This interdisciplinary workshop will bring together researchers at the interface of physics and biology. The main goal is to combine non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, soft matter, active matter physics to ask how development and regeneration of living systems emerge from new phases of matter that are created by the collective behaviour of cells.

The intersection of biology and physics is revealing profound questions about how living systems—operating far from equilibrium—organize, move, and develop. Active matter physics, merging non-equilibrium mechanics, soft matter, and hydrodynamics, seeks to explain how collective cellular behavior gives rise to development and regeneration in organisms.

This workshop explores three themes:

• Phases of active matter in cellular systems.
• Rheology of living tissues, linking cellular activity to viscoelasticity in processes like morphogenesis and cancer.
• Mechano-chemical feedback driving self-organization and robust pattern formation.

The goal is to bridge experimental and theoretical approaches for a unified framework of collective cellular function.

The primary application deadline for this workshop, including both attendance and submission of contributed talks is this Friday, 19 June.

Topics include

• Active matter
• Collective cell behavior
• Tissue mechanics
• Mechano-chemical feedback
• Out-of-equilibrium systems
• Phase transitions in living systems
• Jamming and unjamming
• Morphogenesis
• Self-organization
• Pattern formation
• Hydrodynamics of active systems

Confirmed invited speakers

Fridtjof Brauns (DE)
Otger Campàs (DE)
Guillaume Charras (UK)
Hélène Delanoë-Ayari (FR)
Amin Doostmohammadi (DK)
Natalie Dye (SG)
Yoël Forterre (FR)
François Graner (FR)
Edouard Hannezo (AT)
Kinneret Keren (IL)
Sangwoo Kim (CH)
Matej Krajnc (SI)
Léa-Laetitia Pontani (FR)
Jan Rozman (SI)
Jean-François Rupprecht (FR)
Guillaume Salbreux (CH)
Rastko Sknepnek (UK)
Peter Sollich (DE)
Sham Tlili (FR)
Xavier Trepat (ES)

Hoping to see many of you in Dresden,

Best regards,
Marko Popovic
Silke Henkes
Matthias Merkel