Developmental regulation: from molecular to ecological niches
A series of “Conférences Jacques Monod” has been held since 2012 to address current questions in developmental biology. The program of the conference in 2026 (May 18-22th) will focus on the “niche concept” at diverse scales and its impact on developmental biology, representing the conceptual and technical expansion of the field towards metabolism and environmental science.
While the concept of a “niche” originally derives from ecology and has evolved extensively over time, it can also apply more broadly across scales of development. Indeed, the development of an organism requires coordination with the extrinsic environment as well as exquisite regulation between cells and tissues, necessitating communication in space and time between cells over short and long distances- representing distinct “niches”.
In the 2026 meeting, the niche concept at different levels and its applications to developmental biology will be explored while also discussing broad and emerging topics in developmental biology, through the exploration of six subthemes:
- Ecological and environmental niche control of development.
- Stem cells and regenerative niches.
- Temporal and tissue-level niches.
- Signalling and gene regulatory networks for patterned fate choices.
- Mechanical niches, morphogenesis, and cell-cell-interactions.
- Metabolites, metabolism, and physiology.
Outstanding invited speakers on these six topics will be complemented by the participation of more junior scientists in selected oral presentations chosen from abstracts as well as flash-talks by poster presenters (post-docs and PhD students). Flash-talks will provide each speaker 5 minutes to describe their key findings with 3 slides and allow the presenter to advertise their upcoming poster. These very short talks are an excellent occasion for young students and postdocs to feature their work and to present in front of an elite group of experts in the field. We will also strongly encourage young scientists to present their work in the form of posters, which have been extremely lively and dynamic at past meetings.
Chairperson
Allison Bardin
Institut Curie UMR 3215 /U934, 26, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
Phone : +33156246562
E-mail : Allison.bardin@gmail.com
Vice-chairperson
Lionel Christiaen
University of Bergen Michael Sars Centre, High Technology Centre, 5067 Bergen, Norway
Phone : +4792208816
E-mail : lionel.christiaen@uib.no
(provisional titles)
Allison Bardin (Insititut Curie, Paris, France)
Niche constraints on an adult organ
Christian Braendle (iBV, France)
Natural variation in egg laying behavior and the emergence of obligate viviparity in nematodes
Marianne Bronner (California Institute of Technology, US)
Gene regulatory subcircuits underlying neural crest identity along the body axis
Clotilde Cadart (Institut Cochin, France)
Energetics of polyploid Xenopus embryo development
Chen-Hui Chen (ICOB at Academia Sinica, Taiwan)
What can we learn from monitoring every single cell in a living fish?
Lionel Christiaen (University of Bergen, Norway)
From deterministic to regulative ascidian development in a changing ocean
Susana Coelho (Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany)
Molecular Regulation of Development in Brown Algae
Julia Cordero (University of Glasgow, UK)
Cellular diversity and multi-tissue interactions regulate plasticity in the regenerating intestine
Justin Crocker (EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany)
Drosophila in Context: evolution, toxins, and behaviour
Joaquina Delás (University College London, UK)
Cis-regulatory strategies for cell fate choice: spatial, temporal and synthetic patterning in the vertebrate neural tube
Claude Desplan (Department of Biology at NYU, US)
1 receptor gene per neuron
Edouard Hannezo (Institute of Science and Technology, Austria)
Morphogenetic robustness via mechanochemical feedbacks
Pedro Hernandez (Insititut Curie, France)
Cytokine–microbiota crosstalk in early-life gut homeostasis: insights from zebrafish
Yen-Ping Hsueh (Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany)
Predator-prey interactions between carnivorous fungi and nematodes across scales
Vincent Laudet (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan)
Eco-Evo-Devo of anemonefish pigmentation
Pierre-François Lenne (IBDM, France)
Mechanical control of body axis formation
François Leulier (IGFL, CNRS/ENS de Lyon, France)
Inter-Organ Signalling during Adaptive Growth
Deirdre Lyons (University of California, San Diego, US)
Asymmetric mRNA partition mediated embryonic patterning in spiralian development revealed by spatial transcriptomics
Marie Manceau (CIRB, College de France, France)
Developmental bases of colour pattern implementation in birds
Roberto Mayor (University College London, UK)
United in Motion: Integrating Chemistry and Mechanics in Collective Cell Migration
Stéphane Noselli (iBV, France)
Brain lateralization in Drosophila
François Parcy (CNRS, France)
The making of flowers : function and evolution of floral regulatory complexes
Diana Pinheiro (IMP, Austria)
Connecting the dots: uncovering the mechanisms linking fate and shape in vertebrate gastrulation
Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University, Cambridge, US)
A developmental perspective on regeneration and stem cells
Notification of acceptance or rejection for the submitted paper will be intimated within 15 working days of abstract submission deadline. If your abstract is accepted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with instructions for joining the meeting.