Pre-registration for the COMMONS - LINXS - SoftComp PhD Summer School on “Phase separation, condensation, and self-association in 2 and 3 dimensions – from basic principles to applications in life sciences” (Short title: “LLPS2026 PhD Summer School”; “LLPS” stands for "Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation”), taking place from August 24-26 (2.5 days; 1.5 ECTS) in Lund @ LINXS, is now open!
Deadline for pre-registration (PhD Summer School): March 15th, 2026
When: 24-26 August, 2026
Where: LINXS, The Loop, Rydbergs torg 4, 224 84, Lund, Sweden
Important information & rules for PhD Summer School application:
This course is free of charge (meals included) and open to max. 35 students. PhD students have highest priority, and seats for them will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis combined with the assessment of the brief motivation text asked for during the pre-registration process.
Young postdocs are also encouraged to apply, but will only be enrolled if there are free seats available (or put on a waiting list).
All applicants will be informed in the beginning of April about their acceptance status.
We have reserved affordable accommodation (ca. 700-800 SEK/night, single room) for PhD students and postdocs.
PhD students will have to present a poster on their own research at the PhD School in order to receive the 1.5 ECTS.
TOPIC
Liquid-liquid phase separation, complex coacervation and other related phenomena are currently in the focus of diverse communities such as life sciences, biophysics, materials and food science. Understanding the underlying mechanisms remains challenging, and requires a concerted experimental, theoretical and simulation effort using a cross- and interdisciplinary approach. Here we aim to bring together a representative selection of the scientific communities concerned and approach the topic ‘Phase separation’ from a variety of perspectives (liquid-liquid, liquid-solid, liquid-liquid crystalline; complex coacervation etc.) and in different systems (proteins, peptides, surfactants, polyelectrolytes, polymers, colloids, membranes, cells, etc.).
The event comprises a PhD Summer School (2.5 days; August 24-26) reserved for PhD students and young postdocs (max. 35 participants), followed by a Workshop (“LLPS2026 Workshop”, 2 days; August 26-28; registration on separate webpage) open to the entire interested scientific community (max. 100 participants).
Important: Find more information, registration & abstract submission for the LLPS2026 Workshop (26.-28.8.2026, lunch-to-lunch) here
The LLPS2026 PhD Summer School and Workshop are jointly organized by COMMONS (https://www.physchem.lu.se/commons/), a Center of Excellence funded by the Swedish Research Council, with the theme "Commonalities in biomembrane and biomolecular interactions”, located at the Division of Physical Chemistry @ Lund University, together with SMILE, a Theme on “Soft Matter in Life” at the LINXS Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science in Lund (https://www.linxs.se/), and SoftComp (https://eu-softcomp.net/), a European Network of Excellence, with the current focus on bringing together Soft Matter Science and Life Sciences.
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Monday, 24.8.
09:00 – 10:30 Welcome & L1 (Introduction)
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 L2 (Phase separation in colloids)
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 15:00 L3 (Phase separation in compact globular proteins)
15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break
15:30 – 17:00 L4 (Phase separation in IDPs)
17:00 – 18:00 Round table discussions, Q&A
18:00 – 20:00 Light dinner & poster session A
Tuesday, 25.8.
09:00 – 10:30 L5 (Phase separation in anisotropic colloids)
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 L6 (Phase separation in polymers; Arrested spinodal decomposition)
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 15:00 L7 (Complex coacervation in polyelectrolytes – fundamentals & applications)
15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break
15:30 – 17:00 L8 (Phase separation in biology)
17:00 – 18:00 Round table discussions, Q&A
18:00 – 20:00 Light dinner & poster session B
Wednesday, 26.8.
09:00 – 10:30 L9 (Phase separation in membranes)
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 L10 (Computer simulations and patchy colloids/proteins)
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch; end of PhD school
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Emanuela Bianchi (TU Vienna)
Marleen Kamperman (Groningen)
Sara Linse (Lund)
Mikael Lund (Lund)
Katarzyna Makasewicz (ETH Zürich)
Raffaele Mezzenga (ETH Zürich)
Florian Platten (Düsseldorf)
Felix Roosen-Runge (Lund)
Peter Schurtenberger (Lund)
Emma Sparr (Lund)
Joakim Stenhammar (Lund)
Giulio Tesei (Malmö)
Remco Tuinier (TU Eindhoven)
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Anna Stradner, Lund (chair)
Emma Sparr, Lund
Felix Roosen-Runge, Lund
Hanna Wacklin-Knecht, Lund
Patricia Bassereau, Paris
Frank Schreiber, Tübingen
Remco Tuinier, Eindhoven
Florian Platten, Düsseldorf/FZJülich
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Anna Stradner (chair)
Emma Sparr
Felix Roosen-Runge
Contact:
Maria Lövgren (maria.lovgren@chem.lu.se)
Anna Stradner (anna.stradner@chem.lu.se)
For practical questions about LINXS and the venue, please contact josefin.martell@linxs.lu.se
During our events we sometimes take photographs and short film clips to profile our activities. Please let us know if you don’t want to be in any photos/films before we start the event. Some webinars are recorded to be used for educational purposes in the LINXS website.
By registering to our events you give your permission to LINXS, according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to register your name and e-mail address to be used for the sole purpose of distributing newsletters and communications on LINXS activities.