Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics Meeting
With the establishment of the “Epigenetic Focus” at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) in 2010, an international meeting on the broad area of epigenetics and chromatin was introduced at the institute. The three-day meeting takes place every second year in the 1st week of December.
The 8th Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics takes place on 2 - 4 December 2026. The meeting will offer an exciting line-up 20+ invited, and up to 10 short talks that will be selected from the submitted abstracts. We will also have one poster session of around 50 posters.
Registration will open in spring, sign up for event updates here
http://events.ie-freiburg.mpg.de
The Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics Meeting has established a tradition as one of the key events in chromatin and epigenetic research. It provides a highly interactive platform in a very familiar setting. The meeting is held every second year in early December. The talks are carefully selected by the organizers and given by more than 20 invited speakers plus speakers selected from abstracts. About 120 scientists participate in each meeting and explore all aspects of this emerging topic. Also, early-career scientists present about 60 posters fostering discussions on new data and novel ideas.
The Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics Meeting has established a tradition as one of the key events in chromatin and epigenetic research. It provides a highly interactive platform in a very familiar setting. The meeting is held every second year in early December. The talks are carefully selected by the organizers and given by more than 20 invited speakers plus speakers selected from abstracts. About 120 scientists participate in each meeting and explore all aspects of this emerging topic. Also, early-career scientists present about 60 posters fostering discussions on new data and novel ideas.
The program, organized by Asifa Akhtar and Thomas Jenuwein, also features a keynote lecture by a Max Planck Director from a different institute. Since its establishment in 2010, the Epigenetics Meeting is proud to host colleagues from different institutes of the the Max Planck Society: Herbert Jäckle (MPI-BPC, 2010), Stefan Jentsch (MPIB, 2012), Hans Schöler (MPI Münster, 2014), Manfred Gahr (2016) and Anthony Hyman (MPI-CBG, 2018), Thomas Jenuwein (MPI-IE, 2022), and Patrick Cramer (MPI-NAT, 2024)
For more information on the upcoming meeting in 2026, please visit the Website of the Max Planck Epigenetics Meeting.
Organizer
Asifa Akhtar, Ph.D.
Senior Group Leader, Director and MPG Vice President
Lab Asifa Akhtar
Asifa Akhtars laboratory primarily studies chromatin and epigenetic mechanisms, especially focusing on the regulation of the X chromosome by the phenomenon of dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster.
A look back at past Epigenetics Meetings
The 2024 Epigenetics Meeting successfully convened leading researchers in chromatin biology and epigenetics for a comprehensive scientific program. Twenty-seven speakers presented cutting-edge research spanning diverse aspects of the fields. Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society, delivered the keynote lecture, highlighting key advances at the interface of structural biology and gene regulation. His insights provided valuable perspective on emerging directions in epigenetics research.
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After postponing the Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics Meeting in December 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, we successfully relaunched the conference as an in-person event in November/December 2022. With a reduced capacity of 150 participants, the Institute provided a comfortable and safe environment that created an excellent platform for connecting with leaders in the chromatin and epigenetics fields and fostering informal interactions. Outstanding presentations and fascinating posters offered exciting opportunities to discuss current research, recent publications, and potential collaborations.
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The 5th Max Planck Epigenetics Meeting 2018 in Freiburg provided an international platform for cutting-edge research in the field and gave renowned speakers as well as excellent junior researchers the opportunity to present the latest data and findings in over 40 lectures and poster presentations. Various panels on Non-coding DNA, Transcription Regulation, Genome Organization, Higher Order Structuring as wells as Inheritance and Cancer covered the latest advances in the field.
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Freiburg is an exceptional environment for epigenetic research. At the 4th Max Planck Epigenetics Meeting near the Black Forest more than 30 international speakers talked about their latest findings and shared their insights with the Epigenetics and Chromatin community.
Some impressions of the Max Planck Freiburg Epigenetics Meeting at the MPI-IE in Freiburg. This is the third iteration in a series of biennial conferences took place from 3rd to 5th December 2015. International high-profile speakers presented presenting cutting-edge research in the field of epigenetics.
Find some impressions from the early days. The 2nd Max Planck Epigenetics Meeting took place in at the MPI-IE in Freiburg, 3rd-5th December 2012. High-profile speakers represented a broad range of the newest and outstanding topics in the field of chromatin and epigenetics.
