About

Our upcoming international symposium in 2026 is entitled "Mechanochemical signals at cellular interfaces". This three-day meeting will foster interdisciplinary exchange and networking by bringing together leading scientists in the fields of cell and developmental biology, mechanobiology, biophysics, and multiscale imaging. Join us in Münster to discuss the latest advances on signaling at cellular interfaces and its impact on cell states across scales!

Speaker

Yohanns Bellaiche
Institut Curie, Paris
Scaling of tissue flow with animal size

Timo Betz
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Dystrophin as a homeostatic tension regulator in reconstituted muscle tissue

Laura Capolupo
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Basel
Villus driven coordination of intestinal crypt morphogenesis

Morgan Delarue
LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse
Transcription is limiting biosynthesis under mechanical pressure

Anne Erzberger
EMBL Heidelberg
How geometry drives the self-organisation of living matter

Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich
TU Dresden
Regulation of plasma membrane tension through hydrostatic pressure and actin protrusion forces

Stephan Grill
MPI Dresden
tba

Edouard Hannezo
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Klosterneuburg
tba

Jop Kind
Hubrecht Institut, Utrecht
tba

Nicoletta Petridou
EMBL Heidelberg
Tissue phase transitions in development: More than just mechanics

Matthieu Piel
Institut Curie, Paris
tba

Diana Pinheiro
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Wien
Linking fate and form during vertebrate gastrulation

Rashmi Priya
The Crick Institute, London
Living machines: how to build a functional heart

Simone Reber
MPI Berlin
tba

Katja Röper
MRC Cambridge University
Mechanisms and mechanics of tube morphogenesis’

Erik Sahai
The Crick Institute, London
tba

Frank Schnorrer
Institute for Developmental Biology Marseille 
Muscle building: the making of a fly steak

Jakub Sedzinski
University of Copenhagen
Mechanics of basal body patterning during multiciliated cell development

Brian Stramer
King's College London
Dynamic regulation of extracellular matrix stability during development

Saskia Suijkerbuijk
University of Utrecht
Spatiotemporal regulation of cell competition in intestinal cancer

Hervé Turlier
CNRS Toulouse
Inverse design of mechanochemical tissue patterning

Katarina Wolf
Radboud University
tba

Program

May 27, 2026

Session 1

13:00 - 13:10    Welcome  

13:10 - 13:40   Stephan Grill:
                             tba

13:40 -14:10    Nicoletta Petridou:
                             Tissue phase transitions in development: More than just mechanics

14:10 - 14:40   Jakub Sedzinski:
                             Mechanics of basal body patterning during multiciliated cell development

14:40 - 14:50   Short Talk 1:
                             tba

14:50 - 15:00   Short Talk 2:
                             tba

15:00 - 15:30   Coffee break 

Session 2

15:30 - 16:00   Matthieu Piel:
                             tba

16:00 - 16:30   Simone Reber:
                             tba

16:30 - 17:00   Jop Kind:
                             tba

17:00 - 17:10   Short talk 3:
                             tba

17:10 - 17:20   Short talk 4:
                             tba

17:20 - 19:30   Posters and Pizza

May 28, 2026

Session 3

09:00 - 09:30   Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich:
                             Regulation of plasma membrane tension through hydrostatic pressure and actin
                             protrusion forces

09:30 - 10:00   Timo Betz:
                             Dystrophin as a homeostatic tension regulator in reconstituted muscle tissue

10:00 - 10:30   Yohanns Bellaiche:
                             Scaling of tissue flow with animal size

10:30 - 11:00   Edouard Hannezo:
                             tba

11:00 - 11:10   Short Talk 5:
                             tba

11:10 - 11:40   Coffee break (30 min) 

Session 4

11:40 - 12:10   Herve Turlier:
                             Inverse design of mechanochemical tissue patterning

12:10 - 12:40   Brian Stramer:
                             Dynamic regulation of extracellular matrix stability during development

12:40 - 13:10   Anna Erzberger:
                             How geometry drives the self-organisation of living matter

13:10 - 13:20   Short Talk 6: tba

13:20 - 15:30   Posters and lunch 

Session 5

15:30 - 16:00   Katja Röper:
                             Mechanisms and mechanics of tube morphogenesis’

16:00 - 16:30   Frank Schnorrer:
                             Muscle building: the making of a fly steak

16:30 - 17:00   Rashmi Priya:
                             Living machines: how to build a functional heart

17:00 - 17:10   Short talk 7:
                             tba

18:00 - 19:00   Guided city tour 

19:00                  Dinner

May 29, 2026

Session 6

09:00 - 9:30      Laura Capolupo:
                             Villus driven coordination of intestinal crypt morphogenesis

9:30 - 10:00      Morgan Delarue:
                             Transcription is limiting biosynthesis under mechanical pressure

10:00 - 10:30   Saskia Suijkerbuijk:
                             Spatiotemporal regulation of cell competition in intestinal cancer

10:30 - 10:40    Short Talk 8:
                              tba

10:40 - 10:50    Short Talk 9:
                              tba

10:50 - 11:20    Coffee break 

Session 7

11:20 - 11:50    Diana Pinheiro:
                              Linking fate and form during vertebrate gastrulation

11:50 - 12:20    Katarina Wolf:
                              tba

12:20 - 12:50    Erik Sahai:
                              tba

12:50 - 13:00    Conclusion/ lunch to go 

Registration

Free registration will start on February 1, 2026 here.

The number of participants is limited (first come, first serve).