Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting | Riga 2026

Active and Responsive Soft Matter: From Biological to Engineered Systems

Daily Schedule

9:30 – 10:00

Rebecca Wells, University of Pennsylvania, USA Solid Stress and Its Relationship to Cell and Matrix Organization Anders E. Carlsson, Washington University of St. Louis, USA How Molecular-Level Motor Forces Add Up to Large-Scale Stresses Luciana Bruno, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Shaping And Moving Mitochondria: The Role of Cytoskeletal Forces

10:00 – 10:30

10:30 – 11:00

11:00 – 11:30

Coffee Break

Delta/Omega Room

Session IX

Mechanobiology II Chair: Alison Patteson, Syracuse University, USA Josef A. Käs, University of Leipzig, Germany Does Oncology Need the Physics of Cancer?

11:30 – 12:00

12:00 – 12:30

David Sept, University of Michigan, USA Effects Of Tubulin Isotypes on Microtubule Function and Dynamics Cynthia Reinhardt-King, Rice University, USA Microenvironmental Regulation of Cellular Mechanometabolism

12:30 – 13:00

13:00 – 14:00

Group Photo & Lunch

Delta/Omega Room

14:00 – 16:00

Poster Session

Delta/Omega Room

16:00 – 18:00

Tour of Riga

18:00 – 20:00

Banquet Dinner

Gutenbergs, Terase I

Friday, July 24, 2026 8:30 – 13:00

1 st Floor Lobby

Registration & Information

Session X

Engineered Systems Chair: Paul Janmey, University of Pennsylvania, USA

9:00 – 9:30

Timo Betz, Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany Accessing Active Mechanics in Living Systems from Passive Particle Trajectories

9:30 – 10:00

Daniel Fletcher, University of California, Berkeley, USA Environment-Driven Active Matter

10:00 – 10:30

Peter Galie, Rowan University, USA Biophysical Approaches to Remodel and Perfuse Organoid Vasculature

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