The 2026 edition of the LSC Meeting, “Breakpoints across Biological Systems”, aims to discuss how instabilities arise and what are the causes of breakpoints at different scales in biological systems (including at the level of cultural evolution in human societies). This topic is heavily influenced by the prospects the entire planet and mankind are facing in front of a rapidly changing environment. Taking the topic in a broader sense, examples of breakpoints that we will discuss include, but are not limited to, pathological events like those observed in heart failure or ecological and social ones when biological niches and societies collapse, but will also include creative or physiological catastrophe events, such as those observed at the root of major evolutionary transitions or in many developmental processes.
The scope of this in-person 4 day-long meeting is to bring together scientists from the LSC Committee with invited experts and the IHES scientists to present the latest progress in understanding breakpoints as a multifaceted concept and its many implications on different aspects of life and thus fueling discussions, brainstorm and explore alternative paths towards a better understanding of this concept. The first day will focus particularly on the heart: cardiac death, arrhythmias, and fibrosis patterns.
Stay in touch by subscribing to our mailing list.
INVITED SPEAKERS:
CARDIO DAY (June 22nd):
Speakers:
- Olivier Bernus, Mechanisms underlying Cardiac Arrhythmias, University of Bordeaux & IHU Liryc
- Michel Haïssaguerre, Abnormalities of Heart Rhythm, Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut–Lévèque
Discussants:
- Guillaume Fleury, Cardiovascular Pathologies, American Hospital of Paris
- Alexander Panfilov, Cardiac Modelling, Ghent University
- Daniel Pijnappels, Cardiac Arrhythmias, Leiden University Medical Center
- Hubert Saleur, Statistical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics (FR) & University of Southern California
GENERAL MEETING:
- Uri Alon, Design Principles in Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science
- Nathalie Balaban, Antibiotic Resistance, The Hebrew University in Jerusalem
- Daniel Kondor, Social Complexity & Collapse, Complexity Science Hub
- Athanasios Litsios, Functional Genomics, University of Toronto
- Jenny Reddish, Social Complexity & Collapse, Complexity Science Hub
- Manuel Thery, Cytoskeleton and Morphogenesis, CEA / ESPCI, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
More details in the Profiles sections.
ORGANIZERS:
- Yves Barral (ETH Zurich)
- Mikhail Gromov (IHES/U. Paris-Saclay & NYU)
- Bob Penner (IHES/U. Paris-Saclay & UCLA)
- Eugene Koonin (NIH)
- Yann LeCun (AMI Labs & NYU)
- Nicolas Minc (U. Paris Cité/CNRS)
- Pierre-Yves Oudeyer (INRIA Bordeaux)
- Yukiko Yamashita (MIT)
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION: Grazia Gonella, ETH Zurich
CONTACT: lsc@biol.ethz.ch