Köhler

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Peter Meister

University of Bern

Switzerland

Georgia Rapti

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Pavak Shah

University of California, Los Angeles

USA

Hari Shroff

HHMI

USA

Esther Zanin

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität

Germany

Scientific organisers

Simon Berger

University of Zürich

Switzerland

Simone Köhler

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Georgia Rapti

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Pavak Shah

University of California, Los Angeles

USA

Course organisers

Ellen Malovrh

Scientific Training Officer

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Nathalie Sneider

Course and Conference Manager

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Preliminary programme

Are you on social media? Post using #EMBOCelegans and don’t forget to tag @EMBLEvents.

  • Some pre-course work (such as watching pre-recordings, protocol reading and computational exercises) with estimated time 0-10 hours will be required and will be shared in advance of the course.
  • Some speakers may need to join virtually to give their lecture or Q&A, and the programme is subject to change.
Day 0: Onboarding – Monday 9 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
15:30 – 16:30Onboarding session (access to eCampus learning platform), introduction on Zoom
– introduction to the course
– materials to be used and expectations from the participants
– overview of the tools used during the course
EMBL eCampus

Day 1: Monday 23 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
08:40 – 08:50Bus from hotel to EMBL ATC EntranceISG Hotel bus stop
08:50 – 09:00Registration
09:00 – 09:30Health and safety briefingCourtyard Room A & B
09:30 – 12:30Optional Bootcamp A or B

Option A: Basic C. elegans methodology: maintenance, propagation, decontamination
Trainers: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

Option B: Basic principles for image analysis
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Training Lab
Computer Training Lab
Courtyard Room
12:30 – 13:30Lunch (canteen open until 13:30)EMBL Canteen
13:30 – 14:00World of molecular biology exhibitionImaging Centre
14:00 – 14:15Welcome
Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
14:15 – 14:45Flash talks (1 min per participant)Courtyard Room A & B
14:45 – 15:15Challenges & expectations for the course (all participants)Courtyard Room A & B
15:15 – 15:45Coffee breakCourtyard Room A & B
15:45 – 16:00Course overview
Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
16:00 – 16:40Introduction to useful web resources and databases for C.elegans research
Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
16:40 – 17:10Introduction on responsible conduct of research
Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
16:40 – 17:00Coffee breakCourtyard Room A & B
17:00 – 17:30Lecture: Visualizing meiotic chromosomes
Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
17:30 – 17:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
17:45 – 19:00DinnerEMBL Canteen
19:00Bus to ISG Hotel

Day 2: Tuesday 24 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
08:40 – 08:50Bus to EMBL ATC EntranceISG Hotel bus stop
08:55 – 09:00Overview of the dayCourtyard Room A & B
09:00 – 09:30Lecture: Cellular division & reproduction
Julien Dumont – Institut Jaques Monod, France
Courtyard Room A & B
09:30 – 09:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
09:45 – 10:15Lecture: Molecular dynamics of cell division
Esther Zanin – Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
10:15 – 10:30Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
10:30 – 11:00Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
11:00 – 11:15Health and safety briefing [if necessary]Courtyard Room A & B
11:15 – 13:00Practical session 1: Methods of genome manipulation – Part 1: students rotate through 1 of 4 stations 1:45 h per station; 4 students per station
Station 1: Screening RNAi / mutagenesis
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 2: Dissection / In situ sample preparation
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Animal/embryo staging & mounting
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 4: Design for CRISPRs
Trainer: Alex Paix – Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany

with flexible breaks
Station 1-3: Training Labs
Station 4: Flex labs
13:00 – 14:00Lunch breakEMBL Canteen
14:00 – 14:15Group PhotoTBC
14:15 – 18:15Practical session 1: Methods of genome manipulation – Part 2&3: students rotate through 2 of 4 stations 1:45 h per station; 4 students per station; 30 min min break between station
Station 1: Screening RNAi / mutagenesis
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 2: Dissection / In situ sample preparation
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Animal/embryo staging & mounting
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 4: Design for CRISPRs
Trainer: Alex Paix – Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany
Station 1-3: Training Labs
Station 4: Flex labs
18:15 – 19:15Dinner with guided discussion on “Choosing a Postdoc” and “Grant writing”EMBL Canteen
19:15Bus to ISG Hotel

Day 3: Wednesday 25 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
08:40 – 08:50Bus to EMBL ATC EntranceISG Hotel bus stop
08:55 – 09:00Overview of the dayCourtyard Room A & B
09:00 – 09:30Lecture: Nuclear Organization & Cell Fate
Peter Meister – University of Bern, Switzerland
Courtyard Room A & B
09:30 – 09:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
09:45 – 10:15Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
10:15 – 10:45Lecture: Tracking evolution of early patterning
Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Courtyard Room A & B
10:45 – 11:00Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
11:00 – 12:45Practical session 1: Methods of genome manipulation – Part 4: students rotate through 1 of 4 stations 1:45 h per station; 4 students per station
Station 1: Screening RNAi / mutagenesis
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 2: Dissection / In situ sample preparation
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Animal/embryo staging & mounting
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 4: Design for CRISPRs
Trainer: Alex Paix – Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany

with flexible breaks
Station 1-3: Training Labs
Station 4: Flexs labs
12:45 – 13:45Lunch breakEMBL Canteen
13:45 – 16:15Practical session 2: Imaging cells and molecules – Part 1: 1 of 4 stations Students rotate in 4 independent stations of 2.5 h each, all stations provided for 2 days; 4 students per station)

Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 2: High Resolution Microscopy
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Injection
Trainer: Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 4: High throughput imaging
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zürich, Switzerland

with flexible breaks
Station 1: Training Lab / ALMF
Station 2-3: Simone’s Lab
Station 4: Training Lab / ALMF
16:15 – 16:45Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
16:45 – 17:30Poster Flash Talks (odd numbers) – 5 min/presenterCourtyard Room A&B
17:30 – 18:30Poster session 1 (odd numbers) – 60 minTBC – poster session has to be close to dinner so RTL or Flex lab
18:30 – 19:30Dinner with continued poster networking (All posters)TBC – poster session has to be close to dinner so RTL or Flex lab
19:30Bus to ISG HotelATC Entrance

Day 4: Thursday 26 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
08:40 – 08:55Bus to EMBL ATC EntranceISG Hotel bus stop
08:55 – 09:00Overview of the dayCourtyard Room A & B
09:00 – 09:30Lecture: System biology of early embryogenesis
Zhuo Du – Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Courtyard Room A & B
09:30 – 09:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
09:45 – 12:15Practical session 2: Imaging cells and molecules – Part 2: 1 of 4 stations. Students rotate in 4 independent stations of 2.5 h each, all stations provided for 2 days, 4 students per station)

Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 2: High Resolution Microscopy
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Injection
Trainer: Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 4: High throughput imaging
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zürich, Switzerland

with flexible breaks
Station 1: Training Lab / ALMF
Station 2-3: Simone’s Lab
Station 4: Training Lab / ALMF
12:15 – 13:15Lunch breakEMBL Canteen
13:15 – 13:45Lecture: Chromosome structure & transcription
Sevinc Ercan – New York University, USA
(Remote speaker)
Courtyard Room A & B
13:45 – 14:00Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
14:00 – 16:30Practical session 2: Imaging cells and molecules – Part 3: 1 of 4 stations. Students rotate in 4 independent stations of 2.5 h each, all stations provided for 2 days, 4 students per station)

Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 2: High Resolution Microscopy
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Injection
Trainer: Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 4: High throughput imaging
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zürich

with flexible breaks
Station 1: Training Lab / ALMF
Station 2-3: Simone’s Lab
Station 4: Training Lab / ALMF
16:30 – 17:00Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
17:00 – 17:45Poster Flash Talks (even numbers) – 5 min/presenterCourtyard Room A & B
17:45 – 18:45Poster session 2 (even numbers) – 60 minTBC – poster session has to be close to dinner so RTL or Flex lab
18:45 – 19:45Tapas dinner with continued poster networking (All posters)TBC – poster session has to be close to dinner so RTL or Flex lab

Day 5: Friday 27 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
08:40 – 08:50Bus to EMBL ATC EntranceISG Hotel bus stop
08:55 – 09:00Overview of the dayCourtyard Room A & B
09:00 – 09:30Lecture: Dendrine patterning & neuronal rewiring
Hannes Bulow, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA
Courtyard Room A & B
09:30 – 09:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
09:45 – 10:15Lecture: Evolutionary origins of DNA transmission
Marie Delattre -CNRS Délégation Rhône-Auvergne, France
Courtyard Room A & B
10:15 – 10:30Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
10:30 – 11:00Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
11:00 – 11:30Lecture: Neural network maps & activity
Netta Cohen – University of Leeds, UK
Courtyard Room A & B
11:30 – 11:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
11:45 – 12:45Lunch breakEMBL Canteen
12:45 – 15:15Practical session 2: Imaging cells and molecules – Part 4: 1 of 4 stations. Students rotate in 4 independent stations of 2.5 h each, all stations provided for 2 days, 4 students per station)

Station 1: Live imaging and Lineaging
Trainer: Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 2: High Resolution Microscopy
Trainer: Simone Köhler – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Injection
Trainer: Cristina Piñeiro López – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 4: High throughput imaging
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zürich, Switzerland

with flexible breaks
Station 1: Training Lab / ALMF
Station 2-3: Simone’s Lab
Station 4: Training Lab / ALMF
15:15 – 15:45Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
15:45 – 16:15Lecture: Advanced approaches of fluorescent imaging
Hari Shroff – Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
Courtyard Room A & B
16:15 – 16:30Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room A & B
16:30 – 16:45Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
16:45 – 19:15Practical session 3: Advanced image analysis tools (Part 1: Students select 1 station from 5 options, each station has 2.5 hour-duration; up to 4 students per station)

Station 1: Segmentation and spot detection
Trainer: Francesco Padovani – Helmholtz Institute Munich, Germany
Station 2: 3D rendering of microscopy data with Blender
Trainer: Oane Gros – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Lineage tracing & analysis
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 4: High Throughput Analysis
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zurich, Switzerland
Station 5: Locomotory Analysis
Trainer: Andre Brown – Imperial College London, UK

with flexible breaks
Station 1: CTL
Station 2: Flex Lab A (DTEN)
Station 3: Courtyard room
Station 4: Any meeting room
Station 5: Flex Lab B
19:15 – 20:45Dinner with poster networking (All posters)
Bus to ISG Hotel

Day 6: Saturday 28 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
08:40 – 08:55Bus to EMBL ATC EntranceISG Hotel bus stop
08:55 – 09:00Overview of the dayCourtyard Room A & B
09:00 – 09:30Lecture: Mechanisms of neural circuit architecture
Georgia Rapti – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A & B
09:30 – 09:45Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room Foyer
09:45 – 10:15Coffee breakCourtyard Room Foyer
10:15 – 12:45Practical session 3: Advanced image analysis tools (Part 2: Students select 1 station from 5 options, each station has 2.5 hour-duration; up to 4 students per station)

Station 1: Segmentation and spot detection
Trainer: Francesco Padovani – Helmholtz Institute Munich, Germany
Station 2: 3D rendering of microscopy data with Blender
Trainer: Oane Gros – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Lineage tracing & analysis
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 4: High Throughput Analysis
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zurich, Switzerland
Station 5: Locomotory Analysis
Trainer: Andre Brown – Imperial College London, UK

with flexible breaks
Station 1: CTL
Station 2: Flex Lab A (DTEN)
Station 3: Courtyard room
Station 4: Any meeting room
Station 5: Flex Lab B
12:45 – 13:45Lunch
13:45 – 14:15Lecture: High-throughput & quantitative analysis of behavior
Andre Brown – Imperial College London, UK
Courtyard Room A & B
14:15 – 14:30Q&A after the lectureCourtyard Room Foyer
14:30 – 17:00Practical session 3: Advanced image analysis tools (Part 3: Students select 1 station from 5 options, each station has 2.5 hour-duration; up to 4 students per station)

Station 1: Segmentation and spot detection
Trainer: Francesco Padovani – Helmholtz Institute Munich, Germany
Station 2: 3D rendering of microscopy data with Blender
Trainer: Oane Gros – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Station 3: Lineage tracing & analysis
Trainer: Pavak Shah – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Station 4: High Throughput Analysis
Trainer: Simon Berger – University of Zurich, Switzerland
Station 5: Locomotory Analysis
Trainer: Andre Brown – Imperial College London, UK

with flexible breaks
Station 1: CTL
Station 2: Flex Lab A (DTEN)
Station 3: Courtyard room
Station 4: Any meeting room
Station 5: Flex Lab B
17:15 – 18:00Bus to downtown (with a short stop at ISG hotel)
18:00 – 19:00Free time
19:00 – 21:00Dinner downtown

Day 7: Sunday 29 March 2026

Time (Europe/Berlin)SpeakerLocation
10:00 – 10:05Overview of the dayISG hotel
10:05 – 10:35Lecture: Mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance
Germano Cecere -Institut Pasteur, France
ISG hotel
10:35 – 10:50Q&A after the lectureISG hotel
10:50 – 11:20Coffee breakISG hotel
11:20 – 11:50Lecture: Microfluidics-base high-throughputscreening of development
Simon Berger – University of Zürich, Switzerland
ISG hotel
11:50 – 12:05Q&A after the lectureISG hotel
12:05 – 12:35Feedback session and closing remarksISG hotel
12:35Bus from ISG hotel to Heidelberg train station

Practical information

Registration fees

The course is limited to 16 participants. For selection purposes, please note that your application will not be considered without a letter of motivation.

Registration fees

Your registration for the event includes:

  • Admission to the event
  • Possibility to submit an abstract (if applicable)
  • Meals and coffee breaks
  • Course materials
  • Access to the e-learning platform
  • A letter to support your visa application (for more information, check the ‘Travel and accommodation’ tab)

For this EMBO course, the fees include accommodation and transportation to and from the ISG Hotel to the venue

Academia€500
PhD Student€500
Industry€1100

Confirmation and payment

The registration fee should be paid only after acceptance to the course. The results will be announced approximately 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.

Cancellation policy

If you are no longer able to take part in the course, please inform your course contact responsible for this event. Your registration and the submitted motivation letter will be deleted.

Please also check our Terms and Conditions for the cancellation policy.

Submitting a motivation letter

After you have logged in and successfully registered, you will receive an email asking you to submit your motivation letter. Click on the link provided and enter your motivation letter in the text box provided. Alternatively you can submit your motivation letter by clicking on the link on the confirmation page directly after registering.

Instructions

  1. Include your relevant skills, experience and qualifications showing why you would be suitable for the course.
  2. Explain why you would like to attend, including what you can contribute and how you think you will benefit from the course.

Please note:

  • The limit of 2,000 characters refers to manually typed text and excludes spaces. If an error occurs try using a different web browser (preferably Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).
  • If you copy-paste the text into the form, hidden formatting might still be included which may cause the text to exceed the 2,000 character limit resulting in an error message. We recommend you clear all formatting before pasting in the text.
  • If you have special symbols in your text, make sure you are using Unicode characters, otherwise these will not be recognised.

For detailed instructions, please watch our video on how to submit a course motivation letter.

Further details

For further information about registration and motivation letter submission please refer to the FAQ page.

Financial assistance

Financial assistance

Limited financial assistance is provided by the EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme and EMBO in the form of  travel grants and childcare grants

Your place in the meeting is only confirmed by paying the registration fee, which is mandatory even when receiving a fee waiver.

Travel grant

The travel grant will cover the cost of travel (airfare, train, bus, taxi, and visa) and/or registration fees and is provided up to specified caps which are normally as follows:

– up to €500 for any participant travelling to an EMBO Practical Course.

– up to €1000 for any participant working in Chile, India, Singapore or Taiwan travelling to an EMBO Practical Course.

The organisers may reduce the grant cap to accommodate more participants. Recipients will be notified of their travel cap amount when they are informed of the outcome of their application. Original receipts must be provided with your signature for all costs incurred within two months of completion of travel. Scanned copies cannot be accepted.

Childcare grants

There is the possibility to apply for a childcare grant to offset child care costs incurred by participants, speakers, trainers and organisers when attending a course. Eligible costs include (but are not limited to) fees for a babysitter or child-care facility and travel costs for a caregiver. Please note that priority will be given to early-stage researchers. There is a limited amount of funding available for the childcare grants and funds will be distributed amongst eligible applicants.

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds travel grant

Applies to selected courses only. Availability will be indicated during the abstract or motivation letter submission process.

This grant covers costs related to your attendance to the course (registration, travel and accommodation costs). The grant is restricted to PhD students and postdocs who conduct basic biomedical research.
Whether you are eligible to apply for a travel grant, depends on when you received your university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur, A-Levels, High School Diploma, Final State Examination):

– for PhD and MD students, as well as graduates, the university entrance qualification must not have been obtained more than 11 years ago at the time of the envisaged course
– for postdocs, the university entrance qualification must not have been obtained more than 13 years ago at the time of the envisaged course

EMBO Accessibility Grant

For EMBO Practical Course participants with accessibility needs, there is the possibility to apply for an accessibility grant to offset costs incurred by participants or speakers when participating at a course. Eligible costs include costs incurred for equipment or adaptations to the course environment, or travel costs for an event companion to assist the participant or speaker during the course where necessary, etc.

Please note that priority will be given to early-stage researchers. A maximum amount of €500 can be awarded per participant applying for an EMBO accessibility grant. In order to apply for this grant for EMBO Courses, you must be registered by the application deadline. 

Application

If you are attending virtually, you can apply for financial assistance in the submission portal by the abstract deadline. Read the instructions on how to apply for financial assistance. Only submissions for financial assistance will be accepted. Presentation abstracts cannot be submitted here and will be declined. 

In your application you will be asked to summarise your current work,  answer questions regarding why your lab cannot fund your attendance, and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

*For some events, applications for Childcare Grants will still be done by email. Information about the grant will be sent out shortly after the abstract/motivation letter deadline. Please contact the event Conference Officer if you have any questions.

Selection

A selection process will take place with the results announced by email to all applicants / submitters. We aim to announce 3 weeks (21 days) after the abstract submission deadline but delays may occur.”

Selection results do not impact your admission to the meeting. Selection for registration fee waivers and travel grants is based on scientific merit, your current work or study location, the reasons for needing financial support, and the impact this event will have on your career.

Childcare grants will be allocated in the same timeframe (6-8 weeks before the event start date). Please note that priority will be given to early-stage researchers.

Further details

Check out this list of external funding opportunities

For further information about financial assistance please refer to the FAQ page.

Travel and accommodation

Visa

We can send you a registration confirmation to support your visa procedure (not an official invitation letter). Please contact the Conference Officer responsible for your event. For more information, please see here.

Travel

If you are travelling to Heidelberg via aeroplane, train, car or long-distance bus, you can find useful information here.

Accommodation

Accommodation in twin rooms, including breakfast is included in the registration fee. Accommodation will be booked for the selected participants at the ISG Hotel for the default dates of Sunday 22 March to Sunday 29 March (7 nights).

In case you would like to have a single room, please let the hotel know and please note that you will be required to pay an additional cost of 32€ per night (availability of single rooms may be limited). This should be paid by you directly to the ISG Hotel during your stay.

We recommend that all course participants stay at the ISG Hotel for the course.

Local transportation

Course shuttle buses

Shuttle buses will go from the ISG Hotel to EMBL and back, mornings and evenings. A bus schedule and location of the bus stops will be made available prior to the meeting.

Other local transportation

In addition to the shuttle busses, there is also the public bus 28 that serves the EMBL campus and taxis can be easily booked at any time. For more information, see here.

You may also walk from the ISG Hotel to EMBL (takes up to 30 minutes)

Map to walk from ISG Hotel to EMBL

Further details

Address: EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

For more information about accommodation and travel, please refer to the FAQ page.

On-site information

Here you will find useful information for when you are onsite at the event.

Catering

All meals and coffee breaks are included in the registration fee. Our catering staff will prepare a variety of vegetarian meals, meat and fish dishes, soups, pasta, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as a variety of desserts.

Please wear your badge at all times when serving yourself.

No food or drinks are allowed in the auditorium.

Internet

Wi-Fi is available on campus using the EMBL-Events network and the event specific password, which will be provided on site. The eduroam network (secure, worldwide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community) is also available.

Photography

During the conference, an EMBL Photographer may be taking photos. If you would not like to appear in these, please inform the photographer or a member of the Course and Conference Office.

Charging stations

There are lockers available next to the stairs leading down into the Auditorium. You will find some of those equipped with sockets to charge your smartphone/tablet etc.

In most places the electricity is 220 volts AC (50 cycles). An adaptor and a plug that fits the German socket may be needed for your appliances/laptop (i.e. American, Japanese, etc.). A USB charging station for electronic devices is available at the registration desk.

Printing

We can help to print your boarding pass/train ticket. Please send it to events@embl.de and collect your print-outs at the registration desk.

Luggage

There are lockers available on-site to store your luggage, which require a 2 EURO coin to operate. There is another luggage room on level E0, which is free to use but remains unlocked during the conference.

Lost and found

‘’Lost and Found’’ items are kept at the registration desk until the end of the conference.

EMBL merchandise

If you are interested in purchasing EMBL merchandise (products presented in the glass display in the registration area), please email the EMBL shop to place an order.

Kindly note the EMBL shop is only open upon request and all purchases must be made in cash (Euros only).

Nursing room

There is a nursing room available in the ATC Rooftop Lounge on level A29.

Room for prayers, meditation, and yoga

There is a room for prayer, yoga, and meditation, located on level E0 behind the Auditorium. Please be respectful of others using the room.

EMBL campus map

Health and safety notes

Please take a moment to read our health and safety policy.

  • Do not smoke in any EMBL building.
  • Eating and drinking is prohibited in the Auditorium and all laboratories.
  • Do not enter any restricted areas or the laboratories unless instructed to do so.

If first aid is required

  • The first aid room is located next to the ATC Registration Desk (room 10- 205).
  • Dial the Emergency number 222 from any EMBL internal phone only.
  • Be prepared to answer the following questions: Where is the accident? What happened? How many injured?
  • Emergency number 06221-387 7821 from mobile phones.
  • Please report all accidents to the conference officer at the registration desk.

In case of fire

  • Press the nearest fire alarm button or the Emergency number 222 from any internal phone.
  • A loud fire alarm will go off if an evacuation is required. On hearing the alarm leave the building immediately following the escape route and fire wardens and head to one of the meeting points
  • Do not use the lifts.

Beyond first aid

The Heidelberg University Hospital or ‘Universitätsklinikum‘ has a 24 hour accident and emergency facility and is at ‘Im Neuenheimer Feld 672’. It is a 8km or a 20 minute taxi ride away from EMBL. In a medical emergency, the ambulance service generally transports patients to this hospital.

Please remember to bring your own medication, if needed, to the conference. Note that the next pharmacy is a 4-minute drive from the EMBL, but for many medications you will be required to see a doctor to get a prescription.

Ensure in advance that your medical insurance will cover you during your visit in the event that you do need to see a doctor while in Heidelberg.

The EMBL course and conference office team are able to advise you on where to turn for emergency or non-emergency medical treatment in Heidelberg and can assist you in making appointments and / or arranging transport to get to the pharmacy or a doctor of your choice if necessary. Please note, we are not however permitted to personally accompany you off-campus.

Sightseeing

A variety of activities in Heidelberg can be found on the website of Heidelberg Marketing.

Technical requirements and event software

(delete if no technical requirements for this course!)

Technical requirements

Below you will find the software and technical requirements for this course. You will need admin rights to be able to install the software on your computer and we recommend you try this before the course. If you do not have admin rights, please contact your technical support team in advance to make sure the software can be installed.

Add your software name here

Add a descritpion about your software here and any other important info

Additional software

The EMBL eCampus learning platform will be used to collaborate, communicate and network with all of the course participants. All participants will receive information on how to join shortly before the course. We recommend using Chrome, Safari or Mozilla Firefox browsers for eCampus. 

Zoom will be used for the live talks and Q&A sessions. More information will be provided closer to the start of the course.

Other information

While using the software during the course, please make sure you have nothing else using your bandwidth. We recommend using a wired connection.

Virtual participation guidelines

DELETE THIS TAB IF COURSE IS NOT HYBRID!!

Guidelines

  • Do not broadcast the course to unregistered participants.
  • Do not share your login details with others.
  • You are encouraged to post on social media about the event. Post unless the speaker specifically says otherwise, but be mindful of unpublished data. 
  • Please do not capture, transmit or redistribute data presented at the meeting.
  • Video library of the recorded talks during the event and for 4 weeks afterwards. Please note: at the request of individual speakers, some talks are not recorded.

Additional information can be found in our Code of Conduct.

How to ask questions

Questions during and after the talks can be asked in the live streaming platform. If time runs out or you think of a question later, you can use the EMBL eCampus forum or send a direct message to the speaker/trainer.

Time zone

The programme is planned based on the Europe/Berlin time zone, unless otherwise stated. As many virtual participants are attending from around the world, we do our best to accommodate as many time zones as possible when creating the programme. Please take your time zone into consideration when planning your attendance.

Additional information

Please find additional information including FAQs and terms and conditions on our Information for Participants page.

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.

If you are interested in becoming a media partner of this event, please visit our media partnerships webpage.

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 scam campaign of which we are aware is conducted using the name ‘Judy Eastman’ (judy@gopcontact.a2hosted.com) and entails approaches to sponsors offering sponsorship opportunities on EMBL’s behalf. Please be kindly advised that all relevant communication regarding sponsorship of EMBL conferences, symposia and courses is handled by EMBL directly and is sent from an official EMBL account. EMBL does not work with any external providers on sponsorship acquisition.

Please also note that:

  • EMBL never provides attendee lists for purchase. Any offers of such are fraudulent.
  • EMBL will never call or email you to ask for your credit card details or to request a payment.
  • All payments are on invoice.

Suspicious communications purportedly from, for or on behalf of EMBL should be reported to EMBL at the following email address sponsoring@embl.de.

Date: 23 - 29 Mar 2026

Location: EMBL Heidelberg

Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre


Deadline(s):

Application: 8 Dec 2025


EMBL staff registration


Organisers:


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