Program     Registration 

Program

 

Wednesday, 9 September 2026
11:00 - 11:30
Axon 1/2
Opening
GSCN Conference 2026
11:00 - 11:10 Welcome to Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
Holger Gerhardt, Deputy Director Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
11:10 - 11:20 Welcome note from the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)
Christopher Baum, Chair of the BIH Board of Directors
11:20 - 11:30 Opening of GSCN Conference 2026
Heiko Lickert, President GSCN
11:30 - 12:15
Axon 1/2
Keynote lecture I
K1 -  Stem cells and the niche in myeloid blood cancer
Paresh Vyas, University of Oxford, UK
Chair: Claudia Waskow
12:15 - 13:00
Axon 1/2
Keynote lecture II
K2 - Endoderm organogenesis from human pluripotent stem cells: some assembly required
James M. Wells, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, USA 
Chair: Mina Gouti
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch break / Industry exhibition               supported by Countstar
14:30 - 16:00 Concurrent scientific working group session I
14:30 - 16:00
Axon 1
Pluripotency, differentiation & PSC-derived models I
                                                                 supported by ACROBiosystems
Chairs: Micha Drukker & Ralf Jauch
14:30 - 15:00 T01 - Super-SOX-mediated generation of pluripotent stem cells with enhanced developmental potential
Hans Schöler, Max Planck Institute, Münster
15:00 - 15:15 T02 - Mosaic gastruloids reveal a temporal restriction for developmental cell competition
Joshua Frenster, University of Freiburg
15:15 - 15:30 T03 - HERVHLin coordinates LIN28A/let-7 activity to preserve genome stability during early human development
Zsuzsanna Izsvak, Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
15:30 - 15:45 T04 - HERVH-derived boundary elements shape 3D genome architecture in eFORM human pluripotent stem cells
Saba Mottaghinia, Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
15:45 - 16:00 T05 - A multi-individual iPSC resource from five non-human primate species for comparative biology and in vitro developmental studies
Vera Zywitza, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin
14:30 - 16:00
Axon 2
Basic, translational & applied hematopoiesis
Chairs: Simon Haas & Mick Milsom 
14:30 - 15:00 T06 - Metabolic regulation of aged hematopoietic stem and multipotent progenitor cells
Nina Cabezas-Wallscheid, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
15:00 - 15:15 T07 - The development of simultaneous single-cell tRNA and mRNA profiling reveals dynamic tRNA programs in human hematopoiesis
Marius Külp, Goethe University, Frankfurt
15:15 - 15:30 T08 - Identification of a deeply dormant CD150neg hematopoietic stem cell population
Dawn Shuiping Lin, German Cancer Research Center (DLFZ), Heidelberg
15:30 - 15:45 T09 - Multiscale biological interactions define clinical trajectories in acute myeloid leukemia
Jan Barinka, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité/Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
15:45 - 16:00 T10 - Molecular characterization and functional interrogation of dormant cancer stem cells in JAK2V617F-driven myeloproliferative neoplasms
Elif Saf, German Cancer Research Center (DLFZ), Heidelberg
14:30 - 16:00
Dendrit 2
Computational stem cell biology & systems biology
Chairs: Ingmar Glauche & Carsten Marr 
14:30 - 15:00 T11 - Combining pooled single cell screens and deep learning to identify phenotypes driven by oncogenes
Nils Blüthgen, Humboldt University of Berlin
15:00 - 15:15 T12 - Molecular control of fate decision and state transitions decoded through sister-cell transcriptomics across biological systems and data modalities
Ida Büschel, Helmholtz Munich
15:15 - 15:30 T13 - Emergent cell-type order in epithelia: a hallmark of stem cell fate characteristics in homeostasis?
Philip Greulich, University of Southampton, UK
15:30 - 15:45 T14 - Epigenetic fidelity of hiPSC-derived T cell progenitors: Accurate remodeling and aberrant DNA methylation imprints
Marcel Finke, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité
15:45 - 16:00 T15 - SON maintains innate immune homeostasis in HSCs via splicing and retroelement control
Mariela Cortez Lopez, Helmholtz Munich
16:00 - 16:30 Break time / Industry exhibition         supported by R&D Systems™ by bio-techne
16:30 - 18:30
Haus 84
MDC.C:
- Foyer -
Mezzanine

 

Poster session I - Poster numbers P001 - P087               
                                                                    supported by Biomerieux
(with beverages)
Basic, translational, applied hematopoiesis (P001 – P011)
Computational stem cell biology (P012 – P016)
Stem cells in disease modeling & drug development (P017 – P059)
Stem cells in regenerative therapies (P060 – P087)

Note: posters P064 - P087 will be displayed in the MDC.C Foyer - Mezzanine

Even numbers: 16:30 - 17:30
Odd numbers: 17:30 - 18:30
18:30 -19:15
Axon 1
Keynote lecture III (on ELSA topics)
K3 - Highly efficient base editing at PCSK9 and normal development in human embryos
Stepan Jerabek, Columbia University, New York, USA
Chair: Tobias Cantz 
19:15 - 21:00
MDC Mensa
GSCN Get-together for all participants
Dinner buffet
  Top

 

Thursday, 10 September 2026

 
09:00 - 10:30 Concurrent scientific working group session II
09:00 - 10:30
Axon 1
Stem cells in regenerative therapies
                                           supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific
Chairs: Ludovic Vallier & Wolfgang Wagner
09:00 - 09:30 T16 - Human pluripotent stem cell therapies to the heart and beyond: current status and challenges
Robert Zweigerdt, Hannover Medical School (MHH)
09:30 - 09:45 T17 - Decoding neurovascular dysfunction in ADHD: Patient-specific iPSC-derived blood-brain barrier (BBB) models uncover hidden metabolic drivers beyond PARK2 genetics
Antje Appelt-Menzel, University Hospital Würzburg
09:45 - 10:00 T18 - “Heps in a Bag”, an engineered hepatic patch against acute liver failure
Fabian Bachinger, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité
10:00 - 10:15 T19 - Off-the-shelf immune-shielded iPSC-derived CAR γδ T cells as novel cell therapy to treat hepatocellular carcinoma
Stephanie Sontag, Evotec
10:15 - 10:30 T20 - Engineering basal cells to modulate epithelial-macrophage interactions in COPD
Lili Rusznyak, Helmholtz Munich
09:00 - 10:30
Axon 2
Stem cells in aging & disease
Chairs: Michael Rieger & Andreas Trumpp
 
09:00 - 09:30 T21 - Attenuation of stem cell aging to target aging-associated diseases
Hartmut Geiger, University Ulm
09:30 - 09:45 T22 - A human brain organoid model of ageing identifies chromatin-mediated control of transposable elements during neural ageing
Elisa Gabassi, University of Innsbruck, Austria
09:45 - 10:00 T23 - Extreme heterogeneity in hematologic aging is predominantly driven by stochastic variation, not by environmental nor genetic variation
Yiwen Zhang, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg
10:00 - 10:15 T24 - Ontogenetically distinct bone marrow macrophages regulate HSC integrity and megakaryocyte-biased expansion
Nina Henning, Leibniz Institute on Aging (FLI), Jena
10:15 - 10:30 T25 - Clonal trajectories of adult B-ALL in medullary sites and brain infiltration at single-cell resolution
Hui Ming Tew, University Hospital Frankfurt
09:00 - 10:30
Dendrit 2
Stem cells in disease modeling & drug development I
Chairs: Oliver Brüstle & Bert Klebl
09:00 - 09:30 T26 - Starting matters: quality and reproducibility in PSC-based research
Bert Klebl LDC Dortmund, Michael Peitz, University of Bonn, and Harald Stachelscheid, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH)
09:30 - 09:45 T27 - Microglia modulate neurodevelopmental responses to micro- and nanoplastic exposure in human brain organoids
Nelli Blank-Stein, University of Bonn
09:45 - 10:00 T28 - Dissecting the pathogenesis of Canavan disease using neuroglial organoids
Shreenidhi Vitchanthangal Prathivathibayankaram, University of Bonn
10:00 - 10:15 T29 - Patient-specific iPSC-derived sensory neurons as a gateway to individualized neuropathic pain modeling and treatment
Anika Neureiter, RWTH Aachen
10:15 - 10:30 T30 - In vitro/in silico reciprocal modeling of human neuronal networks reveals presynaptic vesicle dynamics underlying epileptiform activity
Jianbin Wen, University of Bonn
09:00 - 10:30
Dendrit 1
ELSA symposium
Panel: Stepan Jerabek, Moderation: Tobias Cantz
10:30 - 11:30 Break time / Industry exhibition        supported by Evotec SE
10:45 - 11:30
Axon 2
General Member Meeting
Executive Board & Managing Director
Heiko Lickert, Claudia Waskow, Sina Bartfeld, Michael Cross, Andreas Trumpp, Daniel Besser
11:30 - 13:00 Industry session: "Technologies from GSCN industry partners"
11:30 - 13:00
Axon 1
Main Supporter
Chairs: Michael Cross
11:35 - 12:05 C01 - Streamlining advanced in vitro models: Principles and tools for stem cell-derived NAMs
Katharina Debowski, STEMCELL Technologies Germany GmbH
12:05 - 12:25 C02 - Enabling the future of cell therapy: From discovery to the clinic
Beau le Roy​, ACROBiosystems
12:25 -12:45 C03 - Next-generation synthetic peptide growth factors/cytokines for regenerative medicine and cell therapy
Kazuki Shigematsu, PeptiGrowth Inc.
11:30 - 13:00
Axon 2
Supporter II
Chairs: Mareike Albert
11:35 - 11:50 C04 - Closing the analytical gap in cell therapy manufacturing: Automated at-line flow cytometry for QC from research to GMP release
Félix A. Montero-Julian, Biomerieux, Accellix
11:50 - 12:05 C05 - Integrating patient data and hiPSC microglia to model Alzheimer’s disease for drug discovery
Henrik Renner, Evotec SE
12:05 - 12:20 C06 - 3D bioreactor stem cell culture: Consistent from R&D to commercial manufacturing
Philipp Nold, Eppendorf SE
12:20 - 12:35 C07 - Characterizing human PSC-derived cerebral organoids across imaging, cytometry, and sequencing
Hannah Johannsen, Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG
12:35 - 12:55 C08 - Unlocking the future of gene-modified cell therapy with non-viral lipid-based transfection
Nadia Mazzaro, Sartorius
11:30 - 13:00
Dendrit 2
Supporter III
Chairs: Laura Steenpaß
11:35 - 11:50 C09 - Watching stem cells live: Continuous live-cell imaging in iPSC and organoid research
Ceren Güneş, Countstar
11:50 - 12:05 C10 - Interrogating inflammatory signaling in human iPSC-derived pancreatic ductal organoids with
a fully defined animal component-free matrix
Joel Cresser-Brown, bio-techne
12:05 - 12:20 C11 - Advancing human relevant models: From AI-driven automated culture to high-content imaging and machine learning analysis - an end-to-end solution for iPSC and organoid workflows
Robert Storm, Molecular Devices Germany GmbH
12:20 - 12:35 C12 - Building more relevant and reliable human iPSC-derived neuronal models with the new neurobasal PhysioPlus medium
David Kuniger, Thermo Fisher Scientific
12:35 - 12:55 C13 - Innovative approaches and tools for investigating stem cell-based tissue culture
Francesca Aglialoro, Corning Life Sciences
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch break / Industry exhibition
                                                   
supported by Corning Life Sciences
14:30 - 17:00
Axon 1/2
Presidential Symposium
Chair: Sina Bartfeld & Heiko Lickert
14:30 - 15:15 Presidential Invite
PS1 - Stem cells, embryos and embryo models: from science to ethical concerns
Janet Rossant, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada 
15:15 - 15:45 GSCN 2026 Young Investigator Award
PS2 - Building towards understanding: from embryo models to principles of development (& back)
Jesse Veenvliet, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden
15:45 - 16:30 K5 - Human intestinal organoids (HIOs) to study human intestine development, differentiation and disease
Jason Spence, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
16:30 - 17:00 GSCN Publication of the Year 2025 - 2026 Award
PS4 - Pluripotent stem-cell-based screening uncovers sildenafil as a mitochondrial disease therapy
Annika Zink, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf
17:00 - 17:30 Break time / Industry exhibition
                                                
supported by Molecular Devices GmbH
17:00 - 19:00
Haus 84
MDC.C:
- Foyer -
Mezzanine
Poster session II - Poster number P088 - P171
                                                                              supported by Eppendorf
(with beverages)
Pluripotency, differentiation & PSC-derived models (P088 – P135)
Stem cells in aging & disease (cancer stem cells) (P136 – P141)
Tissue-derived stem cells & organoids (P142 – P171
)​
Note: posters P150 - P171 will be displayed in the MDC.C foyer - Mezzanine.

Even numbers: 17:00 - 18:00
Odd numbers: 18:00  - 19:00
20:00 - 01:00 GSCN networking event for all participants (with bus transfer starting at 18:45)
                                                       supported by STEMCELL Technologies

The entrance fee is collected onsite.
Event location: 
 Café am Neuen See, Berlin

Friday, 11 September 2026

09:00 - 10:30 Concurrent scientific working group session III
09:00 - 10:30
Axon 1
Stem cells in disease modeling & drug development II
Chairs: Michael Peitz & Harald Stachelscheid
09:00 - 09:15 T31 - Cooperative GNAS–KRAS signaling shapes intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm phenotype and grade
Meike Hohwieler, University of Ulm
09:15 - 09:30 T32 - Unveiling the genetic landscape of UV-induced cellular responses: A CRISPR whole genome screening approach
Rafaela Ntzani, Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), Düsseldorf
09:30 - 09:45 T33 - ELAPOR2 controls pancreatic endocrine differentiation through cell cycle regulation
Osvaldo Rodrigues Pereira, Helmholtz Munich
09:45 - 10:00 T34 - Human iPSC models for safer drug discovery through predictive teratogenicity assessment
Bastian Zimmer, Evotec SE
10:00 - 10:15 T35 - Fabry iPSC-derived dorsal root ganglia (DRG) model
Ferdinand Teichert, University of Leiden, Netherlands
09:00 - 10:30
Axon 2
Tissue-derived stem cells & organoids
Chair: Mina Gouti  & Robert Zweigerdt
 
09:00 - 09:30 T36 - Intersectional genetics for precise manipulation and tracing of lung and skeletal muscle stem cells
Thomas Braun, Max Planck Institute Bad Nauheim
09:30 - 09:45 T37 - Characterization of naïve human neuroepithelial stem progenitor cells with unlimited self-renewal and broad neurogenic potential
Angeliki Spathopoulou, Leopold Franzens University Innsbruck, Austria
09:45 - 10:00 T38 - Lymphatic vasculature reprograms liver epithelium in assembloids and patients
Milad Rezvani, Charité University Medicine Berlin
10:00 - 10:15 T39 - Liver regeneration is programmed in the epigenetic landscape of cholangiocytes during fetal development
Irene Talon, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin
10:15 - 10:30 T40 - Liver regeneration during chronic liver disease: SOX4 and KLF6 play a role in liver cell plasticity
Marta Cagna, Berlin Institute of Health at Chaité
09:00 - 10:30
Dendrit 2
Pluripotency, differentiation & PSC-derived models II
Chairs: Sebastian Diecke & Stefan Liebau
09:00 - 09:15 T41 - PluripotencyScreen - A new epigenetic framework to quantify cell fate decisions of pluripotent stem cells
Vera Nischalke, RWTH Aachen
09:15 - 09:30 T42 - Modeling primate atherosclerosis using iPSC-derived macrophages
Eva Briem, LMU Munich
09:30 - 09:45 T43 - CTCF insulates gene expression to safeguard migratory myogenic progenitor cells
Sören Hüttner, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
09:45 - 10:00 T44 - Bioengineered muscle tubuloids: a human stem‑cell–based model of neuromuscular development and innervation
Anita Florkowska, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
10:00 - 10:15 T45 - Multi-omics profiling reveals MAGEL2-driven defects in human corticogenesis shared across Prader-Willi and Schaaf-Yang syndromes
Baran Enes Güler, University of Heidelberg 
10:30 - 11:00 Break time / Industry exhibition          supported by Sartorius
11:00 - 12:30 Concurrent strategic working group session
11:00 - 12:30
Axon 1
Clinical trials & regulatory affairs  
Chairs: Nina Graffmann & Zoltan Ivics
11:00 - 11:30 S1 - Driving multimodal AI in precision medicine
Ulrike Weirauch, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig
11:30 - 12:00 S2 - Translating regulatory expectations into context-specific genome-editing safety assessment
Sandra Ammann, University Hospital Freiburg
12:00 - 12:30 S3 - Off-target effects in CRISPR-Cas genome editing for human therapeutics: Progress and challenges
Giandomenico Turchiano, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
11:00 - 12:30
Axon 2
Technologies in stem cell research
Chairs: Sebastian Knöbel & Ole Pleß​
11:00 - 11:30 S4 - Polymeric gene delivery agents, an emerging class of RNA nanocarriers
Aidan Izuagbe, University of Würzburg
11:30 - 12:00 S5 - Engineering mutation‑specific and mutation‑agnostic gene therapy approaches and their delivery
Jefferey Truong, Helmholtz Munich
12:00 - 12:30 S6 - “Translational tool making” to develop and improve vector-based research tools
Leszek Lisowski, Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney, Australia
11:00 - 12:30
Dendrit 2
Career development
Chairs:  Pascal Röderer & Insa Schröder
Panel discussion with Hartmut Geiger, Kimberly Hartl and Sedona Murphy
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break time / Industry exhibition
                                                
supported by Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG          
14:00 - 14:45
Axon 1/2
Keynote lecture IV
K4 - Designing complex miniature organs in a dish from pluripotent stem cells
Takanori Takebe, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, USA 
Chair: Aydan Bulut-Karslıoğlu
14:45 - 15:30
Axon 1/2
GSCN 2026 Hilde Mangold Award
PS3 - Studying diabetes with engineered stem cell islet organoids
Maike Sander, Max Delbrück Center, Berlin
Chair: Heiko Lickert

15:30 - 15:50
Axon 1/2

Award ceremony
Daniel Besser
Poster awards        supported by Active Bioscience/PeptiGrowth
Travel awards
15:50 - 16:00
Axon 1/2
Closing remarks by the GSCN president
Sina Bartfeld
  End of GSCN Conference 2026
  Top
Keynote Speakers 2026


Stepan Jerabek  (New York, USA)


Janet Rossant  (Toronto, Canada)


Jason Spence  (Ann Arbor, USA)


Takanori Takebe  (Cincinnati, USA & Tokyo, Japan)


Paresh Vyas  (Oxford, UK)


James M. Wells  (Cincinnati, USA)

Speakers & Session Chairs

Sina Bartfeld (Berlin)
Daniel Besser (Berlin)
Thomas Braun (Bad Nauheim)
Oliver Brüstle (Bonn)
Nina Cabezas Wallscheid (Freiburg)
Germán Camargo-Ortega (Basel)
Tobias Cantz (Hannover)
Michael Cross (Leipzig)
Sebastian Diecke (Berlin)
Micha Drukker (Leiden, NL)
Marieke Essers (Heidelberg)
Hartmut Geiger (Ulm)
Ingmar Glauche (Dresden)
Mina Gouti (Berlin)
Anne Grapin-Botton (Dresden)
Simon Haas (Berlin)
Ira Herrmann (Bonn)
Zoltán Ivics (Langen)
Ralf Jauch (Hongkong) supported by Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology (CTSCB), Hong Kong
Bert Klebl (Dortmund)
Hannes Klump (Essen)
Andreas Kurtz (Berlin)
Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz (Munich)
Heiko Lickert (Munich)
Carsten Marr (Munich)
Ulrich Martin (Hannover)
Ana Martin-Villalba (Heidelberg)
Elvira Mass (Bonn)
Mick Milsom (Heidelberg)
Michael Rieger (Frankfurt a.M.)
Hans Schöler (Münster)
Insa Schröder (Darmstadt)
Thomas Schwarz-Romond (Munich)
Harald Stachelscheid (Berlin)
Laura Steenpaß (Braunschweig)
Torsten Tonn (Dresden)
Anja Trillhaase (Hamburg)
Wolfgang Wagner (Aachen)
Claudia Waskow (Jena)
Robert Zweigerdt (Hannover)

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Gold Supporters

Stem Cell Technologies

Silver Supporters

AcroBiosystem
Pepti/ActiveBio

Bronze Supporters

Biomerieux
Bio-Techne
Corning
Countstar
Eppendorf
evotec
Miltenyi
Molecular Devices
Sartorius
Thermo Scientific

Academic Supporters

TU Berlin
BIH
MDC
GCT Network