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Wild frontiers of model organisms – Course and Conference Office

EMBO | EMBL Symposium

Wild frontiers of model organisms

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 scientific community has long relied on a small number of model organisms to study larger themes in biology, with the assumption that gained insights can be extrapolated to most other organisms. However, recent advances in our ability to study organisms in the context of their natural environments have revealed that Jacques Monod’s famous quote, ‘What is true for E. coli is true for the elephant’ does not do justice to the vast diversity of life on our planet.

This conference will showcase how a combination of lab- and field-based approaches applied to model and non-model organisms is increasing our understanding of the biology, ecology and evolution of organisms, ranging from microbes to plants and animals. In anticipation of a new era of ‘expanded’ model organisms, we will re-examine our experimental designs, current technologies for genome editing, and our standards of evidence. We will highlight research that challenges classical model organisms by looking at fluctuating natural environments as a rich, relevant inspiration for new experiments in the lab, but also explore the challenges associated with the establishment of new model systems. We hope to bring together researchers from ecology, genomics, quantitative biology, molecular technology development, and provide a platform for debating the possibilities and limitations inherent to these disciplines and to develop unified approaches to gain comprehensive, mechanistic insights into the natural world.

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.

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 sponsorship@embl.de.

About

EMBO | EMBL Symposia promote scientific communication and collaboration in the European research area. They provide scientists with a platform to discuss and exchange ideas on forward-looking topics and new developments in the life sciences.

Topics emphasise upcoming developments and the interdisciplinary nature of related fields. Jointly funded and organised by EMBO and EMBL – and complementary to their respective courses, workshops, and conference programmes – the symposia promote scientific communication and collaboration.

All symposia are held in the EMBL Advanced Training Centre (ATC) in Heidelberg, Germany, or virtually.

Date: 8 - 11 Apr 2025

Location: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre


Organisers:

  • Gautam Dey
    EMBL HEIDELBERG, GERMANY
    • Michael Dorrity
      EMBL HEIDELBERG, GERMANY
      • Nicole Dubilier
        MAX PLANCK NSTITUTE FOR MARINE MICROBIOLOGY, GERMANY

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