Keynote speakers

 

Bernd Bukau ML		Germany
Maria Leptin ML		Germany
Stefan Hell ML		Germany
Tony Hyman ML		Germany
Carl Zeiss Lecture Julia Mahamid		Germany

 

Speakers

 

Alba Diz-Munoz		Germany
Ana Garcia Saez		Germany
Andrea Pauli		Austria
Anne Bertolotti		UK
Benoit Ladoux		Germany
Christel Verollet		France
Elias Barriga		Germany
Gaia Pigino		Italy
Hesso Farhan		Austria
Jay Gopalakrishnan		Germany
Joao Matos		Austria
Laura Schaedel		Germany
Matt Paszek		USA
Matthias Altmeyer		Switzerland
Michael Sixt		Austria
Nicoletta Petridou		Germany
Petra Schwille ML		Germany
Pleasantine Mill		UK
Ralf Jungmann		Germany
Robin Klemm		UK
Sara Cuylen-Häring		Germany
Stefan Diez		Germany
Ulrich Hartl ML		Germany
Volker Haucke ML		Germany

 

Meeting organization

Main/local organizers:
Gislene Pereira, Heidelberg
Elmar Schiebel, Heidelberg
Oliver Gruss, Bonn
Zuzana Storchova, Kaiserlautern

Co-organizers:
Roland Wedlich-Söldner, Münster
Sandra Iden, Homburg

Conference office
Frederike Seibold
dgz2025conference@cos.uni-heidelberg.de

Christiane Edelmann-Mohr
unikt-kongresse@zuv.uni-heidelberg.de
Congress and Conference Management (UniKT)
Seminarstr. 2, 69117 Heidelberg

ML, member of Leopoldina

Keynote speakers

 

Bernd Bukau Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) https://www.zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de/Bukau/default.shtml

Stefan Hell Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg and Max-Planck-Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen https://nanobiophotonics.mpibpc.mpg.de/

Tony Hyman Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) https://hymanlab.org/

Maria Leptin European Research Council (ERC)

Speakers

 

Matthias Altmeyer University of Zurich, Department of Molecular Mechanisms of Disease https://www.altmeyerlab.org/

Laura Schaedel Center for Biophysics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken https://biocytolab.com/

Elias Barriga TU Dresden, Group leader Mechanisms of morphogenesis lab, Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/barriga/people

Anne Bertolotti MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Joint Head of the Neurobiology Division, Cambridge, UK

Sara Cuylen-Häring European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg, Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit https://www.embl.org/groups/cuylen/

Stefan Diez TUD Dresden University of Technology, B CUBE – Center for Molecular Bioengineering https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/bcube/diez

Alba Diz-Munoz European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg, Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit http://www.embl.de/research/units/cbb/diz-munoz/index.html

Hesso Farhan Medical University of Innsbruck, Institute of Pathophysiology, Innsbruck, Austria https://www.pathophysiology-innsbruck.com/

Ana García Sáez Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt am Main https://www.biophys.mpg.de/membrane-dynamics

Jay Gopalakrishnan Universitätsklinikum Jena, Institute for Human Genetics http://centrosome-cilia-lab.com/

Ulrich Hartl Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried https://www.biochem.mpg.de/hartl

Volker Haucke Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Berlin www.leibniz-fmp.de/haucke

Ralf Jungmann LMU Munich and MPI of Biochemistry https://www.jungmannlab.org

Robin Klemm Associate Professor of Physiological Metabolism, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/team/robin-klemm

Benoît Ladoux Max Planck Zentrum for Physics and Medicine & Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg https://mpzpm.mpg.de/research/benoit-ladoux

Joao Matos Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Austria https://www.maxperutzlabs.ac.at/research/research-groups/matos

Pleasantine Mill MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, UK https://www.cilialab.co.uk/

Matthew Paszek Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis https://www.paszeklab.com

Andrea Pauli Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria https://www.imp.ac.at/groups/andrea-pauli/

Nicoletta Petridou European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg, Developmental Biology Unit https://www.embl.org/groups/petridou/

Gaia Pigino Human Technopole, Milan, Italy https://humantechnopole.it/it/gruppi-di-ricerca/pigino-group/

Petra Schwille Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Director, Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Martinsried https://www.biochem.mpg.de/schwille

Michael Sixt Institute of Science and Technology Austria https://sixt.pages.ist.ac.at/

Christel Verollet IPBS, CNRS Toulouse University, Toulouse, France https://www.ipbs.fr/fr/christel-verollet-2/

DGZ Prize Winners

 

Carl Zeiss Lecture Julia Mahamid European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg https://www.embl.org/groups/mahamid/

Walther Flemming Award 2025 Lina Herhaus HZI – Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung GmbH Braunschweig

Nikon Young Scientist Award 2025 Tobias Kletter i3S – Institute for Innovation and Research in Health University of Porto, Portugal

Innovation Prize 2025 Elias H. Barriga TU Dresden

DGZ Master Thesis Award 2025 Bastian Hinkel RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau

DGZ Master Thesis Award 2025 Silja Friederike Zedlitz Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden Max Planck School Matter to Life, Technical University Dresden

Day 1 – Sunday –  October 26, 2025

 

12.00 – 14.00	Registration
14.00  – 14.30	Welcome Notes General Information: Gislene Pereira Welcome by Sandra Iden, President of DGZ Welcome by Frauke Melchior, Rector of Heidelberg University
14.30 – 16.30	Keynote Speakers Chair: Elmar Schiebel Welcome of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (German National Acadmy of Sciences) by Stefan W. Hell
14.40 – 15.35	Stefan W. Hell (Member of Leopoldina): Molecule-scale resolution and dynamics in fluorescence microscopy
15.35 – 16.30	Tony Hyman (Member of Leopoldina): Phase separation in cell physiology and disease
16.30 – 17.30	Carl Zeiss Lecture Introduction by Stefan Gross, CEO, Carl Zeiss Microscopy Deutschland GmbH Julia Mahamid: Enabling discovery by in-cell structural biology
17.30 – 22.00	Welcome reception
18:30 – 21.30	Poster Session 1

 

Day 2 – Monday –  October 27, 2025

 

8.30 – 10.40	Scientific Session 1: Physics of the cell / Imaging in cell biology Chairs: Roland Wedlich-Söldner / Stefan Pfeffer
08.30 – 08.55	Alba Diz-Muñoz: More than the sum: how composite interfaces govern function
08.55 – 09.20	Matt Paszek: Glycocalyx forces in control of 3D cellular morphology and function
09.20 – 09.35	Koichiro Takenaka (Short Talk): Thermodynamic control of P granule segregation in the C. elegans embryo
09.35 – 10.00	Gaia Pigino: Cellular structural biology: a powerful approach to reveal the molecular mechanism of cellular processes
10.00 – 10.25	Ralf Jungmann: From DNA Nanotechnology to biomedical insight: Towards single-molecule spatial omics
10.25 – 10.40	Sophie Kopetschke (Short Talk): Translation in a thermophilic eukaryote visualized in situ using cryo-electron tomography
10.40 – 11.10	Coffee break
11.10 – 13.20	Scientific Session 2: Cell polarity and cell migration / Cell biology of the immune system Chairs: Markus Engstler / Eva Kiermaier
11.10 – 11.35	Petra Schwille (Member of Leopoldina): The secret lives of pattern-forming proteins
11.35 – 12.00	Elias Barriga: Mechano-electrical actuation of tissue morphogenesis
12.00 – 12.15	Pablo J. Sáez (Short Talk): Branching control of decision-making during cell migration
12.15 – 12.40	Michael Sixt: Leukocyte navigation in complex environments
12.40 – 13.05	Christel Vérollet: Bridging the gap: Tunneling nanotubes as key actors for cell-cell fusion
13.05 – 13.20	Isabel Stötzel (Short Talk): Multiple centrioles in antigen-presenting cells foster T cell activation without centrosome polarization
13.20 – 13.30	Group picture
13.20 – 14.30	Lunch
14.30 – 16.40	Scientific Session 3: Cell adhesion and mechanobiology / Cellular and organismal proteostasis Chairs: Andrew Clark / Jörg Höhfeld
14.30 – 14.55	Nicoletta Petridou: Tissue rigidity phase transition shapes morphogen gradients
14.55 – 15.20	Benoit Ladoux: Epithelial Tissue Mechanics Through the Lens of Ion Transport and Pressure Regulation
15.20 – 15.35	Windie Höfs (Short Talk): Biomechanical regulation of adult hair follicle stem cell niche self-assembly and plasticity
15.35 – 16.00	Anne Bertolotti: Boosting cellular defense mechanisms as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases
16.00 – 16.25	Ulrich Hartl (Member of Leopoldina): Recent aspects of molecular chaperone functions in protein folding
16.25 – 16.40	Michaela Maria Mayr (Short Talk): Mechanotransduction from the Endoplasmic Reticulum Controls Protein Homeostasis
16:40 – 17.00	Coffee break
17.00 – 17.45	Career Talk by Britta Mädge, Programme director at the DFG How to build a career in science management
17.45 – 19.05	Award Ceremony Chair: Sandra Iden
17.45 – 17.55	DGZ Master Thesis Awards Bastian Hinkel: Uncovering the vulnerabilities of monosomic cells: REV3L and translesion synthesis as critical survival factors
17.55 – 18.05	DGZ Master Thesis Awards Silja Friederike Zedlitz: Minimal rhodamine probes for covalent protein labeling in live cells
18.05 – 18.25	Nikon Young Scientist Award sponsored by Nikon DeutschlandTobias Kletter: Cytoplasmic density drives organelle size control during mitosis
18.25 – 18.45	Walther Flemming Award sponsored by ibidi GmbHLina Herhaus: IRGQ-mediated autophagy in MHC class I quality control promotes tumor immune evasion
18.45 – 19.05	Innovation Prize Elias H. Barriga: The forces that shape us
19.05 – 21.00	Small reception / Get together

 

Day 3 – Tuesday –  October 28, 2025

 

8.30 – 10.40	Scientific Session 4: Membrane organization and contact sites / Membrane trafficking and extracellular matrix Chairs: Katja Zieske / Julia Gross
08.30 – 08.55	Volker Haucke (Member of Leopoldina): Lipid switches in cell physiology: From nutrient signals to disease
08.55 – 09.20	Hesso Farhan: Mechanosensing and Mechanotransduction at the Endoplasmic Reticulum
09.20 – 09.35	Maximilian Gass (Short Talk): PI(4,5)P2 is essential for slit diaphragm formation and endocytosis in Drosophila nephrocytes
09.35 – 10.00	Robin Klemm: Organelle crosstalk between mitochondria and lipid droplets promotes metabolic flexibility and cell survival
10.00 – 10.25	Ana Garcia Saez: Shedding light on mitochondrial pores in apoptosis
10.25 – 10.40	Kerstin Menck (Short talk): The adaptor protein CD2AP controls the biogenesis of Syntenin exosomes
10.40 – 11.10	Coffee break
11.10 – 13.20	Scientific Session 5: Cytoskeleton & molecular motors / Cilia & centrosomes Chairs: Oliver Gruss / Dagmar Wachten
11.10 – 11.35	Laura Schaedel: Tau and MAP65-1/PRC1 employ complementary mechanisms to remodel microtubules at lattice irregularities
11.35 – 12.00	Stefan Diez: Regulation of bidirectional vesicular transport by membranes and MAPs
12.00 – 12.15	Saravanan Palani (Short Talk): Twists, Turns, and Tethers: The Cytoskeletal Complexity of Asgard Archaea
12.15 – 12.40	Pleasantine Mill: The tubulin code and cilia diversity – patient-driven gene discovery leads the way
12.40 – 13.05	Jay Gopalakrishnan: Disrupting centrosome integrity impairs the DNA repair capability of patient-derived glioma stem cells
13.05 – 13.20	Cornelia Sala (Short Talk): Structural Organization of the Centriole Lumen by the Inner Scaffold Network
13.20 – 14.30	Lunch
14.30  – 17.30	Poster session 2
17.30 – 22.30	Get Together (Conference Party)

 

Day 4 – Wednesday – October 29, 2025

 

8.30  – 10.40	Scientific Session 6: Functional organization of the nucleus / Mitosis & meiosis Chairs: M. Cristina Cardoso / Thomas U. Mayer
08.30 – 08.55	Sara Cuylen-Häring: The Stress Response Choreography: RNA and Chromatin Orchestrate Nucleolar Reorganization
08.55 – 09.20	Matthias Altmeyer: Charting nuclear responses to genotoxic stress by multidimensional imaging
09.20 – 09.35	Maximilian Schilling (Short talk): Nuclear Microtubules Organize Chromatin Architecture in Human Cells
09.35 – 10.00	Joao Matos: Holliday junctions maintain meiotic chromosome synapsis to enable crossover assurance
10.00 – 10.25	Andrea Pauli: A newly discovered multi-subunit sperm fertilization complex regulates vertebrate fertilization
10.25 – 10.40	Maiwen Caudron-Herger (Short talk): RNA-protein interactions as a new layer of regulation of cell division
10.40 – 11.10	Coffee break
11.10  – 13.00	Keynote Speakers Chair: Zuzana Storchova
11.10 – 12.05	Maria Leptin (Member of Leopoldina): TBA
12.05 – 13.00	Bernd Bukau (Member of Leopoldina): The busy life of nascent chains: Mechanisms of co-translational folding and assembly of proteins
13.00  – 13.20	Poster Prizes (sponsored by the Journal of Cell Science) Short Talk Prize (sponsored by the European Journal of Cell Biology) Travel Award Prize (sponsored by the Company of Biologists)
13.20  – 13.30	Concluding Remarks (Oliver Gruss, Gislene Pereira) End of the Conference

Please note that due to space limitation, registration and abstract submissions will be on a first come-first served basis. Your place can only be confirmed after payment of the registration fee.

 

Registration

Registration fees include admission, conference materials, meals and coffee breaks. Accommodation and travel expenses are not included.

 

Registration fees

	early bird fees until July 06, 2025	regular fees from July 07, 2025
DGZ MEMBERS
Regular (academia)	410 EUR	470 EUR
Students *	295 EUR	355 EUR
Industry/others	520 EUR	620 EUR
NON DGZ-MEMBERS
Regular (academia)	490 EUR	550 EUR
Students *	375 EUR	435 EUR
Industry/others	620 EUR	720 EUR

* with confirmation of enrollment

A letter of support for visa application will be issued upon request, after payment of the registration fee is confirmed.

 

Abstract submission

Abstracts can be submitted either at the time of initial registration or at a later date. Please make sure to check the abstract submission deadline in the sidebar. Please indicate whether your abstract should be considered for a short talk or poster presentation during submission. To submit your abstract, please use the registration portal.

For any questions regarding abstract submission, please contact.

 

Reimbursement and cancelations

Cancellations can be made until May 31, 2025, and must be submitted in writing to conference email. A handling fee of 30 EUR will apply to each cancellation. After this date, registrations are non-refundable. A handling fee of 20 EUR will apply for name changes. No refunds will be issued in the event of a no-show or early departure.

Reimbursements will be processed after the meeting, once the reimbursement form and original receipts are received.

 

Venue address

The conference will take place at the conference center of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) main building.

Address: Communication Center, DKFZ, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

How to find us: please visit here

Campus map/DKFZ location: please check here or here.

For updated information on public transport, please visit RNV

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee.

Limited number of rooms have been reserved for participants in the hotels listed below. For reservations, please visit here.

 

Travel information

Travel green!
The Company of Biologists is supporting sustainable conferencing by rewarding the longest train journey. Keep your train ticket and join our initiative to make conferences greener! Submit your ticket by Tuesday, October 28, noon.

Trains and long-distance buses:

Express or regional trains as well as long-distance busses connect Heidelberg main train station (Hauptbahnhof) to the majority of German cities or European countries.

To purchase a train ticket please visit here

To purchase a bus ticket please visit busradar or flixbus.

Airports:

Frankfurt international airport (FRA) is the closest airport to Heidelberg with convenient transfer options.

The transfer from Frankfurt international airport to Heidelberg takes around 45-60 min and can be done by train (please choose station “Frankfurt am Main Flughafen Fernbahnhof” or using shuttle services such as:

Frankfurt airport shuttle bus

TLS airport shuttle transfer

TRN airport transfer

Taxi Weinmann 

Stuttgart airport (STR) is about 125 Km away from Heidelberg and transfer options are available by train or bus.

Car:

For information on how to reach the DKFZ by car, please check here.

Please note that parking spaces are limited on campus. The closest public parking garage is located 5–8 minutes walking distance from the DKFZ main building:

P25/Mathematikon (Berliner Straße 41-49, 69120 Heidelberg). For more information, please visit here.

 

Additional information

Catering:

Meals and coffee breaks are included in the registration fee. Vegetarian meals will be provided, including vegan and gluten-free options. Please let us know well in advance of any other dietary requirement.

Drinks and food are not allowed in the auditorium.

Printing

If you require printing your boarding pass or train tickets, please send your file to conference email address and collect the print-outs at the registration desk.

Certificate of participation

Certificates of participation will be uploaded in the registration portal after the meeting.

Sightseeing

For sightseeing activities in Heidelberg, please visit here.

 

 

Sponsors

We are grateful to our sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities
We offer a range of event sponsorship opportunities, allowing you to choose a predefined sponsorship package or customize individual options to fit your budget.

If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please contact us at dgz2025conference@cos.uni-heidelberg.de.