You are cordially invited to participate in the 15th biennial meeting on Germ Cells to be held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island, New York. The meeting will begin with dinner and the first session on the evening of Tuesday, October 6 and will conclude after lunch on Saturday October 10, 2026.
The specific goals of this conference are to bring together a diverse group of scientists studying various molecular, cellular and genetic aspects of germ line and gamete development. This meeting is intended to provide a format for the exchange of ideas and information, to discuss the latest research findings and technical advances, and to facilitate the intellectual unification of research on germ cells and related disease states in diverse systems.
Topics:
- Germline Evolution
- Sex Determination
- Germline Stem Cells & Their Niche
- Meiosis, Chromosome Mechanics & Cell Biology
- Gametes & Fertilization
- Epigenetics & Egg-to-Embryo Transition
- Environmental & Hormonal Control
- Post-transcriptional Control
Keynote Speaker:
Melina Schuh, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
Invited Speakers:, Cornell University
Takashi Akera, National Institutes of Health
David Greenstein, University of Minnesota
Thomas Hurd, University of Toronto, Canada
Azusa Inoue, RIKEN, Japan
Diana Laird, University of California, San Francisco
Mary Mullins, University of Pennsylvania
Kyle Orwig, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Raheleh Rahbari, The Wellcome Sanger Institute
Marilyn Renfree, The University of Melbourne
Matthew Sieber, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Tatjana Trcek, Johns Hopkins University
Dustin Updike, The MDI Biological Laboratory
Mark Van Doren, Johns Hopkins University
Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Caltech/University of Cambridge
Unpublished material and must be submitted electronically by the abstract deadline. Selection of material for oral and poster presentation will be made by the organizers. The status (talk/poster) of abstracts will be posted on our web site as soon as decisions have been made by the organizers.
Financial Aid: Please apply in writing via email to Kelley McGrath if you require financial support.
Social Media: The designated hashtag for this meeting is #cshlgermcells. Note that you must obtain permission from an individual presenter before live-tweeting or discussing his/her talk, poster, or research results on social media. Click the Policies tab above to see our full
Confidentiality & Reporting Policy.
This conference is supported in part by funds provided by TBA
Pricing:
In-Person Fees
Academic/Media Private Room/Private Bath Package: $1945 (Subject to availability.)
Academic/Media Private Room/Shared Bath Package: $1820
Academic Shared Room Package: $1660
Academic/Media No-Housing Package: $1240
Student Package*: $1545
Student No-Housing Package: $1125
Corporate Private Room/Private Bath Package: $2485
Corporate No-Housing Package: $1780
*Student Housing is default double occupancy. Please enquire about availability and fees to upgrade to private room.
NOTE: We cannot guarantee housing will be on campus
Room package reservations close 2 weeks before the meeting start date
Virtual Participation: Includes access to the oral sessions via Zoom, the digital poster gallery, the Slack discussion workspace, and the Leading Strand video archive. If you are submitting an abstract for an oral or poster presentation, please plan to attend the meeting in-person.
Virtual Fees:
Academic Virtual Package: $370
Grad Student Virtual Package: $230
Corporate Virtual Package: $550
Late Fee (Registrations submitted after 5:00 p.m. ET on October 1, 2026)
Late Academic Virtual Package: $470
Late Student Virtual Package: $330
Late Corporate Virtual Package: $650