The 18th International Symposium on Biomineralization and the GIF Young Scientists Meetings (GYSM)
At new location and dates -
Dresden, Germany | 16-20.3.2026
The 18th International Symposium on Biomineralization and the GIF Young Scientists Meetings (GYSM)
At new location and dates -
Dresden, Germany
16-20.3.2026
Program
Monday March 16
| Time | Title | Speaker | Presentation type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00-12:00 | Registration and poster set-up | ||
| 12:00-13:00 | Opening Session | ||
| 12:00-12:15 | Conference co-chair | Tali Mass and Boaz Pokroy | Opening and welcome |
| 12:15-13:00 | Avian Eggshell Biomineralization: What is not known yet? | Jose Arias | Opening Keynote |
| 13:00-16:00 | Session: Structure-Function Relationships in Biomineralization Session chair: Fabio Nudelman |
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| 13:00-13:35 | The sturgeon pectoral fin spine combines mammal-like osteonal lamellar bone and fish-like modified parallel-fibered bone | Joshua Milgram | Invited Talk |
| 13:35-13:50 | Short-circuit diffusion controls transport processes in human dental enamel | Derk Joester | Oral Presentation |
| 13:50-14:05 | Peculiar sea urchin spine morphologies: Natural Strategies for Strength and Flexibility in Biominerals | Devis Montroni | Oral Presentation |
| 14:05-14:30 | Coffee break | ||
| 14:30-14:45 | Harnessing X-ray holotomography and deep learning image analysis to gain novel insights into unmineralized shark cartilage organization and function | Edward De La Uz | Oral Presentation |
| 14:45-15:00 | Applying quantitative “biomineral crystallography” to skeletons and shells | Gabriela Farfan | Oral Presentation |
| 15:00-15:15 | Spacially-resolved multi scale mechanics of the enthesis unveiled by in-situ X-ray scattering | Isabella Silva Barreto | Oral Presentation |
| 15:15-15:30 | Particle-attachment-mediated and matrix/lattice-guided enamel apatite crystal growth | Thomas Diekwisch | Oral Presentation |
| 15:30-15:45 | Nanocrystals induce structurally beneficial residual strain in both osteocytic and anosteocytic fishbones | Paul Zaslansky | Oral Presentation |
| 15:45-16:00 | Structural studies of magnetosome-associated protein-mineral interactions | Raz Zarivach | Oral Presentation |
| 16:00-16:20 | Coffee break | ||
| 16:20-18:10 | Session: Evolution, Archaeology and Diagenesis Session chair: Yotam Asscher |
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| 16:20-16:55 | Mineralized Surface of Sycamore Tree Bark: Silicified Cell Walls and Aggregates of Dust Minerals Embedded in a Silicified Matrix | Steve Weiner | Invited Talk |
| 16:55-17:10 | Recrystallization of bones, dentin and enamel: tracing bioapatite alteration across archeological contexts | Yotam Asscher | Oral Presentation |
| 17:10-17:25 | Biomineralization of Dinosaur Eggshells | Alberto Perez-Huerta | Oral Presentation |
| 17:25-17:40 | Microstructural evolution of protobranch bivalves: paleontological and multi-omics insights into the parallel losses of nacre | Kei Sato | Oral Presentation |
| 17:40-17:55 | Invisible diagenesis: Microstructural pathways of eperimental oxygen isotope exchange in coral aragonite | Jarosław Stolarski | Oral Presentation |
| 17:55-18:10 | Self-Assembly of F-Keratin: Requirements for the Evolution of Feathers | Ingrid Weiss | Oral Presentation |
| 18:10-20:00 | Welcome cocktail and finger food | ||
Tuesday March 17
| Time | Title | Speaker | Presentation type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-11:15 | Session: Fundamental Processes of Crystal Nucleation and Growth Session chair: Nico Sommerdijk |
||
| 9:00-9:35 | Biogenic calcite as a model for crystal plasticity and recrystallization | Igor Zlotnikov | Invited Talk |
| 9:35-9:50 | Template-less nucleation and additive-free morphogenesis of coccolith crystals | Assaf Gal | Oral Presentation |
| 9:50-10:05 | Changes in bone mineral solubility, reactivity and adsorption capacity after thermal treatment | Alejandro Rodriguez Navarro | Oral Presentation |
| 10:05-10:30 | Coffee break | ||
| 10:30-10:45 | Calcite tailoring by limpets: The prismatic and acicular-foliated microstructures of the members of the Nacellidae | Antonio Checa | Oral Presentation |
| 10:45-11:00 | Nonclassical Compositional Gatekeeping in the Biomineral Precursor Amorphous Calcium Carbonate | Stephan Wolf | Oral Presentation |
| 11:00-11:15 | pH Variations Enable Guanine Crystal Formation within Iridosomes | Zohar Eyal | Oral Presentation |
| 11:15-17:05 | Session: The Function of the Organic Matrix in Biomineralization Session chair: Netta Vidavsky |
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| 11:15-11:50 | From Genes to Polymers: Mechanisms and Design Principles for Shaping Organic Crystals | Dvir Gur | Invited Talk |
| 11:50-12:05 | Amelogenin phosphorylation supports ameloblast function by stabilizing pH during secretory stage amelogenesis. | Elia Beniash | Oral Presentation |
| 12:05-12:20 | Lipid remodeling of uterine extracellular vesicles modulates eggshell biomineralization in aged laying hens | Yu Fu | Oral Presentation |
| 12:20-14:20 | Lunch break | ||
| 14:20-14:35 | Non-invasive spectroscopic–machine learning platform for evaluating quality of mineralized tissues | Akihisa Otaka | Oral Presentation |
| 14:35-14:50 | An Organic Matrix glycoprotein templates calcification in the Red Coral? | Philippe Ganot | Oral Presentation |
| 14:50-15:05 | The organic-inorganic interface in sea urchin pigmented biominerals | Arturo Josué Álvarez Valverde | Oral Presentation |
| 15:05-15:20 | Molecular mechanisms and environmental drivers of biomineralization in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis): Insights from comparative transcriptomics and proteomics | Erica Gabrielli | Oral Presentation |
| 15:20-15:35 | Calcium pathways to shell: Decoding roles of frothy pseudopodia in foraminiferal biomineralization | Jan Golen | Oral Presentation |
| 15:35-16:05 | How calcium reaches collagen in bone: recent results and open questions | Peter Fratzl | Oral Presentation |
| 16:05-17:05 | All posters presenting on Tuesday | Poster flash talk | |
| 17:05-19:00 | Poster session and finger food | ||
Wednesday March 18
| Time | Title | Speaker | Presentation type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-11:55 | Session: Cutting-edge Techniques in Biomineralization Research Session chair: Paul Zaslansky |
||
| 9:00 - 9:35 | 3D correlative live and cryogenic multimodal microscopy of the extracellular matrix in biological tissues. | Nico Sommerdijk | Invited Talk |
| 9:35 - 9:50 | 3D visualization and quantitative analysis by submicron micro computed tomography of dentoalveolar defects in the Hyp mouse model of X-linked hypophosphatemia | Parastoo Asadi | Oral Presentation |
| 9:50-10:05 | Population structure, life history, and shell biomineralization of the marine bivalve Nucula proxima | Rebecca Metzler | Oral Presentation |
| 10:05-10:20 | Characterization of Cobalt Sulfide Crystal Phases Synthesized by Bacterial Consortia | Basultan Hidayat | Oral Presentation |
| 10:20-10:50 | Coffee break | ||
| 10:50-11:25 | Embryonic chicken skeletal development and spherulitic calcium trafficking from the shell assessed in ovo by multiscale 3D imaging | Natalie Reznikov | Invited Talk |
| 11:25-11:40 | Application of a silicaphilic probe to study biomineralization | Carole Perry | Oral Presentation |
| 11:40-11:55 | Mapping Bone Composition Using Reflection-Mode FTIR Hyperspectral Imaging | William Querido | Oral Presentation |
| 12:00-14:00 | Lunch break | ||
| 14:00-15:35 | Session: Structure-Function Relationships in Biomineralization Session chair: Marc D. McKee |
||
| 14:00-14:35 | Biomineral Morphogenesis inside Vesicles: Lessons from Diatoms | Nils Kröger | Invited Talk |
| 14:35-14:50 | The Structure of Xanthine Crystals from the Median Ocellus of the insect L. rozsypali | Lia Addadi | Oral Presentation |
| 14:50-15:05 | Coexisting amorphous calcium phosphates in the stylet of a ribbon worm | Linus Stegbauer | Oral Presentation |
| 15:05-15:20 | Mineral patterning by symmetry breaking and parallelism in collagenous extracellular matrices | Marc D. McKee | Oral Presentation |
| 15:20-15:35 | Synthetic analogs of leucettamine B and nacryline as novel stimulators of endochondral ossification | Marthe Rousseau | Oral Presentation |
| 17:30-21:30 | Cruise and dinner | ||
Thursday March 19
| Time | Title | Speaker | Presentation type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-11:00 | GYSM Session 1: Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms in Biomineralization Session chair: Lara Estroff |
||
| 9:00 - 9:35 | Tumor suppressive role of calcium oxalate dihydrate in breast cancer | Netta Vidavsky | Invited Talk |
| 9:35 - 9:50 | Mechanism of high-capacity calcium transport in coccolithophores | YuFeng Meng | Oral Presentation |
| 9:50-10:05 | Hard X-ray synchrotron microbeam mapping sheds light on mineral deposition dynamics in coral skeletons | Katrein Sauer | Oral Presentation |
| 10:05-10:30 | Coffee break | ||
| 10:30-10:45 | Identifying protein interactions that control pore formation in diatom biosilica | Tim Gerloff | Oral Presentation |
| 10:45-11:00 | Resilient without minerals: Chitin-protein halogen-rich skeletons in black corals | Miri Morgulis | Oral Presentation |
| 11:00-12:00 | GYSM Session 2: Environmental Influences on Biomineralization Session chair: Assaf Gal |
||
| 11:00-11:15 | Four-dimensional insights into coral biomineralization: effects of ocean acidification on the early skeleton development of a stony coral | Federica Scucchia | Oral Presentation |
| 11:15-11:30 | Multi length scale adaptations in form and chemistry of stony coral skeletons | Isabela Vitienes | Oral Presentation |
| 11:30-11:45 | Microstructural changes during fossilisation of foraminifer shells indicate gradual ordering | Anthea Arns | Oral Presentation |
| 11:45-12:00 | The spatial relations between coccoliths and their confining membrane during crystal morphogenesis | Emanuel Avrahami | Oral Presentation |
| 12:00-14:00 | Lunch break and meeting of the scientific committee | ||
| 14:00-17:00 | Session: Innovations in Bio-Inspired Materials and Designs Session chair: Igor Zlotnikov |
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| 14:00-14:35 | Exploring Relations Between Biominerals and Fatigue Resistance in Nature | Claudia Fleck | Invited Talk |
| 14:35-14:50 | Sustainable biopolymer spongin: from biomineralogical scenarios to creation of new generation composites | Hermann Ehrlich | Oral Presentation |
| 14:50-15:05 | Instantaneous, Direct Adhesion to Bone Tissue Using Porous Hydroxyapatite | Takuya Matsumoto | Oral Presentation |
| 15:05-15:20 | Peptoid-controlled formation of carbonate materials | Chun-Long Chen | Oral Presentation |
| 15:20-15:35 | A view from the interface: Particle incorporation during crystallization | Lara Estroff | Oral Presentation |
| 15:35-15:50 | Polymer-Mediated Electro-crystallization of Nanostructured Co3O4 Thin Films and their Functional Properties in Electrocatalytic Water Splitting | Anna Schenk | Oral Presentation |
| 16:00-17:00 | All posters presenting on Thursday | Poster flash talk | |
| 17:00-19:00 | Poster session and finger food | ||
| 19:00-21:00 | GYSM Workshop 1: Scientific Conversations and Storytelling Over Dinner | ||
Friday March 20
| Time | Title | Speaker | Presentation type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-12:00 | GYSM Session 3: Early-career session Session chair: Nils Kröger |
||
| 9:00 - 9:35 | Mechanisms of scale formation in coccolithophores | Fabio Nudelman | Invited Talk |
| 9:35 - 9:50 | Development and Characterization of Sustainable, Bioinspired Fatty Acid-Based Coatings for Multi-Functional Crop Protection | Niv Ben Arie | Oral Presentation |
| 9:50 - 10:05 | Humidity-driven self-folding and fatigue characteristics of inorganic bilayer composite materials | Pascal Reiß | Oral Presentation |
| 10:05-10:30 | Coffee break | ||
| 10:30-10:45 | Amorphous-to-Crystalline Transitions Define Early Skeletal Development in Stylophora pistillata Coral Recruits | Almog Sulam | Oral Presentation |
| 10:45-11:00 | Mineral crystals on the seed coat of Banksia provide thermal management of fire | Kliton Cikalleshi | Oral Presentation |
| 11:00-11:15 | Snails Rapidly Fabricate Amorphous Mineral Plywood Structures, but What For? | Max Renner-Rao | Oral Presentation |
| 11:15-11:30 | Residual strains are associated with the degree of mineralization in healthy and healing murine femoral bone | Victoria Schemenz | Oral Presentation |
| 11:30-11:45 | Mimicking intracellular amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) stability with ß-glycerophosphate | Qi Dai | Oral Presentation |
| 11:45-12:00 | Formation Pathways of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Nanoparticles: Insights from In Situ SAXS on the Roles of Mg²⁺, pH, and Amino Acids | Lucas Kuhrts | Oral Presentation |
| 12:00-12:15 | Closing remarks Announcement of BIOMIN XIX |
||
| 12:15-14:15 | GYSM Workshop 2: Early career development panel | ||
Poster Sessions
Tuesday March 17
| Poster No. | Presenter | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Amirreza Khodaparast-Kelidbari | Hierarchical mineralization in teleost fish scales reveals crossfibrillar mineral tessellation |
| 2. | Devis Montroni | Chitinous Wire-Like Structures in the Armored Cocoon of Orgyia dubia? |
| 3. | Einat Kedar | Inner ear development in the quail embryo: structural organization and crystallization of lagena otoliths |
| 4. | Nan He | Reconstruction of the biomineralization system of Pteria penguin pearl shell nacre in yeast using PPL lectins and ART26P matrix proteins |
| 5. | Zuzanna Oświecińska | Glycosaminoglycan interactions with otolith organic matrix proteins and their impact on biomineral formation |
| 6. | Gabriel Yazbek Grobman | Tumor-Suppressive Role of Calcium Oxalate Dihydrate in Breast Cancer |
| 7. | Lior Aram | The roles of membranes in diatom silica morphogenesis |
| 8. | Alexander Venn | From light to limestone: the role of photosymbiotic energy supply to the coral calcifying cells |
| 9. | Christopher Johns | Characterization of a putative silicon efflux transporter in Cyclotella nana |
| 10. | Anne-Katrin Wilbrink | Morphosilin: A key regulator of diatom silica morphogenesis |
| 11. | Mona Sabha | Collective Motion of Spicules in Early Developmental Stages of Ephydatia fluviatilis |
| 12. | Anne Jantschke | Understanding Biocrystallization in Dinoflagellates: Tracing Biological Pathways |
| 13. | Alicja Owczarek | Spatial organization and preservation of matrix proteins in modern and fossil otolith bioaragonite |
| 14. | Hector Del Valle | Bone mineral transformation by fluoridation under hydrothermal conditions to simulate bone diagenesis in archaeological settings |
| 15. | Francesca Giovanna Bardone | Comparative analysis of morphology and trace element composition in the skeletons of congeneric coral species exhibiting distinct trophic strategies |
| 16. | Moritz Stammer | The Nanoscale Architecture of the Bone-Tendon Interface Probed with Multi-Modal, High Resolution X-ray Imaging Approaches |
| 17. | Anna Niedźwiecka | Regulation of biomineralization through the first encounter of Ca 2+ with acid-rich proteins and their liquid-liquid phase separation |
| 18. | Christian Grenier Romero | Latitudinal influence on nacre tablet thickness in Mytilus edulis and Perumytilus purpuratus |
| 19. | Moritz Paul Karl Frewein | Nucleation and Growth of Silica-Witherite Biomorphs studied with Texture Tomography |
Thursday March 19
| Poster No. | Presenter | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Anna Sedlmeir | Confinement-directed crystallization of meso- and nanostructured cobalt (II,III) oxide |
| 2. | Stefanie Rückrich | Towards Concrete Alternatives: Designing Materials and Methods for Biomineralizing Agricultural Waste |
| 3. | Cécile Bidan | Dental calculus as a bioinspiration for adhesion |
| 4. | Dmitry Karpov | X-ray microscopy for the extremly small and the incredibly subtle |
| 5. | Eloïse Duroy | On experimental approaches to nanoscale 3D characterization of biominerals |
| 6. | Yannicke Dauphin | Contribution of infrared spectrometry to the study of calcareous biominerals |
| 7. | Jan Goleń | Ancient teeth-like structures: assessing preservation state of conodont elements through fluorescence patterns revealed by confocal microscopy |
| 8. | Senthil Thangadurai | Artificial Intelligence based segmentation of Centers of Calcification in the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa |
| 9. | Jana Jiříčková | Investigating Kidney Stones with the Help of BSE Microprobe Analyses |
| 10. | Magdalena Wojtas | Starmaker protein and magnesium ions induce liquid-liquid phase separation during in vitro mineralization of calcium carbonate |
| 11. | Anna Kozell | Studying the involvement of cells and the interplay of mineral and gel in mollusk nacre formation |
| 12. | Nicole Horáková | Raman spectroscopy of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) and trihydrate (COT) |
| 13. | Carmen Aragon Grau | Impact of Sr incorporation on growth dynamics and lattice strain in calcite |
| 14. | Lucas Kuhrts | Rational Design of Bio-Inspired Magnetite Nanoparticles Informed by In Situ SAXS Measurements |
| 15. | Kei Futagawa | Directional Control of Aragonite Nanofiber Formation by the Intracrystalline Peptide LICP Revealed by Solution NMR |
| 16. | Alona Voronkina | Silactins and the mechanisms of epitaxy of biosilica in unique hierarchical architectures in sponges |
| 17. | Abisheik John Samuel Victor Jothi | Macromolecular geometric frustration directs the morphogenesis of sponge spicules |
| 18. | Jarosław Tyszka | Uncovering collagen-like Extracellular Organic Matrix in porcelaneous Foraminifera: Composition, microstructure and function in shell biomineralization |
| 19. | Xianghong Luan | The enamel matrix protein amelogenin is essential for ion transport |
| 20. | Aneta Tarczewska | Metal ions in regulating liquid–liquid phase separation of acidic otolithic proteins |
| 21. | Viktoryia Krupnik | Trace element incorporation and protein-mediated mineralization in fish otoliths |
| 22. | Francesco Leone | Species-specific biomineral pattern formation in centric diatoms |
| 23. | Jakub Haber | Cyprinus carpio otoliths contain chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate – implications for biomineralization |
| 24. | Tim Schwarz | Advances in atom probe tomography – a new opportunity to understand bone microstructures at the near-atomic level |
| 25. | Ya-Lan Hsu | New insights into the hierarchical structure and complex chemical distribution of dinosaur teeth enamel at a near-atomic scale using atom probe tomography |
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