concurrent track: capturing development

Highlighting advances in stem cell and tissue biology relevant to early development and organ formation, exploring stem cell models of human development and species-specific differences in an evolutionary context.

Organized by:

*Additional invited and abstract-selected speakers to be determined. Session descriptions and titles may change slightly.

germline development and maintenance

Petra Hajkova, PhD, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), UK 
Erez Raz, PhD, Muenster University, Germany

  • This session explores mechanisms regulating germ cell specification and development, including epigenetic reprogramming and somatic tissue signaling, and examines implications for fertility and health across species

systematic and metabolic regulation of development

Cantas Alev, MD, PhD, Kyoto University, Japan
Ina Sonnen, PhD, Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands

  • This session explores systemic regulation of development, with an emphasis on the metabolic control of early processes and how metabolic crosstalk between cells influences stem cell function and tissue formation. 

extra-embryonic development

Myriam Hemberger, PhD, University of Calgary, Canada
Kara McKinley, PhD, Harvard University/HHMI, USA

  • This session examines extra-embryonic structures, such as the placenta, through both in vivo studies and stem cell models to deepen our understanding of how these tissues form and function in early development. 

spatial-temporal control of organ formation

Ramkumar Sambasivan, PhD, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, India

Naihe Jing, PhD, Guangzhou Laboratory, China 

  • This session highlights the role of morphogen gradients in the spatial and temporal regulation of organogenesis and examines how these gradients are reset during regeneration.