Viruses have evolved to follow sophisticated strategies for infecting host cells, replicating, and spreading. However, in most cases, insights into the molecular and nanoscopic details of the virus entry and egress remain limited. This two-day symposium will focus on virus entry and egress with an emphasis on the critical steps that dictate host specificity, infectivity and spread. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between virologists, biophysicists and theoreticians, we hope to bridge our understanding of the molecular-scale phenomena with macroscopic infection dynamics.

An outstanding line-up of invited speakers will explore the phenomena behind viral attachment, membrane fusion and endocytic pathways with an emphasis on various physical processes that might be involved. Furthermore, quantitative methods comprising advanced electron and light microscopy imaging, single-particle tracking, and computational modeling will address different aspects of virus-host interactions to elucidate the way viral particles exploit cellular machinery and physical constraints to optimize infectivity.

Poster sessions and roundtable discussions will provide an opportunity for informal interactions in the vibrant environment of the new Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, a new interdisciplinary research center that brings together physicists and medical researchers on the campus of the University Hospital in Erlangen.

Space is limited, so please register sooner than later!

Please find more information and details for the registration here.