Invited Speakers

Barbara Conradt

Barbara Conradt is a professor of cell and developmental biology in the division of biosciences at University College London. Research in her lab focuses on molecular and cellular processes contributing to cell fate decisions in the context of asymmetric cell divisions. To that end, they are using the C. elegans cell death fate as a paradigm.

Meital Oren-Suissa

Meital Oren-Suissa is an associate professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where she investigates how genetic sex shapes neural circuits and behavior. Combining single-cell transcriptomics with circuit and behavioral analysis, her lab studies how shared neurons are wired and modulated to generate sex-specific outputs at single-neuron resolution. Her research focuses on how these differences shape circuit function, behavior, and neuronal vulnerability across species and evolutionary contexts.

Patrick Phillips

Patrick Phillips is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of biology at the University of Oregon. His work focuses on the complex interplay of genetics and the environment in determining individual variation, and how this variation influences and is influenced by differences in demographic and evolutionary process across species. His group studies natural variation in traits such as reproductive success, behavior, and gene regulation, as well as developing novel approaches to understand the biological basis of aging and to identify genes and environmental interventions that increase health span and longevity.

Asako Sugimoto

Asako Sugimoto is a Professor at the Graduate School of Life Sciences and Executive Vice President for Research at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. Her laboratory uses Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematode species to investigate the mechanisms and evolution of cell division and chromosome organization. She has also held leadership roles in the Molecular Biology Society of Japan.