Exploring evolution across scales at the Michael Sars Symposium 2025

The Michael Sars Symposium 2025: Decoding signals and unveiling architectures, from molecules to organisms, welcomed 90 participants to Media City Bergen on June 6. Speakers joined in locally from the Centre for Deep Sea Research at the University of Bergen, nationally from the Norwegian Centre for Molecular Biosciences and Medicine at the University of Oslo, and internationally from Europe, the US and Japan.

Ståle Ellingsen, head of the Department of Biological Sciences at UiB, opened the symposium by highlighting the importance of local scientific events in strengthening connections within UiB and with the broader research community.

Ståle Ellingsen, head of the Department of Biological Sciences at UiB, gave the opening remarks at the Symposium.

Photo:

Marion Lebouvier

The program featured ten talks spanning topics from novel deep-sea enzymes, the evolution of body plans and neurotransmitter receptors and evolutionary cell biology in algae and archaea. The diverse approaches and model systems were a highlight for both attendees and speakers. “I was inspired by the excellent Michael Sars Symposium 2025 that covered diverse topics including developmental biology, evolution, protein design, structural biology and biophysics of membrane proteins, across scales, and all within a single day,” said Karin Kühnel, editor-in-chief at Cell Press and a member of the audience. “Everything came together nicely in the great talks from local and international speakers at different career stages.”

EMBL group leader Georgia Rapti answered questions from the audience after her talk on the in vivo assembly of nervous system architectures.

Photo:

Marion Lebouvier

Ryan Hibbs, professor at UC San Diego and speaker at the symposium, echoed the sentiment: “The 2025 Michael Sars Symposium presented the broadest range of topics I’ve seen at a one-day meeting, all cohesively linked by shared interests in evolutionary biology.”

Throughout the day, participants had the opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn more about ongoing research at the Michael Sars Centre through a mini-poster session and a pop-up exhibit featuring the Centre’s marine model organisms. Speakers also toured the Centre’s laboratories and facilities, engaging with early career researchers during the visit.

This year’s event was organized by group leaders Tim Lynagh and Pawel Burkhardt, with the support of the Centre’s administrative and technical staff. Planning for the next edition is already underway – more information coming very soon!