Scientific Program
The scientific program below outlines the current structure of the Charles Weissmann Symposium. Lecture titles will be updated as speaker confirmations are finalized.
Monday, October 12, 2026
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Registration and Welcome Coffee | |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Opening Welcome Address |
Adriano Aguzzi ISAB |
| Session I – Molecular Biology I – Chair: Michael Hengartner (ETH Board) | ||
| 09:15 – 09:50 |
On 62 years of friendship and collaboration with Charles Weissmann |
Piet Borst Netherlands Cancer Institute |
| 09:50 – 10:25 |
DNA damage at the basis of aging and neurodegeneration: the unexpected impact of nutrition and gene length |
Jan Hoeijmakers Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology |
| 10:25 – 11:00 | Coffee Break | |
| Session II – Molecular Biology II – Chair: Silvia Domcke (UZH) | ||
| 11:00 – 11:35 |
Bacteria and Archaea in their natural environments – a global survey |
Christian von Mering UZH |
| 11:35 – 12:10 |
Phosphomachines: Active organizers of the cyto- and nucleoplasm? |
Lucas Pelkmans UZH |
| 12:10 – 12:45 |
Dissecting disease mechanisms through the lens of humanized mice |
Esen Sefik Yale University |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch Break | |
| Session III – Immunology – Chair: Francesca Peri (UZH) | ||
| 14:00 – 14:35 |
Bratwurst and Rösti, Brahms, Q-beta and more with Charles: DAMP molecules in cancer immunity |
Tadatsugu Taniguchi University of Tokyo |
| 14:35 – 15:10 | What’s new? Immune sensing of cancer |
Richard Flavell Yale University |
| 15:10 – 15:45 | From interferon to cell death |
Shigekazu Nagata University of Osaka |
| 15:45 – 16:30 | Coffee Break | |
| Evening Keynote – Chair: Beatrice Beck Schimmer (Vice President Medicine Zurich) | ||
| 16:30 – 17:30 | Archaic genomics |
Svante Pääbo Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |
| 17:30 – 18:30 | Apéro Riche | |
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Registration and Welcome Coffee | |
| Prions / Neurodegeneration – Chair: Adriano Aguzzi (ISAB) | ||
| 09:00 – 09:35 | Reflections on transmissible dementias |
John Collinge UCL |
| 09:35 – 10:10 | Translating translation in neurodegeneration |
Giovanna Mallucci University of Cambridge |
| 10:10 – 10:45 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:45 – 11:20 |
Cellular models of TDP-43 pathology: the prion concept beyond prions |
Magdalini Polymenidou UZH |
| 11:20 – 11:55 |
Beyond amyloid: leveraging the physiological functions of APP for therapy |
Ulrike Müller Heidelberg University |
| 11:55 – 12:10 | Closing Remarks |
Adriano Aguzzi ISAB |