Physics of Life 2027

Physics of Life 2027, the UK’s leading biophysics conference, comes to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre from 22 to 25 March 2027, and abstract submission is now open.

Now in its third edition, the biennial meeting brings together physicists, biologists, chemists, engineers and mathematicians working on the physics of living systems, from single molecules to whole organisms. Expect four days of plenary lectures, contributed talks, posters and networking across 18 topic areas. It is organised by the Physics of Life Network with the Institute of Physics Biological Physics Group, the British Biophysical Society, Physics of Living Matter, Physics Meets Biology and The Company of Biologists.

For dementia researchers, sessions on Biomolecular Assemblies and Condensates, Protein Structure, Dynamics and Interactions, Imaging and Single Molecule Biology and Physics of Disease are the obvious draw, covering the kind of protein behaviour and imaging methods that sit underneath so much neurodegeneration research. It is also a good place to see what interdisciplinary neuroscience looks like from the physics side, and to find collaborators you won’t meet at a dementia conference.

Plenary speakers

• Emmanuel Derivery, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK
• Kerstin Göpfrich, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Theanne Griffith, University of California, Davis, USA
• Keir Neuman, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, USA
• Katharina Sonnen, Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands
• Shashi Thutupalli, National Centre for Biological Sciences, India

The 18 topics

Biomolecular Assemblies and Condensates; Collective Phenomena in Living Matter; Emerging Areas in the Physics of Life; Engineering Biology; Evolution, Ecology and Epidemiology; Gene Regulatory Dynamics; Imaging and Single Molecule Biology; Immunity, Resistance and Host/Pathogen Dynamics; Metabolism, Growth and Physical Bioenergetics; Microbes Across Length Scales; Patterns and Waves; Physics of Disease; Protein Structure, Dynamics and Interactions; Quantum Technology in and for Biology (new for 2027); and Tissue Growth, Mechanics and Mechanosensing, plus three Company of Biologists sessions on Cell Architecture and Forces, Differentiation and Development, and Physics of the Nucleus.

Submit an abstract

You can submit for an oral or a poster presentation:

• Oral abstract deadline: 13 December 2026
• Poster abstract deadline: 22 January 2027
• Notification of acceptance: January 2027

Titles can be up to 25 words and abstracts up to 250 words of plain text, with an optional one-page supporting document for figures and references. You choose one main topic and can add others, which the organisers say may improve your chances of an oral slot. Early career researchers can tick a box to be considered for the dedicated ECR session on Monday 22 March.

Our guide on how to write a powerful conference abstract is worth a read before you start, especially if you are pitching dementia work to a physics audience.

Registration

Registration opens in November 2026, with separate rates for IOP members and non-members. The early bird deadline is 19 February 2027 and registration closes on 12 March 2027.

Organisations interested in sponsoring or exhibiting can contact conferences@iop.org.

Oral abstracts close 13 December 2026. Poster abstracts close 22 January 2027.

Submit an Abstract