Arthur Arnold
University of California, Los Angeles
USA
Overview
This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually.
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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 wide-spread differences between sexes observed across species, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and the topic has been vastly understudied.
This symposium will highlight topics including sex hormone regulation of health and immunity, genetic differences leading to disease, and mosaicism. We will convene leading scientists from various global regions to delve into topics like the molecular underpinnings of sexual dimorphisms, how sex hormones regulate sexually distinct phenotypes, and the role of sex differences in the context of metabolism, infections, cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases.
We aim to foster a multidisciplinary dialogue by bringing together researchers employing both traditional animal models and innovative approaches (organoids, biomaterials, 3D cultures, advanced bioinformatics analysis).
Preliminary Programme
Day 1 – Monday 27 April 2026
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker |
|---|---|
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Registration and light refreshments |
| 13:30 – 13:45 | Opening remarks |
| 13:45 – 14:45 | Keynote lecture title to be confirmed Arthur Arnold – University of California, USA |
| 14:45 – 18:15 | Session 1: Development and Evolution of Sex Differences Chair: to be confirmed |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | Talk title to be confirmed Margarida Cardoso-Moreira – The Francis Crick institute, UK |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Selected short talk #1 |
| 15:30- 15:45 | Selected short talk #2 |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | Coffee Break and Meet the speakers |
| 16:15 – 16:45 | Invited speaker #2 to be confirmed |
| 16:45 – 17:00 | Selected short talk#3 |
| 17:00 – 17:15 | Selected short talk#4 |
| 17:15 – 18:15 | Poster sneak peek |
| 18:15 – 19:45 | Dinner in Canteen |
| 19:45 – 21:15 | After dinner drinks |
Day 2 – Tuesday 28 April 2026
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 12:00 | Session 2: Sex Differences in Organ Function and Physiology Chair: to be confirmed |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Talk title to be confirmed Elizabeth Rideout – University of British Columbia, Canada |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Selected short talk #5 |
| 09:45 – 10:00 | Selected short talk #6 |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Coffee Break and Meet the speakers |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Talk title to be confirmed Xiaohong Xu – Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Selected short talk #7 |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Selected short talk #8 |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Talk title to be confirmed Meital Oren-Suissa – Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
| 12:45 – 13:30 | Lunch and Meet the Editors |
| 13:30 – 16:30 | Session 3: Sex-biased Plasticity and Ageing Chair: to be confirmed |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Talk title to be confirmed Andreas Schedl – Côte d’Azur University, France |
| 14:00 – 14:15 | Selected short talk #9 |
| 14:15 – 14:30 | Selected short talk #10 |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Coffee Break and Meet the speakers |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Talk title to be confirmed Arantza Barrios – University College London, UK |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Selected short talk #11 |
| 15:45 – 16:00 | Selected short talk #12 |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Flash talk session 1 |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | Poster Session 1 (odd numbers) |
| 18:00 – 21:00 | Evening activity: details to be confirmed |
Day 3 – Wednesday 29 April 2026
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 12:00 | Session 4: Sex Differences in Gene-Environment Interactions Chair: to be confirmed |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Talk title to be confirmed Jean-Charles Guéry – Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases (INFINITY), France |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Selected short talk #13 |
| 09:45 – 10:00 | Selected short talk #14 |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Coffee Break and Meet the speakers |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Talk title to be confirmed Taru Tukiainen – The Francis Crick Institute, UK |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Selected short talk #15 |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Selected short talk #16 |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Talk title to be confirmed Karen Reue – University of California,USA |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 – 16:30 | Session 5: Systems and engineering approaches to sex differences Chair: to be confirmed |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Talk title to be confirmed Boyang Zhang – McMaster University, Canada |
| 13:45 – 14:15 | Selected short talk #17 |
| 14:15 – 14:30 | Selected short talk #18 |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Coffee Break and Meet the speakers |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Talk title to be confirmed Sara Ballouz – University of New South Wales, Australia |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Selected short talk #19 |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | Talk title to be confirmed Kristina Haase – EMBL Barcelona, Spain |
| 16:15 – 16:30 | Selected short talk #20 |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Flash talk session 2 |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Poster Session 2 (even numbers) |
| 18:30 – 20:30 | Dinner in EMBL Canteen |
| 20:30 – 00:00 | Party |
Day 4 – Thursday 30 April 2026
| Time (Europe/Berlin) | Speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 12:45 | Session 6: Sex Differences in Disease Susceptibilty, Progression and Responses to Treatment Chair: to be confirmed |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Talk title to be confirmed James Turner – The Francis Crick Institute, UK |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Selected short talk #21 |
| 09:45 – 10:00 | Selected short talk #22 |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Talk title to be confirmed Brian Aguado – University of California, USA |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break and Meet the speakers |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Keynote lecture title to be confirmed Yasmin Belkaid – Institut Pasteur, France |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Selected short talk #22 |
| 12:15 – 12:30 | Selected short talk #23 |
| 12:30 – 12:45 | Closing Remarks and Poster Prize Announcements |
| 12:45 – 13:00 | Packed lunch and departure |
Speakers
Keynote speakers
Yasmine Belkaid
Institut Pasteur
France
Speakers
Brian Aguado
University of California, San Diego
USA
Sara Ballouz
University of New South Wales
Australia
Arantza Barrios
University College London
Margarida Cardoso Moreira
The Francis Crick institute
UK
Jean-Charles Guéry
Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases (INFINITy)
France
Kristina Haase
EMBL Barcelona
Spain
Bruno Hudry
Institute Of Biology Valrose – iBV
France
Meital Oren-Suissa
Weizmann Institute of Science
Israel
Karen Reue
University of California, Los Angeles
USA
Elizabeth Rideout
University of British Columbia
Canada
Andreas Schedl
Institut de Biologie Valrose
France
Taru Tukiainen
University of Helsinki
Finland
James Turner
The Francis Crick Institute
UK
Xiaohong Xu
Chinese Academy of Science
China
Boyang Zhang
McMaster University
Canada
Scientific organisers
Brian Aguado
University of California, San Diego
USA
Kristina Haase
EMBL Barcelona
Spain
Edith Heard
EMBL Heidelberg
Germany
Irene Miguel-Aliaga
Francis Crick Institute
UK
Sponsors
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Media kit
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Date: 27 - 30 Apr 2026
Location: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual
Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre
Organisers:
-
Brian Aguado
UC San Diego, US -
Kristina Haase
EMBL Barcelona, Spain -
Edith Heard
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany -
Irene Miguel-Aliaga
The Francis Crick Institute, UK -
Contact: Lucia Minutta