CAEG Symposium 2025
We are happy to invite you to the upcoming Symposium on Ancient Environmental Genomics, organized by the Center for Ancient Environmental Genomics (CAEG), scheduled for April 3–4, 2025 in Fredensborg just 30 minutes from Copenhagen.
This symposium will bring together experts from various disciplines to explore how contemporary methods from environmental DNA research can be innovatively applied to ancient samples. Our goal is to foster collaboration across fields to address key challenges in the analysis of ancient biomolecules and reconstruction of past environments.
Early Career Researchers (ECRs) will be central to this event, providing opportunities to present their work through talks and posters. We aim to cultivate an inclusive, collaborative atmosphere that encourages new perspectives and groundbreaking methodologies.
- Computational Methods: Graph-based approaches, big data workflows, and bioinformatics pipelines for ancient environmental DNA.
- Metagenomic Approaches: Analysis of ancient microbial communities and the use of modern metagenomic tools to interpret ancient environmental DNA.
- Preservation & Taphonomy: DNA-mineral interactions, biomolecular degradation processes, and the spatial-temporal dynamics of genetic material.
Day 1: April 3, 2025
- 08:15: Meet-up outside the Museum (Oester Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark)
- 08:30: Bus to the venue
- 09:30–10:00: Registration
- 10:00–10:10: Welcome
- 10:10–13:00 Session 1: Computational Methods
- 10:10–10:40 Opening by the Center Director Eske Willerslev
- 10:40–11:10 Invited talk: Nikolay Oskolkov
- 11:10–11:30 Coffee break
- 11:30–12:00 Invited talk: Erik Garrison
- 12:00–13:00 ECR talks
- 13:00–14:00 Lunch
- 14:00–17:00 Session 2: Metagenomics and Microbes
- 14:00–14:30 Invited talk: A. Murat Eren (Meren)
- 14:30-14:50 ECR talk
- 14:50–15:10 ECR talk
- 15:10-15:30 Coffee break
- 15:30–16:00 Invited talk: Mads Albertsen
- 16:00–16:20 ECR talk
- 16:20-16:40 ECR talk
- 16:40-17:30 Discussion and closing remarks
- 17:30–19:00: Posters, drinks, and networking
- 19:00–21:00: Symposium dinner
Day 2: April 4, 2025
- 08:50: Group Photo
- 09:00–12:00 Session 3: Preservation & Taphonomy
- 09:00–09:30 Invited talk: Mareike Stahlschmidt
- 09:30–10:00 Invited talk: Stanislav Jelavic
- 10:00–10:30 Coffee break
- 10:30–11:00 Invited talk: Colin Freeman
- 11:00–12:00 ECR talks
- 12:00–13:00: Lunch
- 13:00–16:30 Session 4: Applied Studies
- ECR talks
- 16:00–17:00: Discussion and closing remarks
- 17:30: Bus departure to Copenhagen
Invited speakers
Computer scientist and microbial ecologist who studies microbial lifestyles in a wide range of habitats that span from oceans to insect ovaries. Established at the intersection between computer science and microbiology, Meren's group (merenlab.org) combines state-of-the-art computational strategies and molecular tools to shed light on the ecology and evolution of naturally occurring microbial populations, with the primary aim of understanding strategies by which microbes thrive within their ever-changing environments.
My research group focuses on enabling high-throughput investigation of uncultivated microbes in complex environments using DNA sequencing by developing new methods that increase throughput at least 10-fold. Our mission is to populate the microbial tree-of-life with genomes for the benefit of humanity.
Nikolay Oskolkov is a bioinformatician at Lund University and NBIS SciLifeLab with long-standing experience in biological data analysis. He defended his PhD in 2007 in theoretical physics and switched to computational biology in 2012 where he worked on medical genomics, cell biology, ancient and environmental metagenomics projects.
Registration for the symposium is free, but it is limited to 15 participants. This includes accommodation, meals, and registration. Additionally, three of these spots are specifically allocated as travel grants for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), which cover all travel expenses along with accommodation, meals, and registration.
For further information and registration, please contact Anna Razeto Richter.