Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting | Riga 2026

Active and Responsive Soft Matter: From Biological to Engineered Systems

Daily Schedule

9:00 – 9:20

Nuno Santos, University of Lisbon, Portugal* From Erythrocyte-Based Cardiovascular Risk Assessment to the Development of Synthetic Erythrocytes Joon Ho Kang, Seoul National University, South Korea* Emergent Anisotropic Volume Regulation in Active Tissue Monolayers Revealed by High-Speed 3D Topographic Profiling Serapion Pyrpassopoulos, Center for Molecular Biology of Plants, Germany* Mechanical Tension Extends the Microtubule Lattice and Modulates Kinesin-1 Binding in an Isoform-Dependent Manner Mingming Wu, Cornell University, USA* Compression Induced Vortical Motion Within an Epithelial Spheroid Guntars Kitenbergs, University of Latvia, Latvia* Controlling Magnetic Field Induced Collectives of Magnetotactic Bacteria Near a Wall

9:20 – 9:40

9:40 – 10:00

10:00 – 10:20

10:20 – 10:40

10:40 – 11:30

Coffee Break

Delta/Omega Room

Session VII

Hydrodynamics Chair: Andrejs C ē bers, University of Latvia, Latvia

11:30 – 12:00

Hannah Yevick, Brandeis University, USA Structure, Reorganization, and Robustness of Large Multinucleated Cells Konstantin Kornev, Clemson University, USA Insect Antennae as Inspirational Self-Healing Fiber-Based Microfluidics M. Taher A. Saif, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA It Needs Three, at Least, to Raise a Cellular Family

12:00 – 12:30

12:30 – 13:00

13:00

Lunch on Own & Free Time

Thursday, July 23, 2026 13:00 – 16:00

1 st Floor Lobby

Registration & Information

Session VIII

Mechanobiology I Chair: Alison Patteson, Syracuse University, USA

9:00 – 9:30

Katarzyna Pogoda, The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Poland Matrix Stress Relaxation Promotes Glioblastoma Cell Migration in a Ligand-Specific Manner

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