2026 Yang ICoN Center Symposium: Self-Organization and Emergence in Development

• Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
• Location: Singleton Auditorium (46-3002, Third Floor of MIT Building 46) This is an in-person event 
• Time: 8:45 AM - 5:00 PM with poster session & reception to follow 
• Event is free and open to the public 
• Registration is required 

Symposium Overview

This event brings together leading researchers to explore how neural structure and function emerge during development. Speakers will discuss key theoretical and empirical challenges in explaining how complex neural systems arise across molecular, cellular, and circuit levels.

The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience (ICoN) Center at MIT pioneers computational models of brain function that unify multiple levels of biological data, from molecules to circuits to behavior. The center is part of the Yang Tan Collective, a multi-university effort dedicated to accelerating collaborations in basic science, research, and engineering to improve human health and well-being at a global scale. Learn more about the Collective at yangtan.mit.edu.

Symposium Agenda: 

8:30 AM – Check-In Opens

8:45 AM - Welcome & Introduction from Ila Fiete, MIT

9:00 AM - Paola Arlotta, Harvard University

9:50 AM - Gordon Smith, University of Minnesota

10:40 AM - Coffee Break

10:55 AM - Yerbol Kurmangaliyev, Brandeis University

11:45 AM - Matthias Kaschube, FIAS Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies

12:35 PM - Lunch

1:20 PM - Stanislav Shvartsman, Princeton University

2:10 PM - Brady Weissbourd, MIT

3:00 PM - Afternoon Break 

3:15 PM - Fenna Krienen, Princeton University

4:05 PM - P. Robin Hiesinger, Freie Universitat Berlin

4:55 PM - Closing Remarks

5:00 PM - Poster Session & Networking Reception