Collaboratorium Annual Symposium: Causality in Biology & AI
10-11 November 2025
Overview
The complexity of biology makes it hard to distinguish correlation from causation. In addition, the explosion of biological data and AI tools has led some to question the need for identifying causal relationships to achieve predictive power and make practical progress in biology.
This symposium will focus on causal inference from different kinds of biological data and mathematical approaches, including the extent to which machine learning and AI tools can reveal causal relationships.
You can download the full agenda of the event here.
You can dowload the abstract book by clicking on the image below.
Scientific Organisers
Speakers
Programme
Day 1 - November 10, 2025
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14:00 |
🖋️ Registration, PRBB Auditorium Carrer del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain |
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14:15 |
WELCOME AND PRESENTATION by James Sharpe (Collaboratorium - EMBL Barcelona) and Mafalda Dias (Centre for Genomic Regulation) |
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Session I: Causality Concepts Chair: Mafalda Dias
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| 14:30 |
CAN MODELLING PREDICT LIFE? Denis Noble University of Oxford |
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15:10 |
CAUSATION AND BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY: WHAT ARE THE CENTRAL PROBLEMS? James DiFrisco Francis Crick Institute |
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15:50 |
☕ Coffee break |
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16:20 |
EMERGENT (NON-)CAUSAL ABSTRACTIONS OVER CAUSAL STRUCTURE IN MESOSCALE BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS Jonas Hartmann University College London |
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17:00 |
DOWNWARDS CAUSALITY FROM TISSUES TO GENES James Sharpe EMBL Barcelona |
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17:40 |
INTEGRATING BIOLOGY ACROSS SCALES: HOW CAUSAL IS “CAUSAL”? Ava Khamseh University of Edinburgh |
| 18:20 | END OF DAY I by James Sharpe (EMBL Barcelona) |
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19:00 |
Reception and Networking at the Collaboratorium — Registration mandatory for external participants. Barcelona Collaboratorium Fundació Pasqual Maragall, |
Day 2 - November 11, 2025
| 09:00 |
🖋️ Registration, PRBB Auditorium Carrer del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain |
| 09:15 |
SUMMARY OF DAY 1 AND INTRODUCTION TO DAY 2 by Mafalda Dias Centre for Genomic Regulation |
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Session II: Causality at Different Scales of Biology Chair: James Sharpe
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| 09:30 |
OF CAUSE AND EFFECT IN RAPIDLY SELF-ORGANIZING SYSTEMS Gaudenz Danuser Institute for Human Biology |
| 10:10 |
SEQUENCE-BASED INTERPRETABLE DIMENSIONALITY REDUCTION DECODES CELLULAR PLASTICITY Oliver Stegle EMBL Germany |
| 10:50 |
☕ Coffee break |
| 11:20 |
HOST-MICROBIOME INTERACTIONS: LEVERAGING GENETIC VARIATION IN THE HOST TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CAUSALITY Amelie Baud Centre for Genomic Regulation |
| 12:00 |
WHAT CAUSES INTER-INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN LIFESPAN? Nicholas Edward Stroustrup Centre for Genomic Regulation |
| 12:40 |
FLASH TALKS Junior Researchers |
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13:00 |
🍴 Lunch and Posters Session Posters' authors |
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Session III: Causality in AI Models Chair: Gaudenz Danuser
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| 14:30 |
CAUSAL REPRESENTATION LEARNING: FROM BIOMARKERS TO MECHANISMS Caroline Uhler Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard |
| 15:10 |
EXPLAINABLE AI FOR PROTEIN DESIGN Noelia Ferruz Centre for Genomic Regulation |
| 15:50 |
☕ Coffee break |
| 16:20 |
CAUSAL MOLECULAR DESIGN Eli Weinstein DTU, Denmark |
| 17:00 |
End of Day II - CLOSING REMARKS by James Sharpe (Collaboratorium - EMBL Barcelona) |
You can download the full agenda of the event here.
Call for abstracts
Deadlines
Abstracts for the posters are no longer accepted (deadline was September 15).
Notification of acceptance will be mailed by October 10th, 2025. Only the presenting/first author will receive the email notification of acceptance or rejection, and is responsible for informing all co-authors of the status of the abstract.
Content of the Abstract
- All abstracts must be written in English and are limited to 300 words.
- Abstracts must contain: title, authors, primary institution, purpose of the study, methods used, summary of the results and conclusion reached.
- Abstracts will be published as submitted. Proof and edit your submission accordingly.
The poster space will be of 90 x 120 cm (width x height), which corresponds to DIN-A0 VERTICAL layout.
Contact and venue
Sponsors
The event benefits from fundings by the Municipality of Barcelona.
