It has become widely accepted that cracking the hardest problems in biology today often requires reaching beyond the classical boundaries of biology. This means incorporating insights from adjacent sciences such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering. This is particularly true when confronting the ultimate state of DNA compaction in the cell nucleus—the chromosome. Consider that two meters of DNA are packaged into each cell nucleus, which is a mere ten microns across. This fact raises a number of questions that naturally marry physics and biology. For example, does this extreme packaging preclude access by regulatory proteins or polymerases? How are these dense entities organized by the cell so that specific sites can be efficiently localized by their cognate binding partners? What strategies have evolved to allow for rapid and efficient searching of small, discrete features in the genome despite the overwhelming amount of generic DNA that must be combed through?

Entities studied by biologists are physical objects. Yet, biology and physics university curricula remain mostly compartmentalized. This results in biologists with a limited understanding of concepts and tools in physics, and physicists with limited awareness of biological processes and experimental methods. The first goal of the “Physics Meets Genomes” Summer School is to train a new generation of researchers at this important intersection of disciplines to advance the study of nuclear processes. Our second goal is to create opportunities for exchange, collaboration, and the development of new ideas among a focused group of researchers working at the intersection of biology and physics. We have invited around 30 internationally renowned researchers to give extended lectures showcasing their diverse expertise to an audience of approximately 60 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from these disciplines.

Each of the five days of the Summer School will focus on a key theme that has emerged over the last decade in the study of chromosomes: chromatin dynamics and interactions, mechanics of the nucleus, SMC motors, search processes in the nucleus, and phase condensates. Each theme will first be introduced in the morning during a “Blackboard Presentation.” This presentation is intended to provide attendees with the theoretical basis for the topic at hand. This will be followed by a “Review Lecture” summarizing the field. Finally, three to four “Expert Talks” will allow for a more detailed presentation of the work of important actors in the field.

Only Master, PhD students and Post-doc researchers are allowed to register for the 'Physics meets Genomes Summer School'.

Registration only on the IESC website.

To be selected for the Summer School, you need to submit an abstract (3000 characters incl. space)
describing your research or area of interest (for master's students)
on the IESC website.

Deadline for Application: 16 March 2025 11 pm
Acceptance information: 29 March 2025

Conference package: 335€, to be paid directly to IESC in Cargese.
(Include : Double-room housing, breakfasts, lunches, pauses and shuttles from the Ajaccio airport on 1 June and 7 June.)

The school will take place at Institut d'Études Scientifiques in Cargèse, Corsica, France.

Two shuttle buses will be provided on June 1st and 7th from and to Ajaccio Airport.

Each of the five days of the Summer School will focus on a key theme that has emerged over the last decade in the study of chromosomes, namely: chromatin dynamics and interactions, mechanics of the nucleus, SMC motors, search processes in the nucleus, and phase condensates.  Each theme will first be introduced in the morning during a “Blackboard Presentation” intended to provide attendees with the theoretical basis for the topic at hand. This will be followed by a “Review Lecture” summarizing the field. Three to four “Expert Talks” will then allow for a more detailed presentation of the work of important actors in the field. To this end, we invite ~30 internationally renowned researchers in the field to give various types of extended lectures to an audience of ~60 master, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers with biology or physics background.

A number of additional events and activities have also been planned to enhance the student experience during this Summer School. Each day, students will have an opportunity to introduce themselves during a five-minute talk followed by a Q&A. In addition during two afternoon workshops students will have the opportunity to acquire practical experience under the guidance of scientists by using the researcher’s bioinformatics pipelines to analyze real data provided by labs participating in the meeting. Finally, the School will include Poster sessions as well as time for informal scientific discussions, social events and outdoor activities allowing participants to soak in the stunning beauty of Corsica.

Speakers

Magda Bienko                   Geoff Fudenberg              Leonid Mirny                                                         

Valérie Borde                     Luca Giorgetti                   Matt Neale   

Jan Brugues                      Anton Goloborodko           Elphège Nora   

Antoine Coulon                  Stephan Gruber                Raquel Oliveira    

Cees Dekker                      Zoher Gueroui                  Aurèle Piazza

Ines Drinnenberg               Daniel Jost                       Terence Strick     

Fabian Erdel                      Romain Koszul                 Angela Taddei                                       

Olivier Espéli                      Armelle Lengronne          Marie-Hélène Verlhac  

Ralf Everaers                     Stéphane Marcand          Alexandra Zidovska   

Emmanuelle Fabre           John Marko
                                                      
 
Workshops

Aleksandra Galitsyna

Simon Grosse-Holz

Olivier Espéli                      Terence Strick

Emmanuelle Fabre             Angela Taddei

Leonid Mirny                       Cédric Vaillant

Aurèle Piazza