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Evolution and core processes in gene expression

June 26–29, 2025
Stowers Institute, Kansas City, Mo.

The evolution of organismal diversity and the mechanisms of gene expression are mutually dependent processes. Evolutionary processes operate at the level of gene expression, especially at the level of cis-regulatory sequences, as such changes are expected to be less pleiotropic than changes at the protein level. Conversely, cis-regulatory variation is an important component in the study of gene regulation, and identifying cis-regulatory changes that alter gene expression is key to identifying causal variants underlying human diseases.

To examine these interlinked phenomena, the meeting has an interdisciplinary focus, ranging from the fundamental mechanisms of the cis-regulatory code to the phenotypic consequences in development and evolution. Previous meetings have emphasized population and organismal level evolutionary biology, cutting-edge genomics technology and deep learning.

This year’s program adds synthetic biology as a “bottom up” dimension to these “reverse engineering” approaches as another way of studying basic mechanisms underlying gene regulation and how it evolves. The meeting will bring fresh perspectives from experts in different fields to obtain a deeper understanding of core life processes from a gene expression, developmental, and evolutionary perspective. 

Organizers

Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Michigan State University
Michigan State University
University of Rochester

Speakers

  • Stein Aerts, KU Leuven
  • Detlev Arendt, EMBL Heidelberg
  • Žiga Avsec, DeepMind London
  • Lu Bai, Pennsylvania State University
  • Matthew Bennett, Rice University
  • Justin Crocker, EMBL Heidelberg
  • Polly Fordyce, Stanford University
  • Emily Hodges, Vanderbilt University
  • Kamena Kostova, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
  • Anshul Kundaje, Stanford University
  • Grace Y.C. Lee, University of California, Irvine
  • Dario Lupianez, Andalusian Center for Development Biology
  • Ameya Mashruwala, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
  • Matt Maurano, New York University
  • Heather Marlow, University of Chicago
  • Joel McManus, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Neşet Özel, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
  • Christine Queitsch, University of Washington
  • Steven Reilly, Yale University
  • Jianrong Wang, Michigan State University

Program schedule

Thursday June 26
Friday June 27
Saturday June 28
Sunday June 29

Thursday agenda

12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Badge pickup

1:45 PM - 2:00 PM

Welcome and meeting introduction

2:00 PM - 4:10 PM

Session I: Functional genomics and phenotypes

4:10 PM - 4:30 PM

Flash talks

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Opening reception and poster session I

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Dinner on own — explore Kansas City

Friday agenda

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Badge pickup

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Session II: The cis-regulatory code and AI

10:20 AM - 12:00 PM

Session III: From AI to mechanisms

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Lunch

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Breakout session: Towards solving the cis-regulatory code

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Session IV: Synthetic biology

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Poster session II

4:40 PM - 5:00 PM

Break

6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Dinner on own — explore Kansas City

Saturday agenda

8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Badge pickup

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Session V: Transcriptional regulation

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Session VI: Post-transcriptional regulation

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Lunch and roundtables with academic topics

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Town hall

2:40 PM - 4:30 PM

Session VII: Genomics and evolution

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Break

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Dinner at the Zeitlinger–Chao home

Sunday agenda

8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Badge pickup

9:30 AM - 10:20 AM

Session VIII: Evolutionary diversity

10:20 AM - 10:40 AM

Break

10:40 AM - 11:45 AM

Session IX: Transcriptional evolution

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM

Poster prizes announced

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