AI and computational biology
9-10 December 2026, Leuven, Belgium
Early bird deadline: 28 October
AI and computational biology
AI and computational biology
Keep me postedAdd to calendar
Stein Aerts
Dmitry Kobak
Valeriya Malysheva
Yves Moreau
Joana Pereira
Anastassia Vorobieva
Alexander Botzki
Lisa Thyrion
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into life sciences research is revolutionizing our understanding of biological systems. It is therefore with great excitement that VIB introduces AI and computational biology as the newest chapter in the conference series, building on the success of the Applied Bioinformatics in Life Sciences series, which has brought together leading experts since 2016 to advance the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology.
A diverse line-up of internationally recognized speakers will showcase the latest developments and perspectives on the pivotal role of AI in unveiling the complexity of living systems. The conference will span four key themes, reflecting the breadth and depth of AI-powered research in biology:
- Genome to function
- Cell to system
- Disease modeling
- Innovation in machine learning
Join us in picturesque Leuven for a conference featuring engaging discussions and networking opportunities designed to spark new collaborations and innovative approaches to life sciences research. Whether you are an academic or an industry professional, the event will offer stimulating insights and takeaways on the impact of AI in biology.
Host City: Leuven
Want to know more about the host city of this conference? Find out where the best restaurants, bars, or last-minute print shops are. Check the city page here.
Confirmed speakers
Peter Robinson
Peter Robinson
Berlin Institute of Health@Charité Universitätsmedizin; Medical Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, DE
Program
Day 1 - Wednesday, 09 December, 2026
08:20
08:50
Registration & welcome coffee
08:50
09:00
Welcome words
09:00
12:15
Session 1: Cell to system
09:00
09:30
Mapping the Human Body One Cell at a Time
Sarah Teichmann
University of Cambridge, UK
Keynote speaker
09:30
10:00
Algorithms for spatial transcriptomics: Exploring T– epithelial interactions in the inflamed gut
Nir Yosef
Weizmann Institute of Science, IL
10:00
10:30
Dynamic gene-regulatory models of development and disease
Jonas Fleck
Roche Institute of Human Biology, CH
10:30
10:45
Presenter TBA
-
Selected from abstracts
10:45
11:20
Coffee break
11:20
11:50
Bottom-up models for reductionistic decoding of genomic transformers
Amos Tanay
Weizmann Institute of Science, IL
11:50
12:05
Presenter TBA
-
Selected from abstracts
12:05
12:20
Presenter TBA
-
Selected from abstracts
12:20
13:20
Lunch
13:20
14:20
Poster session 1
14:20
17:55
Session 2: Genome to function
14:20
14:50
OpenFold3: Biomolecular structure prediction at the frontier
Mohammed AlQuraishi
Columbia University, US
14:50
15:20
Decoding the genome with foundation models
Bernardo Pereira de Almeida
InstaDeep, FR
15:20
15:50
ARCTIC: A codon language model to study eukaryotic gene regulation
Susanne Bornelöv
University of Cambridge, UK
15:50
16:05
Presenter TBA
-
Sponsored talk
16:05
16:35
Coffee break
16:35
16:50
Presenter TBA
-
Selected from abstracts
16:50
17:20
A unified computational and experimental pipeline for discovering enzymes with desired functions
Julia Reisenbauer
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, AT
17:20
17:50
Samuel Sledzieski
Flatiron Institute Center for Computational Biology, US
18:20
19:10
Reception
19:10
20:00
Social activity
20:00
22:30
Conference dinner
Tickets for the dinner can be purchased separately.
Day 2 - Thursday, 10 December, 2026
08:30
09:00
Welcome coffee
09:00
12:35
Session 3: Innovation in machine learning - Part I
09:00
09:30
Simulation-based machine learning: linking mechanistic models to data
Jakob Macke
ELLIS Institute Tübingen & University of Tübingen, DE
Keynote speaker
09:30
10:00
Learning visual phenotypes
Anna Kreshuk
EMBL, DE
10:00
10:30
Eric Xing
Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, AE
10:30
10:45
Presenter TBA
-
Selected from abstracts
10:45
10:50
Presenter TBA
-
Sponsored talk
10:50
11:20
Coffee break
11:20
11:50
Beyond Interpolation: Machine Learning for Discovery in Computational Biology
Jan Funke
Fondazione Human Technopole, IT
11:50
12:20
Pedro Gonçalves
VIB Center for AI and Computational Biology & KU Leuven, BE
12:20
12:35
Advancing AI-enabled Research in Europe through SCIANCE
Maria Mirza
Euro-BioImaging ERIC, DE
12:35
13:35
Lunch
13:35
14:35
Poster session 2
14:35
15:50
Session 4: Innovation in machine learning - Part II
14:35
15:05
Advancing regulatory variant effect prediction with AlphaGenome
Vincent Dutordoir
Google DeepMind, UK
15:05
15:35
Beyond the hype: How can generative AI help biomedical research?
Juliette Griffié
Stockholm University & SciLifeLab, SE
15:35
15:50
Presenter TBA
-
Selected from abstracts
15:50
16:20
Coffee break
16:20
17:50
Session 5: Disease modeling
16:20
16:50
Cancer-specific foundation models
Valentina Boeva
ETH Zurich, CH
16:50
17:20
Measuring biology from patient molecular data with mechanistic AI
Andrea Sottoriva
Human Technopole, IT
17:20
17:50
Human Phenotype Ontology, GA4GH Phenopacket Schema, and Phenotype-Driven AI
Peter Robinson
Berlin Institute of Health@Charité Universitätsmedizin; Medical Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, DE
17:50
18:00
Closing
Organizing committee
Stein Aerts
VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology, BE
Dmitry Kobak
VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology, BE
Valeriya Malysheva
VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, BE
Yves Moreau
KU Leuven ESAT-STADIUS, BE
Joana Pereira
VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology, BE
Anastassia Vorobieva
VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, BE; VIB.AI, BE
Alexander Botzki
VIB Training & Conferences, BE
Lisa Thyrion
VIB Training & Conferences, BE
Abstracts
Poster information
The format for your poster should be: A0 (841 x 1189 mm / 33.1 x 46.8 in), portrait orientation. All accepted poster submissions will have a chance to win the AIandCompBio26 Poster Prize!
The full list of abstracts will be available on 25-11-2026 until 10-03-2027
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
Attendees
The full list of attendees will be available on 25-11-2026 until 10-03-2027
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
