Biological condensates: cellular mechanisms governed by phase transitions

Workshop theme

One of the recent surprises in biology is that the interior of the cell is more highly ordered than previously believed. In contrast to earlier views, i.e., organization through membrane-bound organelles, it now appears, that the cytosol is chemically heterogeneous in space and time and forms organelles via phase separation processes. These structures are kept from mixing with the rest of the cell by a non-vanishing interfacial tension. This points to a novel type of fluid-fluid phase separation in nonequilibrium states and suggests new ideas in statistical physics are needed to understand intracellular organization. This emerging area of biology points to a natural point of collaboration between biological physics and statistical physics/applied mathematics communities. This workshop is intended to bring the relevant researchers together to nucleate this collaboration.

Applications for this workshop are now closed

Fees

Registration Only

Registration Package: £ 218
Student Registration Package: £ 168

The Registration Package includes admission to all seminars, lunches and refreshments on the days that lectures take place (Monday - Friday), wine reception and formal dinner, but does not include other meals or accommodation.

Formal Dinner Only

Formal Dinner: £ 60

Participants on the Accommodation Package or Registration Package, including organisers and speakers, are automatically included in this event. For all remaining participants who would like to attend, such as programme participants, the above charge will apply.

Accommodation

Unfortunately we do not have any accommodation to offer so all successful applicants will need to source their own accommodation.

Please see the Hotels Combined website for a list of local hotels and guesthouses.

Meals

Lunch

Lunch timings and location will be confirmed with timetable.

Evening Meal

Participants are free to make their own arrangements for dinner.

Formal Dinner

The Formal Dinner location and date is to be confirmed. Participants on the Accommodation Package or Registration Package, including organisers and speakers, are automatically included in this event.

Timetable

Monday 9th October 2023
09:00 to 09:35	Morning Coffee and Registration in the foyer	No Room Required
09:35 to 09:40	Milla Kibble Aalborg Universitet Welcome Talk	Room 1
09:40 to 10:40	Samuel Safran Weizmann Institute of Science Chair: Buddho Chakrabarti Size scaling of phase-separated domains and mesoscale clusters that precede liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS): theory and experiment	Room 1
10:40 to 11:20	Arjun Narayanan New York University Chair: Buddho Chakrabarti The Physical Chemistry of Actomyosin Cortex Self-Assembly in C elegans oocytes	Room 1
11:20 to 11:50	Morning Coffee in the foyer	No Room Required
11:50 to 12:30	Christoph Weber Universität Augsburg Chair: Buddho Chakrabarti Active biomolecular condensates on membranes	Room 1
12:30 to 13:50	Lunch at Churchill College	No Room Required
13:50 to 14:30	Mark Leake University of York Chair: Leonid Mirny Bacterial LLPS droplets protect mRNA during stress	Room 1
14:30 to 15:10	Michele Vendruscolo University of Cambridge Chair: Leonid Mirny Pharmacological inhibition of protein aggregation within liquid condensates	Room 1
15:10 to 16:00	Afternoon Tea in the foyer	No Room Required
16:00 to 17:00	Simon Alberti Technische Universität Dresden Chair: Leonid Mirny Biomolecular condensates at the nexus of cellular stress, disease and aging	Room 1
17:00 to 18:00	Welcome Wine Reception at the INI	No Room Required

Tuesday 10th October 2023
09:00 to 09:40	Amy Gladfelter Duke University Chair: Sam Safran RNA encodes condensate material properties	Room 1
09:40 to 10:20	Leonid Mirny Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chair: Sam Safran Chromosomal condensate as a memory machine	Room 1
10:20 to 11:00	Simone Reber Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology Chair: Sam Safran Conserved nucleocytoplasmic density homeostasis drives cellular organization across eukaryotes	Room 1
11:00 to 11:30	Group photo and Morning coffee in the foyer	No Room Required
11:30 to 12:20	Rosana Collepardo Guevara University of Cambridge Chair: Sam Safran Multiscale modelling of liquid-like chromatin organisation	Room 1
12:20 to 13:50	Lunch at Churchill College	No Room Required
13:50 to 14:30	Andrea Putnam University of Wisconsin-Madison Chair: Mike Cates Stabilization of biological emulsions by interfacial protein clusters	Room 1
14:30 to 15:10	Liam Holt New York University Chair: Mike Cates mRNA condensation fluidizes the cytoplasm	Room 1
15:10 to 15:40	Afternoon Tea in the foyer	No Room Required
15:40 to 16:20	Thomas Michaels ETH Zürich Chair: Mike Cates Theoretical insights into multi-component phase separation	Room 1
16:20 to 17:00	Alex Holehouse Washington University in St. Louis Chair: Mike Cates Decoding chemical specificity in intrinsically disordered regions	Room 1

Wednesday 11th October 2023
09:00 to 09:40	Frank Jülicher Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden Chair: Ben Simons TBA	Room 1
09:40 to 10:20	Jan Brugues Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Chair: Ben Simons Surface condensation of proteins on DNA	Room 1
10:20 to 11:00	Alexei Kornyshev Imperial College London Chair: Ben Simons Unravelling Hidden Abilities Encoded in the Structure of DNA	Room 1
11:00 to 11:30	Morning coffee in the foyer	No Room Required
11:30 to 12:20	Priya Banerjee University at Buffalo Chair: Ben Simons Dynamics of Aging Biomolecular Condensates	Room 1
12:20 to 13:50	Lunch at Churchill College	No Room Required
13:50 to 14:30	Chair: Alexander Grosberg Soundbite presentations	Room 1
14:30 to 17:00	Afternoon Tea and poster session in the foyer	No Room Required
19:30 to 22:00	Formal Dinner at Robinson College	No Room Required

Thursday 12th October 2023
09:00 to 09:40	Charlotte Aumeier University of Geneva Chair: Amy Gladfelter Phase separation of +TIP-networks regulates microtubule dynamics	Room 1
09:40 to 10:20	Paolo Arosio ETH Zürich Chair: Amy Gladfelter Interplay between condensation and amyloid formation	Room 1
10:20 to 11:00	David Zwicker Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation Chair: Amy Gladfelter Physical principles of controlling condensates by reactions	Room 1
11:00 to 11:30	Morning coffee in the foyer	No Room Required
11:30 to 12:20	Josh Riback Baylor College of Medicine Chair: Amy Gladfelter Measuring the liquid structure of condensates in live cells	Room 1
12:20 to 13:50	Lunch at Churchill College	No Room Required
13:50 to 14:30	Tuomas Knowles University of Cambridge Chair: Simon Alberti TBA	Room 1
14:30 to 15:10	Steven Boeynams Baylor College of Medicine Chair: Simon Alberti Predicting protein condensation from sequence: new and widespread roles for condensates in physiology and disease	Room 1
15:10 to 15:40	Afternoon Tea in the foyer	No Room Required
15:40 to 16:20	Chiu Fan Lee Imperial College London Chair: Simon Alberti Conversion-limited phase separation in biomolecular condensation	Room 1

Friday 13th October 2023
09:00 to 09:40	David Holcman CNRS - Ecole Normale Superieure Paris; University of Cambridge Chair: Frank Julicher Phase separation modeling and chromatin reconstruction	Room 1
09:40 to 11:00	Chair: Frank Julicher Panel discussion	Room 1
11:00 to 11:30	Morning coffee in the foyer	No Room Required
11:30 to 12:20	Sushma Grellscheid Universitetet i Bergen; Durham University Chair: Frank Julicher Harnessing Shape Fluctuations to Probe the Mechanics of Stress Granules in Live Cells	Room 1
12:20 to 13:50	Lunch at Churchill College	No Room Required
13:50 to 14:30	Jens-Uwe Sommer Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden Chair: Jean-Francois Joanny Polymer Assisted Condensation: How polymers can control and localize liquid-liquid phase separation	Room 1
14:30 to 15:10	Helmut Schiessel Technische Universität Dresden Chair: Jean-Francois Joanny Condensates: role in epigenetic inheritance and a simple experimental model system	Room 1
15:10 to 15:40	Afternoon Tea in the foyer	No Room Required
15:40 to 16:20	Alexander Grosberg New York University Chair: Jean-Francois Joanny Non-equilibrium phase transition in the nucleus of a living cell	Room 1

New statistical physics in living matter: non equilibrium states under adaptive control

Biological condensates: cellular mechanisms governed by phase transitions

Organisers

Simon Alberti Technische Universität Dresden
Buddhapriya Chakrabarti University of Sheffield
Frank Jülicher Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden

Speakers

Simon Alberti Technische Universität Dresden
Paolo Arosio ETH Zürich
Charlotte Aumeier University of Geneva
Priya Banerjee University at Buffalo
Steven Boeynams Baylor College of Medicine
Jan Brugues Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Rosana Collepardo Guevara University of Cambridge
Amy Gladfelter Duke University
Sushma Grellscheid Universitetet i Bergen; Durham University
Alexander Grosberg New York University
David Holcman CNRS - Ecole Normale Superieure Paris; University of Cambridge
Alex Holehouse Washington University in St. Louis
Liam Holt New York University
Frank Jülicher Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden
Milla Kibble Aalborg Universitet
Tuomas Knowles University of Cambridge
Alexei Kornyshev Imperial College London
Mark Leake University of York
Chiu Fan Lee Imperial College London
Thomas Michaels ETH Zürich
Leonid Mirny Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Arjun Narayanan New York University
Andrea Putnam University of Wisconsin-Madison
Simone Reber Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Josh Riback Baylor College of Medicine
Samuel Safran Weizmann Institute of Science
Helmut Schiessel Technische Universität Dresden
Jens-Uwe Sommer Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden
Michele Vendruscolo University of Cambridge
Christoph Weber Universität Augsburg
David Zwicker Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation

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Participants

Omar Adame-Arana Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden
Simon Alberti Technische Universität Dresden
Paolo Arosio ETH Zürich
Daniele Asnicar Università degli Studi di Padova
Charlotte Aumeier University of Geneva
Priya Banerjee University at Buffalo
Jorge Bernardino de la serna Imperial College London
Dapeng Bi Northeastern University
Stefano Bo King's College London
Steven Boeynams Baylor College of Medicine
Fridtjof Brauns University of California, Santa Barbara
Jan Brugues Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Maria Bruna University of Cambridge
Mike Cates University of Cambridge
Giulia Laura Celora University College London
Buddhapriya Chakrabarti University of Sheffield
Simone Codispoti Università degli Studi di Milano
Rosana Collepardo Guevara University of Cambridge
Charu Datt Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden
Luke Davis University College London
Amin Doostmohammadi Niels Bohr Institutet, University of Copenhagen
Giancarlo Franzese Universitat de Barcelona
Amy Gladfelter Duke University
Nigel Goldenfeld University of California, San Diego
Raymond Goldstein University of Cambridge
Ramin Golestanian Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamics and Self-Organisation; University of Oxford
Sushma Grellscheid Universitetet i Bergen; Durham University
Alexander Grosberg New York University
James Harden University of Ottawa
Kathrin Hertäg Universität Stuttgart
David Holcman CNRS - Ecole Normale Superieure Paris; University of Cambridge
Alex Holehouse Washington University in St. Louis
Liam Holt New York University
Art Hoti Universiteit Leiden
Martin Howard John Innes Centre, Norwich
Yahaya Ibrahim Umaru Musa Yar'adua University
Robert Jack University of Cambridge
Jean-Francois Joanny Collège de France; Institut Curie
Mehran Kardar Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Anatole Kenfack African University of Science and Technology
Tuomas Knowles University of Cambridge
Swapnil Jaideo Kole Indian Institute of Science
Alexei Kornyshev Imperial College London
Amit Kumar Weizmann Institute of Science
Sunita Kumari Indian Institute of Technology
Philip Kurian Quantum Biology Laboratory
Halim Kusumaatmaja University of Durham
Mark Leake University of York
Chiu Fan Lee Imperial College London
Alex Levine University of California, Los Angeles
Andrea Liu University of Pennsylvania
Tanniemola Liverpool University of Bristol
Xiaotian Ma Durham University
Ananyo Maitra CY Cergy Paris University; Sorbonne Université
Satya Majumdar Université Paris Saclay; Université Paris-Saclay
Thomas Michaels ETH Zürich
Leonid Mirny Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kristian Muller-Nedebock Stellenbosch University
SULEMANA MUSAH African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
Arjun Narayanan New York University
Cesare Nardini SPEC, CEA-Saclay
Izaak Neri King's College London
Alex Payne-Dwyer University of York
Philip Pearce University College London
Andrea Putnam University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sriram Ramaswamy Indian Institute of Science
Simone Reber Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Josh Riback Baylor College of Medicine
Pedro A. Sanchez University of Vienna; Universitat de les Illes Balears
Tomohiro Sasamoto Tokyo Institute of Technology
Helmut Schiessel Technische Universität Dresden
Jeremy Schmit Kansas State University
Mike Shelley Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
Boris Shraiman University of California, Santa Barbara
Andrea Signori Politecnico di Milano
Ben Simons University of Cambridge
Anton Souslov University of Bath
Alisdair Stevenson ETH Zürich
Martin Sweatman University of Edinburgh
Filipe Thewes Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Dave Thirumalai University of Texas at Austin
Reda Tiani Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Université Libre de Bruxelles
Elsen Tjhung The Open University
Gyula Toth Loughborough University
Hugo Touchette Stellenbosch University
Michele Vendruscolo University of Cambridge
Christoph Weber Universität Augsburg
Yaojun Zhang Johns Hopkins University
Noah Ziethen Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation; Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
David Zwicker Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organisation