Schedule

Invited Talk: Jaime Agudo-Canalejo

Title: Catalytic activity as a regulator of enzyme-rich condensates

Abstract: I will explain how, in systems with out-of-equilibrium catalytic activity such as the cell interior, theoretical considerations predict that catalysts experience effective interactions with each other, mediated by spatial fluxes of metabolites that push on the catalysts. These “kinetic” interactions are thus chemotactic-like, with catalysts moving up or down metabolite gradients. They can be attractive or repulsive, and exist in addition to the standard “energetic” interactions which govern equilibrium behaviour. Thus, catalytic activity can cause the formation of condensates that would not form at equilibrium or, conversely, dissolve a condensate that is stable in the absence of catalytic activity. I speculate that these catalysis-induced kinetic interactions could play a role in the formation and dissolution of enzyme-rich condensates (also known as metabolons) such as G-bodies or purinosomes, which are known to be highly dynamic and responsive to the metabolic needs of the cell.

Invited Talk: Halim Kusumaatmaja

Title: Condensates and Surface Tension Driven Phenomena

Abstract: I will discuss two recent works related to capillary phenomena in the context of biomolecular condensates. First, the protective capsid encasing the genetic material of HIV has been shown to traverse the nuclear pore complex (NPC) intact, despite exceeding the passive diffusion threshold by over three orders of magnitude. We apply the classical framework of wetting and capillarity to elucidate the physical underpinnings of HIV nuclear entry through NPC’s phase-separated, condensate-like barrier. Our analysis captures several key phenomena that depend on the capsid geometry: the reorientation of incoming capsids due to torques arising from asymmetric capillary forces; the role of confinement in limiting capsid penetration depths; the classification of translocation mechanics according to changes in topology and interfacial area; and the influence of (spontaneous) rotational symmetry-breaking on energetics. Second, fluid mixtures, such as the cellular cytoplasm, can spontaneously compartmentalize into many coexisting phases through liquid-liquid phase separation. We show that the dynamics of multicomponent phase separation are intimately connected to mathematical coloring problems. By confining the system to thin geometries, we demonstrate that the four-color theorem permits arrangements of fluid compartments that allow coalescence to be suppressed. The diffusion-dominated coarsening dynamics can be collapsed to a universal master curve. Varying the fluid interfacial tensions can change which arrangements are energetically permissible, resulting in highly complex coarsening dynamics that differ for each phase. In unconfined three-dimensional systems, the absence of an equivalent to the four-color theorem means that suppression of coalescence is only reached asymptotically for large numbers of phases. 

Invited Talk: Giulia Celora

Title: Self-organisation of migrating multicellular communities

Abstract: Collective cell migration is ubiquitous amongst multicellular communities and contributes to many phenomena, e.g., morphogenesis and cancer metastasis. Nonetheless, it is still poorly understood how cells coordinate to control the emergent collective motion of cell groups (or swarms). Recent experimental data suggests that physical interactions between cells within the swarms can result in emergent fluid-like properties. In this talk, I will discuss our recent developments in modelling the spatiotemporal dynamics of cell swarms' collective and their emergent fluid mechanics. Combining numerics and analysis, our results reveal how the interplay between physical interactions, cell proliferation and cell motion shapes the morphology and migration dynamics of cell collectives.

Invited Talk: Ruth Bowness

Title: Linking Cells, Tissues, and Organs: Multiscale Within-Host Models of Pulmonary Infection

Abstract: Pulmonary infections emerge from tightly coupled processes operating across biological scales, from pathogen replication within cells to immune-mediated spread across lung tissue. Capturing these interactions requires multiscale modelling frameworks that combine discrete and continuum representations in space and time.

In this talk, I will present hybrid multiscale models of within-host infection dynamics, focusing on tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19. For TB, individual-based models of host–pathogen interactions at the granuloma scale are coupled with continuum descriptions of oxygen, chemokines, and antibiotics, as well as metapopulation models representing the full lung. This approach enables investigation of how cellular-scale heterogeneity and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics propagate to organ-scale outcomes such as persistence, relapse, and treatment failure.

Building on this framework, I will describe adaptations for SARS-CoV-2 that link epithelial infection dynamics, cytokine signalling, and immune response timing. These case studies demonstrate how multiscale within-host modelling can integrate data across scales, improve mechanistic insight, and support personalised approaches to infectious disease treatment.

Invited Talk: Carles Falcó

Title: Adhesion-driven patterning in collective cell behaviour

Abstract: Cellular adhesion is a fundamental mechanism underlying diverse collective cell behaviours, from tissue self-organisation in developmental biology to the formation of directional queues that guide cell migration. Modelling such interactions has also proven mathematically rich, motivating the use of continuum partial differential equation models that capture adhesion through nonlocal interaction kernels. These models can, for instance, reproduce classical cell-sorting patterns arising from differential adhesion in mixtures of cell populations. In this talk, we briefly review such models and explain how a local approximation of nonlocal aggregation–diffusion equations can be derived in the limit of short-range interactions. We then discuss recent advances in the field and highlight new results on pattern formation driven by adhesive interactions in migrating and proliferating cell populations, as well as in systems of nonreciprocally interacting cells.