The Michael Sars Centre and CBU put biology in a changing environment in the spotlight

On June 4, 2026, 90 participants gathered at Media City Bergen for a special edition of the Michael Sars Symposium co-organized with the Computational Biology Unit (CBU) at the University of Bergen. The meeting’s overarching theme, ‘Living systems in a variable ocean’, allowed space for a wide variety of research topics to be presented. Speakers joined in from various departments at the University of Bergen and from national and international institutions, creating extensive networking opportunities. Prof. Rein Aasland joined in from the University of Oslo to give the opening remarks.

Prof. Rein Aasland opened the Symposium with a short history of discoveries in the field of molecular biology.

Foto/ill.:

Marion Lebouvier

“Attending the symposium was a fantastic opportunity to hear about the state-of-the-art in two different complementary subjects, and on a broader scale than academic conferences usually present”, shared Lauren Kuffler, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Mathematics and at CBU, and session chair during the event. “This kind of experience is one of the things that I love about working in science, when people come together to pool their talents and learn from each other.”

Presenters were encouraged to introduce their work with a diverse audience in mind, making for an inclusive experience for all attendees. From the broad concept of phenotype in a changing environment to the modeling of gene expression at the cellular level, the Symposium’s ten invited speakers sparked engaged discussions in the audience. “It was an excellent meeting that covered a wide range of topics and fields, from molecules to complex and fascinating non-model organisms. It was truly inspiring to see how colleagues from different fields approach complex questions, as well as their concepts and methodologies”, said speaker Anne-Claude Gavin, professor at the University of Geneva. After the talks, participants took advantage of an informal poster session and reception to further exchange with colleagues.

Attendees took advantages of the coffee breaks reception to network.

Foto/ill.:

Marion Lebouvier

The event was organized jointly by Nathalie Reuter, Director of the Computational Biology Unit, and Lionel Christiaen, Director of the Michael Sars Centre, with support from the institutes’ administrative teams. Next year’s Symposium will take place on June 3, 2027 – save the date!