About The Summer School
The goal of this second Summer School on Biophysics in Greece is to introduce advanced undergraduates, Master's and PhD students with backgrounds in Physics, Biology, Materials Science, Mathematics, CS to the interdisciplinary field of Biophysics and expand the toolset and horizons of those already working on Biophysics. The school aims to show how Biophysics is using all the above sciences to advance, making it an exciting and scientifically inclusive field. Student-instrutor interaction will be maximized via lectures on theory and experiments, workshops on computational and experimental data analysis tools, and plenty of opportunities for discussions.
Where
Xenia, Rethymno
When
Monday to Monday
7-14 July 2025
Topics
Transport (flows) in living systems
Neural and limb development and regeneration
Pattern formation
Cytoskeletal mechanics
Computational and Image Analysis Workshops
Event Speakers
Invited Speakers and Organizers

Stanislav Shvartsman
Princeton University and the Flatiron Institute

Meredith Betterton
Dept. of Physics, Univ. of Colorado Boulder

Carl Modes
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Michael Layden
Dept. of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University

Suryanarayana (Surya) Maddu
Center for Computational Biology, the Flatiron Institute

Tassos Pavlopoulos
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH

Eleni Katifori
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, UPenn

Dimitris Vavylonis
Dept. of Physics, Lehigh University

Emmanouela Filippidi
Dept. of Materials Science, Univ. of Crete
Event Schedule
Lectures, hand-on workshops, and mingling events.
You will need to bring your laptop for the computational workshops .
Day 1 - Mon., July 7th
Registration at Xenia
Registration, room setup. Free time.

Welcome and Useful info Organizers

Welcome Dinner
Day 2 - Tue., July 8th

Introduction to Biophysics. Historical note and Fundamentals. Role of theory and experiment Eleni Katifori

Biophysical Complexity in Morphogenesis and Development I Carl Modes

Coffee break. Courtesy of Sampson bakery

Developmental cell cycles: genetics, biochemistry, and imaging - Part I Stas Shvartsman

Lunch break / Visit Fortezza (castle)

Ice-breaker I: 2 min presentations of all participants

15-min break

Ice-breaker II: 2 min presentations of all participants
Day 3 - Wed., July 9th

Developmental cell cycles: genetics, biochemistry, and imaging - Part II Stas Shvartsman

Cell patterning for division and growth Dimitris Vavylonis

Coffee break Courtesy of Sampson bakery

Biophysical Complexity in Morphogenesis and Development II Carl Modes

Lunch break / Archaelogical museum visit

topic Meredith Betterton

topic speaker

Workshop: Python tutorial on computational biophysics Eleni Katifori

Poster session I
Day 4 - Thu., July. 10th

Computational Workshop Surya Maddu

Coffee break. Courtesy of Sampson bakery

topic Meredith Betterton

Lunch break

workshop

topic speaker

Poster session II
Day 5 - Fri., July 11th

Inferring biology from single cell-omics data: current capabilities and future goals Michael Layden

Biophysical Complexity in Morphogenesis and Development III Carl Modes

Coffee break Courtesy of Sampson bakery

Developmental cell cycles: genetics, biochemistry, and imaging - Part III Stas Shvartsman

Lunch break

Workshop: Modeling with LAMMPS - Part I (Theory/Background/Basic running) Dimitris Vavylonis

Book the speaker session
Day 6 - Sat., July 12th

Biological flow networks - Part II Eleni Katifori

Multi-level studies of Developmental Morphogenesis: from Biophysics to EvoDevo - I Tassos Pavlopoulos

Coffee break Courtesy of Sampson bakery

Image Analysis computer workshop Tassos Pavlopoulos

Lunch break

topic speaker

Panel: Q&A, research opportunities in biophysics, resources, discussion
Day 7 - Sun., Aug 13th

The role of cnidarian neurobiology in understanding evolution and regeneration Michael Layden

Coffee break Courtesy of Sampson bakery

Multi-level studies of Developmental Morphogenesis: from Biophysics to EvoDevo - II Tassos Pavlopoulos

Lunch break

topic speaker
Day 8 - Mon., July 14th

Feedback session

Checkout
Day 8 - Mon., July 14th
Event Venue - Xenia Hotel
Video tour of RethymnoHistoric 'Xenia' hotel
The historic 'Xenia' hotel of Rethymno has recently been transformed into a small dorm for the students of the University of Crete. A short historical note (in greek). The conference room and the guest rooms have a view towards the sea, and are located on the beach/marina promenade, as short 5-min walk to the charming old town.
Accommodation
Our goal is to encourage interactions among students and
we invite everyone to stay at the Xenia dormitories, located upstairs from the venue.
We provide housing for all participants, included in the registration fee.
August is high season in Rethymno, so if you decide to stay elsewhere, please consider booking early.
All Xenia rooms have a view to the sea, a fridge, and access to a floor kitchenette.
Xenia is conveniently located on the Rethymno promenade, next to restaurants, cafes, bars, bakeries, and the historic harbor.
Rooms can be booked for single or double occupancy. Upon availability, you can choose between rooms with a shower or a bathtub.
Please indicate at application whether you are willing to share or not, and if you already know with whom.
Alternatively, here are some recommended hotels
Directions to Rethymno and Xenia
The closest airports are located at Chania (CHQ) and Heraklio (HER). In August there are lots of directs flights to both.
Rethymno is located exactly 1 hr drive from either airport. For a group of 3 or 4, it is worth asking how much a taxi would charge for directly taking you to Xenia hotel at Rethymno. Typical cost is 90-100 euros.
Using public transport, from CHQ a direct bus to Rethymo normally operates during the summer and costs 7 euros. Bus routes
From HER there is no direct bus. One must take a bus (6,8 or 19, pay cash on bus) or taxi to the Heraklio main bus terminal (KTEL). From there take a long-distance bus which takes 1.5-2hr to get to Rethymno and costs 7.60 euros. Tickets can be bought inside the KTEL terminal, where credit cards are accepted. You can also buy them on the bus, by paying cash.
The entrance to Xenia hotel is located on Psarrou Str. 46 (see map above)
Previous events
The 1st Biophysics Summer School: Biological Physics: Soft Living Matter took place 5 - 11th August, 2023
Sponsors - Credits
Image credit: Ana Patricia Ramos, Max Plack Institue of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden
Coffee breaks kindly provided by Sampson Bakery, Dimakopoulou 3, Rethymno.
With the Support of
The Flatiron Institute, New York, NY, USA
Physics Dept., Lehigh University, PA, USA
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete, Greece




How to Apply
To apply please send ONE, COMBINED pdf file with Part I Part I, your CV/resume and a short statement of interest to biophysics@materials.uoc.gr Accepted applicants will be individually contacted and requested to pay the participation fees. Limited financial aid may be available. You will be given a participation certificate at the end of the course from the Univ. of Crete. It will greatly assist us if you collate application, CV and statement of interest in ONE pdf file.
Registration fees are as follows.
Shared room
290€
- Summer School Participation
- Single bed in double, same-gender dorm room
- Welcome Dinner
Entire Room
370€
- Summer School Participation
- Double dorm room by yourself
- Welcome Dinner
No housing needed
150€
- Summer School Participation
- Welcome Dinner
Accompanying Non-Participant
140€
- Sharing double room with participant
- The fee for the participant will be the "shared room" fee
Contact Us
Please email us at biophysics@materials.uoc.gr
Organizing Committee
Dimitris Vavylonis, Professor, Lehigh University, PA, USA
Eleni Katifori, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
Emmanouela Filippidi, Assistant Professor, University of Crete, Greece