Unorthodox Genomes: Redefining Life

 

Please join NEB at our 2026 Symposium: Unorthodox Genomes: Redefining Life.

Join us for a day of talks and posters exploring these “unorthodox genomes”.
Featured topics include:

  • Viroid-like RNA in microbiomes
  • Mobile genetic elements
  • Giant extrachromosomal DNA
  • Jumbo phages

Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM *Registration begins at 9:00 AM

Location: Aloft Boston Seaport District  |  401-403 D Street  |  Boston, MA  02210

Time Speaker Session
9:45 AM

Sir Richard Roberts
Nobel Laureate & Chief Scientific Officer, New England Biolabs

Salvatore Russello
Chief Executive Officer, New England Biolabs

Welcome & Introduction
10:00 AM Dr. Andrew Fire
Stanford University School of Medicine
The Living Transcriptome
10:45 AM Dr. Andrew Varble
University of Rochester Medical Center

Obelisks – Replication and Impact of Circular RNAs in Bacteria

11:30 - 12:30 Lunch  
12:45 PM

Professor José Penadés
Imperial College, London

Two Tales about Phages and Their Satellites
1:30 PM

Dr. Kimberley Seed
University of California, Berkeley

Coevolution of Phage and Bacteria During Disease in Humans

2:15 PM Break  
2:30 PM

Professor Joseph Pogliano
University of California, San Diego

The Surprising Complexity of Jumbo Phage Biology

3:15 PM

Professor Jillian Banfield
University of California, Berkeley and Monash University

Complete Genomes from Metagenomes Reveal Evolutionary Patterns in a Diverse Set of Extrachromosomal Elements of Methanotrophic Archaea
4:00 PM

Dr. Tom Evans
Executive Director of Research
New England Biolabs

Closing Remarks
4:00 PM Poster Session & Reception  

 

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