Join us for a cutting-edge joint symposium between WashU and the University of Warwick (UK) explores the science of self-organization, a hallmark of life itself. The program begins with self-organization in cell and developmental biology, examining how complex biological patterns and structures emerge during growth and differentiation. Building on these foundational principles, the symposium then explores how disruptions in self-organizing processes contribute to disease, highlighting translational perspectives that connect fundamental biology to pathophysiology. The program then broadens to consider self-organization across scales, focusing on molecular self-assembly and the physical principles that drive biological order. Finally, the symposium will address diagnostic and therapeutic strategies related to self-organizing systems, bringing together scientific and clinical perspectives to explore how understanding these organizing principles may inform new approaches to disease detection and treatment.
The WashU – University of Warwick Joint Symposium was made possible with support from WashU Global, Office of the Provost, the ‘Here & Next’ strategic plan, Center for Reproductive Health Sciences (CRepHS), and Center for Biomolecular Condensate.
March 30 – March 31, 2026
Great Room B, Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC), WashU Medicine
8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Day 1 – Monday, March 30
- Sarah England, Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine; Director, Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, WashU Medicine
This session addresses how self-organization emerges at the cellular and developmental levels, illuminating the formation of complex patterns and structures during growth and differentiation.
Moderator: Lilianna Solnica-Krezel, Alan A and Edith L Wolff Distinguished Professor, Developmental Biology, WashU Medicine
Speaker:
- Karuna Sampath, Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School (Title: “Investigating membrane and cytoskeletal remodelling during extra-embryonic yolk syncytial layer formation”)
- Erik Griffin, Life Sciences, University of Warwick (Title: “Patterning the cytoplasm of the C. elegans embryo”)
- Thorold Theunissen, Developmental Biology, WashU Medicine
- Jennifer Wang, Biology, Arts & Sciences, WashU
This session highlights how disruptions in self-organization contribute to disease, bringing a translational and pathophysiological perspective to the symposium.
Moderator: Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology & Department of Pathology & Immunology; Associate Director, Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, WashU Medicine
Speaker:
- Erin Greaves, Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School (joining virtually)
- Aleksandra Byrska,Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School (Title: “Errors at the start of human life: Harm, adaptation, or both?”)
- Polina Lishko, Cell Biology & Physiology, WashU Medicine
- Farners Amargant i Riera, Obstetrics & Gynecology, WashUMedicine
Day 2 – Tuesday, March 31
- Mohan Balasubramanian, Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School
This session will focus on the latest advances in how molecules self-assemble and drive biological order. It will explore how principles from soft matter physics help decode near and far- from -equilibrium self-organization of biological systems.
Moderator: Mohan Balasubramanian, Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School
Speaker:
- Ann Dixon, Chemistry, University of Warwick (Title: “Self-organisation in membrane bilayers”)
- Satyajit Mayor, Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School
- Rohit Pappu, Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, WashU
- Xuehua Zhong, Biology, Arts & Sciences, WashU
This session will discuss diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to identify physiological and pathophysiological self-organization bringing scientific and clinical insights for the symposium participants.
Moderator: Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology & Department of Pathology & Immunology; Associate Director, Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, WashU Medicine
Speaker:
- Jan Brosens, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Warwick Medical School (joining virtually, Title: “Endometrial decidual reaction in reproductive failure.”)
- Yong Wang, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering, WashU Medicine(Title: “Self-Organization of the uterus: From molecular rules to clinical order”)
- Nathaniel Huebsch, Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, WashU
Speaker:
- Shweta Bhagwat, Obstetrics & Gynecology, WashU Medicine (Title: “From infection to infertility: How bacterial vaginosis toxins disrupt sperm function”)
- Yifan Dai, Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, WashU (Title: “The electrochemical functions of biomolecular condensates”)
- Juan Ferreira, Obstetrics & Gynecology, WashU Medicine (Title: “From uterine quiescence to milk ejection: Conserved control of reproductive tissue contractility by the SLO2.1 potassium channel”)
- Nicole Gilbert, Molecular Microbiology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, WashU Medicine (Title: “Host-microbe antagonism and synergy in the female urogenital tract”)
- Alex Holehouse, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
- Shankar Mukherji, Physics, Arts & Sciences, WashU
- Kiersten Ruff, Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, WashU (Title: “Decoding sequence-function relationships using molecular grammars of IDRs”)
- Kristine Wylie, Pediatrics, WashU Medicine