Program

ARRIVAL

16:50
Welcome to the ELM Spring School 2026
by the organizers: SPP2451 Early Career Representatives (H. Küttner, V. Pinto, R. Wilhelm)

17:00
“Introduction into Engineered Living Materials“
Professor Tiffany Abitbol from the EPFL Lausanne

18:00
DINNER

8:00
BREAKFAST

9:00
Workshop: “Cocreating engineered living materials with generative artificial intelligences: from taxonomies to concepts”
Professor Andrés Díaz Lantada from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and IMDEA Materials Institute

The workshop will deal with the emergent field of engineered living materials (ELMs) and introduce some initial approaches to organizing the field, including the rationale for an ELMs taxonomy and possible codification schemes. Then, an innovative engineering design methodology aimed at creativity promotion throgh constructive dialogues with generative artificial intelligences will be presented. Teams of students will apply the presented topics and methods to generate a variety of conceptual ELMs and related applications, especially in connection with healthcare. Finally, ethical issues of ELMs will be analyzed and ethical debate about the generated concepts will close the workshop.

12:00
LUNCH

13:00
Workshop: “Introduction to Scientific Metadata – From Data to Knowledge”
Dr. Abril Azócar Guzmán & Dr. Elaheh Akhoundi from the Forschungszentrum Jülich (NFDI-MatWerk)

Incorporate structured metadata into your everyday research activities: This practical workshop will introduce you to JSON metadata schemas and use them to describe exemplary datasets according to FAIR principles.

15:00
COFFEE BREAK

15:30
Workshop: “Introduction to Scientific Metadata – From Data to Knowledge” (continued)
Dr. Abril Azócar Guzmán & Dr. Elaheh Akhoundi from the Forschungszentrum Jülich (NFDI-MatWerk)

18:00
DINNER

19:00
Movie Night with Movies related to ELMs, Therapeutics, Synthetic Biology, Biotechnology, etc. (Link to Poll will follow soon)

8:00
BREAKFAST

9:00
“Designing ELMs for the Built Environment”
Professor Meredith Silberstein from the Engineered Living Materials Institute at Cornell University

10:00
“Probiotic-Based Materials as Living Therapeutics”
Dr. Laura Sabio Rodríguez from the Centre for Cellular Microenvironment at the University of Glasgow

11:00
„NextSkins – A Living Therapeutic Material“
Dr. Koray Malcı from the Tom Ellis Group at Imperial College London

12:00
LUNCH

13:00
Optional: Brewery (11€) OR Distillery (8€) Tour at the Klosthotel Ettal (60-70 mins) -> REGISTRATION

15:00
“Advanced materials to unblock the full potential of the microbiota”
Dr. Daniela Pacheco – CTO & Founder of Bac3gel

16:00
“Rewriting the Genetic Code for Smart Biologics”
Prof. Farren Isaacs & Prof. Michael Jewett – Co-Founders & Scientific Advisors of Pearl Bio

17:00
“Engineering Probiotics for Healthier Living”
Dr. Zack Abbott – CEO & Co-Founder of ZBiotics

18:00
DINNER

19:00
Pub Quiz related to ELMs and Therapeutic Materials

8:00
BREAKFAST

9:00
“3D Fabrication Methods for Living Materials” Professor Jörg Lahann from the University of Michigan and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

10:00
“Active Matter and Living Micromachines”
Professor Roberto Di Leonardo from Sapienza University of Rome

11:00
“Motility‑Driven Adaptation of Bacteria in Hydrogels”
Professor Marianne Grognot from the RWTH Aachen

Closing Remarks

12:00
LUNCH & DEPARTURE