EMBO | EMBL Symposium Cellular mechanisms driven by phase separation

Posted by EMBL Events, on 22 December 2021

This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery is required for on-site attendance. Please see EMBL’s COVID-19 safety policy for on-site events.

Symposium Overview

Phase separation is emerging as a common biophysical basis underlying many important cellular functions. This conference will bring together scientists from soft matter, polymer physics, molecular biology, structural biology, and cell and developmental biology to study condensates in biology and disease. Goals are

to increase the awareness how important phase separation is for our understanding of many biological processes
to explore the large repertoire of new tools generated by other disciplines that are ripe to be applied to complex problems related to phase separation
to close the gap in transdisciplinary training to tackle the role of phase separation in biology

Session Topics

Phase-separated compartments in the cell
Molecular mechanisms of phase separation
Phase separation, a polymer physics perspective
Phase separation in developmental biology and non-linear signalling
The pathological face of phase separation
Protein structure in the condensed state
Phase separation in neurobiology

What past participants say about the conference:

“I have never been to a conference where every single talk was relevant, exciting, and well done. This is particularly phenomenal given the interdisciplinary nature of this field.” – Carlos Castaneda, Syracuse University, USA

“Although Intrinsically Disordered Proteins and Phase Separation have been around for a number of years, this meeting felt like the kick-off for a novel area in molecular biology.” – Roland Dosch, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany

“This was the best conference I have attended in years, bringing together biophysicists and biologists in an exciting and challenging format. I learnt a lot and have made great contacts for new collaborations.” – Sarah Mizielinska, Kings College London, UK