Conference Collaborations

• Ongoing
• Completed

EMBL Conference-The new cardiobiology: engineering, vascular, and molecular insights

Date: February 16-19, 2026 | Venue: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of human mortality, and despite an active research community many of the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Open questions surround molecular triggers, the relationship of GxE, impact of epigenetics, the role of sex, inflammation and microbiome, as well as metabolism and multi-organ links in cardiovascular disease. Advanced molecular and human-mimicking tissue engineering techniques are revolutionizing the way we approach cardiovascular discovery research. These developments led to the inaugural “The new cardiobiology” meeting at EMBL in 2024.
In light of further technical advances in the field, the conference will repeat in 2026 and seek to unite speakers across cardiac and vascular biology, tissue engineering as well as systems biology to continue studying cardiovascular disease.

Website:

https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/events/NCB26-01/?utm_source=scieExpress&utm_medium=mpreferral&utm_id=NCB26-01#vf-tabs__section-overview

EMBO | EMBL Symposium-AI and biology

Date: March 10-13, 2026 | Venue: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming virtually all areas of science, and the life sciences are no exception. Following the success of the inaugural 2024 meeting – which brought together an engaged community of researchers both in person and online – the 2026 edition marks the second installment of this growing scientific gathering.
AI-based methods are pushing the limits of what is possible in experimental design, data analysis, simulation, and modelling. The aim of this symposium is to catalyse synergistic interactions between AI researchers in different subfields of biology and biomedicine by exploring shared theoretical approaches, cross-domain experiments, foundation models, and data integration, as well as shared topics in dissemination of tools, agent-based workflows and collaboration with experimental labs. Furthermore, we will look into the future and discuss how the concerted actions of AI and life science communities can enable both fields to exploit the full potential of the ongoing data deluge and find new application areas ripe for disruption by AI.
AI-based analytics is subject to active research in at least three major application areas: sequencing, imaging and structural biology. While all three domains are experiencing very fast growth, the developments are largely happening independently. The aim of our symposium is to convene these communities to discuss topics of mutual interest to make progress, including on the theoretical/methodological side and on the more strategic issues of identifying the next areas of high potential.

Website:

https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/events/EES26-02/?utm_source=scieExpress&utm_medium=mpreferral&utm_id=EES26-02

EMBO Workshop-Building networks: engineering in vascular biology

Date: May 13-15, 2026 | Venue: EMBL Barcelona-Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB)

Vascularisation is a rapidly growing field, with researchers across disciplines recognising its crucial role in organ development, disease progression, and therapeutic delivery. Traditionally, vascular biologists have relied on animal models to investigate key processes such as vascular signalling, angiogenesis, and remodelling. These models remain foundational, however, they do not always fully capture human-specific vascular behaviour.
In recent years, advances in multicellular systems, gene editing, stem cell technologies, and bioengineering have created new opportunities to study vascular biology in vitro using human cells.
This upcoming edition of the meeting aims to unite researchers working at the intersection of engineering and vascular biology, facilitating discussions on how to apply cutting-edge techniques in spatial omics, advanced imaging, and the use of AI to vascular research.

Website:

https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/events/EVB26-01/?utm_source=scieExpress&utm_medium=mpreferral&utm_id=EVB26-01

EMBO | EMBL Symposium-Mechanobiology across the tree of life

Date: June 9-12, 2026 | Venue: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

How do cells and tissues build themselves and respond to their environment? Over the past decade, it has become clear that physico-chemical properties are rapidly modulated to accommodate or drive changes in shape or behaviour and to exchange matter and information with the environment.
Solving the grand challenges of this field requires integrating expertise from biology, physics, and engineering. Furthermore, understanding which processes are system-specific and which represent generalisable principles requires us to use the lens of evolution to compare across the tree of life.
Responding to this critical challenge, we bring together researchers across all biological systems to discuss how new technologies can empower studies of cell wall, cytoskeleton, and membrane biology, including advanced imaging in in vitro and in vivo systems, as well as approaches that combine molecular biology with computational and biophysical methods.
Since this is a new and expanding area, we will have a particular focus on early-career researchers. Our goal is to inspire, catalyse, and foster collaborations across diverse communities to reach a comprehensive understanding of mechanobiology across kingdoms, integrating cell wall, actin and membrane biochemistry and biophysics with cell mechanics.

Website:

https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/events/EES26-06/?utm_source=scieExpress&utm_medium=mpreferral&utm_id=EES26-06

EMBO Workshop-Chemical biology 2026

Date: September 8-11, 2026 | Venue: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

The conference sets the stage for the dissemination and exchange of new developments in diverse, emerging fields within chemical biology. It is the largest and longest-standing conference in the field, being a platform for inspiration, collaboration, and networking for researchers in academia and industry.
We aim to provide the possibility for every chemical biologist to meet and discuss with peers topics ranging from tool development to biological applications, from computational protein design to new drug modalities.

Website:

https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/events/CHB26-01/?utm_source=scieExpress&utm_medium=mpreferral&utm_id=CHB26-01