Ibrahim Cissé
Max Planck Institute of immunobiology and epigenetics
Germany
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 realisation that intracellular phase transitions underlie the formation of membrane-less compartmentalisation in cells has transformed our understanding of cellular organisation in time and space. While the existence of membrane-less organelles, such as nucleoli, stress granules, and Cajal bodies had been known for a long time, it had remained largely unclear until recently how they were formed, maintained, and regulated.
To take full advantage of these newly emerging principles, we need to develop new tools and approaches to characterise the emergent properties of phase-separated states and their impact on biological function.
It requires a combination of cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, biophysics, soft matter physics and polymer physics, which will allow researchers to synergistically decipher how novel functions and pathologies emerge from the process of phase separation in biological systems, and what molecular underpinnings facilitate and regulate this key process.
This conference will bring together scientists from those diverse fields, to allow the fostering of new discoveries, nurturing a new generation of scientists who challenge the boundaries of existing fields, and thinking outside the box to tackle important emerging problems in the life sciences.
Session topics
- Topic 1
- Topic 2
- Topic 3
- Topic 4
- Topic 5
- Topic 6
What past participants say about the Symposium
“The EMBO | EMBL Symposium on Cellular Mechanisms Driven by phase separation is a must-attend for anyone working in this field as it brings together an interdisciplinary mix of scientists from domains of physics, chemistry, and biology! Great opportunity to listen to excellent and current science.” – Ambuja Navalkar, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, India
“Attending this conference has been an incredible opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research in the field of bimolecular phase separation.” – Elnaz Hosseini, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany
Speakers
Keynote speakers
Karla Neugebauer
Yale University School of Medicine
USA
Speakers
Charlotte Aumeier
University of Geneva
Switzerland
Elvan Böke
Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
Spain
Lindsay Case
MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
USA
Dorothee Dormann
Institute of Molecular Biology
Germany
Allan Drummond
University of Chicago
USA
Eric Dufresne
Cornell University
USA
Roland Knorr
University of Cologne
Germany
Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
University of Copenhagen
Denmark
Christine Mayr
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
USA
Oliver Martin Mueller-Cajar
Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Singapore
Thomas Quail
EMBL Heidelberg
Germany
Christine Roden
University of Montreal
Canada
Anđela Šarić
Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Austria
Richard Young
Whitehead Institute
USA
Scientific organisers
Paolo Arosio
ETH Zurich
Switzerland
Sara Cuylen-Haering
EMBL Heidelberg
Germany
Amy Gladfelter
Duke University
USA
Alex Holehouse
Washington University
USA
Sponsors
Sponsorship opportunities
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Warning
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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: 19 - 22 May 2026
Location: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual
Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre
Organisers:
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Paolo Arosio
ETH Zurich, Switzerland -
Sara Cuylen-Haering
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany -
Amy Gladfelter
Duke University School of Medician, Durham, USA -
Alex Holehouse
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA
Contact: EMBL Events