Barcelona, October 9-11 2025

EMBO Workshop on the Evolution and Origins of Multicellularity across the Tree of Life

Preliminary Program

October 9th

08:00-09:30 Registration

09:30-09:40 Opening remarks

09:40-11:10 Session 1: Conceptual views on the study of the origins of multicellularity
Talk 1: Laura Nuno de la Rosa
Talk 2: Philip Donoghue
Talk 3: TBA
Poster flash talks

11:10-11:40 Coffee break

11:40-13:20 Session 2: Organismal diversity of multicellularity
Talk 1: Jordi Paps
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Tomislav Domazet-Lošo
Poster flash talks

13:20-14:10 Lunch

14:10-15:40 Poster session

15:40-17:20 Session 3: Model systems: new, old unicellular and multicellular
Talk 1: Maja Adamska
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Hiroshi Suga
Poster flash talks

17:20-18:00 Coffee break

18:00-19:20 Round table: How and why to unite research efforts from teams studying different multicellular systems

October 10th

09:00-10:40 Session 4: Genome Evolution
Talk 1: Nicholas Irwin
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Nagy Lazlo
Poster flash talks

10:40-11:30 Coffee break

09:40-11:10 Session 5: Experimental Evolution
Talk 1: William Ratcliff
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Gota Goshima
Poster flash talks

13:10-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:30 Poster session

15:30-17:00 Session 6: Modeling and mechanics of complex systems
Talk 1: Ricard Solé
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Vikas Trivedi

17:00-17:50 Coffee break

17:50-19:20 Session 7: Different ways to be multicellular

Talk 1: Marco La Fortezza

Talk 2: TBA

Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA

Talk 5: Elizabeth Ostrowski

October 11th

09:00-10:30 Session 8: Environmental triggers and phenotypic plasticity
Talk 1: Núria Ros-Rocher
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Katrin Hammerschmidt

10:30-11:30 Coffee break

09:40-11:10 Session 9: Conflicts in the evolution and stability of multicellularity

Talk 1: Aurora Nedelcu

Talk 2: TBA

Talk 3: TBA

Talk 4: TBA

Talk 5: Emma Hammarlund

13:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:30 Session 10: Cell differentiation and sex
Talk 1: Susana Coelho
Talk 2: TBA
Talk 3: TBA
Talk 4: TBA
Talk 5: Dolf Weijers

15:30-16:30 Coffee break

16:30-18:00 Round table: What have we learnt? Can we develop a common framework? Future perspectives

18:00-18:10 Closing remarks

Sponsors