Dear Colleagues,
We are excited to invite you to join us for the Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting Biophysics of Membrane Reactions in the Brain to be held in Bucharest, Romania, May 11-14, 2026.
This highly interdisciplinary Thematic Meeting brings together basic science with cutting edge applications to study neurological disorders, brain disease, and cell signalling pathways implicated in drug addiction. The central theme of the meeting is the study of membrane reactions which are part of cellular signalling pathways implicated in brain physiology and disease. The key topics that we will address in the meeting include (i) the dynamic assembly and interactions of signalling complexes at membrane interfaces of the brain; (ii) transport of cargo within cells by motor proteins; (iii) transport of therapeutic cargo to cells; (iv) optogenetics and photo-pharmacology applications to study neurological disorders; (v) neuronal circuits and how these respond to environmental stress. (vi) fundamental aspects of membranes and membrane reactions, from the experimental and computational perspectives. (vii) cellular signalling pathways of membrane-bound receptor kinases and G-Protein Coupled Receptors.
Neurological disorders, brain disease, and drug addiction, inflict tremendous personal suffering and financial costs. The highly complex cellular signaling pathways involved in these conditions involve multiple protein partners and other cellular components that interact with each other, and studies of model systems that focus on isolated or reduced components may provide somewhat limited information for how the signaling complex assembles and function. The timely Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting Biophysics of Membrane Reactions in the Brain brings together biologists, chemists, physicists, computational scientists, who will address cutting-edge advances in experimental and computational approaches that bring within reach the development of realistic models of entire cellular signaling pathways.
Visit the website for the program overview and the list of speakers. Please share this information with colleagues who might be interested in attending. Please note that the deadline to submit an abstract is February 9, 2026. Abstract submission is free and short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts.
We look forward to welcoming you in May 2026 at the University of Bucharest’s University House (Casa Universitarilor) for this exciting Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting.
Conference Co-Organizers:
Ana-Nicoleta Bondar, University of Bucharest, Romania
Kumiko Hayashi, University of Tokyo, Japan
Kalina Hristova, Johns Hopkins University, USA