Events

2026 Yang ICoN Center Symposium: Self-Organization and Emergence in Development

Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026

Time: 8:45am – 5:00pm with poster session & reception to follow 

Location: Singleton Auditorium (46-3002, Third Floor of MIT Building 46) This is an in-person event 
Event is free and open to the public 

Registration is required. Register by Wednesday, May 13 

Poster Session Info: When you register, please indicate if you would like to be considered for the poster session. Submission of a poster title does not guarantee selection. Deadline for submitting poster information for consideration has been extended to May 8

This event brings together leading researchers to explore how neural structure and function emerge during development. Speakers will discuss key theoretical and empirical challenges in explaining how complex neural systems arise across molecular, cellular, and circuit levels.
 
The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience (ICoN) Center at MIT pioneers computational models of brain function that unify multiple levels of biological data, from molecules to circuits to behavior. The center is part of the Yang Tan Collective, a multi-university effort dedicated to accelerating collaborations in basic science, research, and engineering to improve human health and well-being at a global scale. Learn more about the Collective at yangtan.mit.edu.

 
Schedule:
08:30 AM
Check-In Opens

08:45 AM
Welcome & Introduction from Ila Fiete, MIT

Session 1 (9:00–10:40): “Genetic Programs for Neural Circuit Assembly”

09:00 AM
Fenna Krienen, Princeton University

Spatially-resolved genetic programs in primate brains
09:50 AM
Yerbol Kurmangaliyev, Brandeis University

How are neural circuits encoded in the genome?
10:40 AM

Coffee Break

Session 2 (10:55–12:35): “Self-Organization in Brain Development”

10:55 AM
Paola Arlotta, Harvard University

Building complexity in brain organoids takes time and (self)-organization
11:45 AM
P. Robin Hiesinger, Freie Universitat Berlin

Self-Organization in Fly Brain Development
12:35 PM

Lunch

Session 3 (1:20–3:00): “Emergence of Large-Scale Neural Architecture”
01:20 PM
Matthias Kaschube, FIAS Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies

The emergence of functional modular networks in cortical development
02:10 PM
Gordon Smith, University of Minnesota

Common principles underlying the development of large-scale cortical networks
03:00 PM

Coffee Break

Session 4 (3:15–4:55): “Robustness and Geometry in Biological Systems”
03:15 PM
Stanislav Shvartsman, Princeton University

A class of natural tessellation algorithms
04:05 PM
Brady Weissbourd, MIT

Mechanisms of robustness in jellyfish neural networks
04:55 PM

Closing Remarks

05:00 PM
Poster Session & Networking Reception