Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Chemical Reaction Networks: from Cell Metabolism to Design Principles for Synthetic Life

07 - 18 September 2026

Daniel Maria Busiello, David Lacoste, Tetsuya J. Kobayashi, Petra Schwille, Ulrich Gerland

Week 1
Mon 07/09/2026
Time Session
9:00 - 10:45

Talk "Selection mechanics and energetic constraints in non-equilibrium biological systems"

Daniel Maria Busiello

10:45 - 12:00

Discussion

12:00 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Discussion

16:00 - 19:00

Discussion

Tue 08/09/2026
Time Session
9:00 - 10:45

Morning Talk

Kerstin Göpfrich

10:45 - 11:15

Discussion

11:15 - 12:00

Talk "Compositional memory matters for early molecular systems"

Barnabe Ledoux

12:00 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Spatial proofreading: exploiting transport and nonequilibrium to enhance molecular specificity

Ramin Golestanian

16:00 - 19:00

Talk "First-Principles Chemical Reaction Network Calculation of the Butlerov (formose) Reaction""

Daniele Dondi, Dhanalakshmi Vadivel

Wed 09/09/2026
Time Session
9:00 - 10:45

Thermodynamics of non-equilibrium copying - the cost of creating, and maintaining, an extraordinarily far-from equilibrium state

Thomas Ouldridge

Ouldridge_Abstract.pdf

10:45 - 11:15

Discussion

11:15 - 12:00

TBD

12:00 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Design principles for emergent evolutionary properties in compartmentalized autocatalytic systems

Phillippe Nghe

Nghe_abstract.pdf

16:00 - 17:00

Talk "Universal features of autocatalysis"

David Lacoste

17:00 - 19:00

Social Event "Pizza"

Thu 10/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

Towards a thermodynamic theory of microbial ecosystems

Akshit Goyal

Goyal_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 11:15

Discussion

11:15 - 12:00

Talk

Giampaolo Folena

12:00 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Afternoon Talk

Wolfram Liebermeister

16:00 - 19:00

Talk

Matteo Sireci

Fri 11/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

Information-Carrying Heteropolymers: From Evolutionary Learning to the Origin of Life

Alexei Tkachenko

Tkachenko_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 11:15

Discussion

11:15 - 12:00

TBD

12:00 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Discussion

16:00 - 19:00

Discussion

Week 2
Mon 14/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

Thermodynamics of Chemical Reaction Networks: From Self-Organization to Metabolic Gears

Massimiliano Esposito

Esposito_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 11:30

Discussion

11:30 - 12:15

Talk

Shiling Liang

12:15 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Experimental verification of the compositional and structural spaces by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, and its application to inseparable supermixtures

Norbert Hertkorn

Hertkorn_abstract.pdf

16:00 - 19:00

TBD

Tue 15/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

The Role of Stochasticity in Feedback Regulation of Biological Processes

Srabanti Chaudhury

Chaudhury_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 12:15

Physics of bacterial DNA replication

Simone Pigolotti

Pigolotti_Abstract.pdf

12:15 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Understanding the molecular control of microbial growth: from genome-scale metabolic networks to chemical reaction networks

Delphine Ropers

Ropers_Abstract.pdf

16:00 - 19:00

TBD

Wed 16/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

Thermodynamic Variational Structure and Optimal Control of Chemical Reaction Networks

Tetsuya J. Kobayashi

TJKobayashi_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 11:30

Discussion

11:30 - 12:15

TBD

12:15 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 16:00

Afternoon Talk

Francesco Piazza

Piazza_Abstract.pdf

16:00 - 19:00

TBD

Thu 17/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

Cell-free synthetic biology for studying self-organization across scales

Henrike Niederholtmeyer

Niederholtmeyer_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 11:30

Discussion

11:30 - 12:15

TBD

12:15 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 19:00

Lab visit

Fri 18/09/2026
Time Session
9:30 - 11:00

Energetics of Biological Systems

Jonathan Rodenfels

Rodenfels_Abstract.pdf

11:00 - 11:30

Discussion

11:30 - 12:15

TBD

12:15 - 14:15

Lunch

14:15 - 19:00

Discussion

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