28th EMBL PhD Symposium 2026 — Shifting gears: automation, AI, and high-throughput methodologies

About the Symposium

Biology at a
new scale

The 28th EMBL PhD Symposium explores how automation, high-throughput methodologies, and artificial intelligence are accelerating scientific discovery by enhancing speed, reliability, and reproducibility across biological disciplines.

Over three focused days, we bring together researchers and engineers at the frontier of scalable science: from robotic wet-lab workflows and large-scale screening to AI-driven data analysis and translational biomedical applications.

12

Invited Speakers

3

Focused Days

100+

Participants

01

High-throughput methodologies

02

AI and industry

03

Robotics

Invited Speakers

Invited
Speakers

All Speakers →

Keynote

Day 1 — Dec 2

Jennifer Roth

Director, PRISM
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Multiplexed high-throughput chemical screening, cancer dependency mapping, PRISM platform

Day 1 — Dec 2

Kerstin Howe

Head of Production Genomics, Tree of Life Programme
Wellcome Sanger Institute

Genome assembly, genome annotation, and reference genome curation

Keynote

Day 1 — Dec 2

Paul Flicek

Research Professor
Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut

Genome annotation, comparative regulatory genomics, and large-scale biological data

Day 1 — Dec 2

Petra Dittrich

Professor of Bioanalytics
ETH Zurich

Microfluidics, lab-on-chip, droplet screening, single-cell analysis, artificial cell engineering

Day 1 — Dec 2

Robert Waterhouse

Director, Environmental Bioinformatics Group
SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

Environmental bioinformatics, biodiversity data science, model-guided conservation policy

Day 1 — Dec 2

Sarela García-Santamarina

Professor & Head of Department of Deep Microbiome Metabolomics
Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology

Microbiome science, systems biology, host-microbe dynamics, organ-on-chip

CB

Day 2 — Dec 3

Chris Bakan

TBA
TBA

TBA

Day 2 — Dec 3

Gaurav Ahuja

Associate Professor
IIIT-Delhi

AI and systems biology, metabolomics, aging and cancer, cellular signalling

Day 2 — Dec 3

Norbert Kraut

Senior Executive Scientist
Boehringer Ingelheim

Cancer drug discovery, precision oncology, translational research

Day 2 — Dec 3

Virginie Uhlmann

Assistant Professor in Bioimaging and Data Analysis
University of Zurich & EMBL-EBI

Quantitative bioimage analysis, machine learning, approximation theory, computational geometry

Day 3 — Dec 4

Giovanni Stracquadanio

Personal Chair in Engineering Biology
University of Edinburgh

AI-driven automation in synthetic and engineering biology, accelerating therapy development for rare diseases

Day 3 — Dec 4

Ross King

Professor
University of Cambridge & Chalmers University of Technology

Automated scientific discovery, robot scientists, AI for science

Important Dates

Mark your
calendar

01

Early-Bird Registration Deadline

August 10, 2026

02

Abstract Submission Deadline

September 9, 2026

03

Abstract Selection Notification

September 16, 2026

04

On-Site Registration Deadline

October 21, 2026

05

Virtual Registration Deadline

November 25, 2026

06

Symposium Begins

December 2, 2026

07

Symposium Ends

December 4, 2026

Venue

EMBL Heidelberg

Set in the wooded hills above Heidelberg, EMBL's main campus is home to world-class research facilities and a vibrant international community. The ATC Auditorium seats 500 and provides state-of-the-art conference facilities.

→ Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg

→ 15 min from Heidelberg city centre

→ On-campus accommodation available

Travel Info

Acknowledgements