Biological oscillators: rhythms and synchronisation across scales

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

Are you interested in 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. Make sure to join us!

The 2026 edition of ‘Biological oscillators’ will continue to foster a broad discussion of biological oscillators across a wide range of disciplines. We will retain the ecological rhythms perspective – introduced in 2024 and well received – as a central theme, with Orit Peleg (known for her work on firefly synchronisation) joining as a new organiser. The topic of biological rhythms at the ecological scale remains of paramount importance, and the previous meeting revealed that communities studying ecological rhythms and those focusing on cellular or signalling oscillations in laboratory settings rarely interact.

You can also look forward to speakers addressing oscillations at the planetary scale, such as climate oscillations (e.g., El Niño cycles) and research on climate as a complex system. The exchange between researchers working on oscillations in organisms and ecosystems, and those studying climate oscillations, will provide fresh perspectives and potentially stimulate new research directions. In addition, you can also expect more contributions involving the use of Artificial Intelligence approaches, which offer novel opportunities to study biological rhythms.

As with past events, this symposium will serve as a bridge between experimentalists and theorists, once again offering the potential to identify shared challenges and methodologies that can benefit multiple fields.

Our goal remains to cover an unusually broad spectrum of biological rhythms, while also identifying a common thread that can guide and unify the discussions. The experience from previous “Biological oscillators” meetings has shown that this approach fosters constructive and focused dialogue, and can lead to new collaborations and interdisciplinary research efforts. It’s time for you to join this growing community and elevate your research!

What past participants say about the Symposium

“The EMBL meeting on biological oscillators was a highly interactive and friendly environment to hear new and exciting research across scales, from the scale of interacting clock proteins to whole ecosystems.” – Hayden Nunley, Flatiron Institute, USA

“I always enjoy the EMBL conferences on biological oscillations, and as usual I found the event exceptionally excellent! As an interdisciplinary researcher I learned about so many diverse topics, met new people with whom I will establish future collaborations and, as always, enjoyed discussing scientific topics covering many fields!” – Marta Del Olmo, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Berlin, 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.de for further information.

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

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.