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Function of Evolving Systems

Gordon Research Conference

Understanding, Predicting, and Controlling Functional Outcomes of Biological Systems in the Context of the Rapid Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics

August 9 - 14, 2026

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GRC Education Requirements: Undergraduates or those who have not obtained a bachelor's degree in science/engineering (or acceptable equivalent) are not eligible to apply to attend Gordon Research Conferences or Seminars.

Chairs

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Vice Chairs

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Waterville Valley

56 Packard's Road

Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Application Information

Applications for this meeting must be submitted by July 12, 2026. Please apply early, as some meetings become oversubscribed (full) before this deadline. If the meeting is oversubscribed, it will be stated here. Note: Applications for oversubscribed meetings will only be considered by the conference chair if more seats become available due to cancellations.

Conference Description

The Function of Evolving Systems GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes an array of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.

It is becoming clear that one cannot understand how biological systems function without understanding the nature and the impacts of rapid evolutionary dynamics within ecological communities. This conference will bring together researchers across traditionally disparate disciplines of Evolution & Ecology, Functional Biology (e.g. Cancer Biology, Immunology, Virology etc), Physics, Statistics, and Engineering as well as traditionally disparate systems such as microbial ecology and tissue biology to discuss how to investigate and control biological function within the necessary complex and dynamical eco-evolutionary context with the goal of arriving at emergent simplicity of understanding.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Staff / Welcome and Introduction from the Chairs
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	Predicting Structure and Function in Microbiomes Discussion Leader:
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:45 pm - 8:20 pm	"Learning Functional Groups in Complex Microbiomes"
8:20 pm - 8:35 pm	Discussion
8:35 pm - 9:10 pm	"Predicting Gut Microbial Community Assembly Across Nutritional Environments"
9:10 pm - 9:25 pm	Discussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics: Feedbacks Between Ecology and Evolution Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:35 am	"Large Combinatorial Strain Diversity from Frequency-Dependent Selection and its Role in Ecological Resilience"
9:35 am - 9:45 am	Discussion
9:45 am - 10:20 am	"Rapid Evolution and Species Coexistence: From Theory to Empirical Evidence in an Orchard Fly System"
10:20 am - 10:30 am	Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am	Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:15 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:15 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:55 am	"Functional Redundancy and Strain-Level Diversity in Complex Microbial Communities"
11:55 am - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:20 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:20 pm - 12:25 pm	Discussion
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Evolution of immunity: plant defense and the quantitative theory Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:00 pm	"Evolution in Overdrive: Diversity and Bioengineering of Innate Immune Systems"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
8:25 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm	"Design Principles of the Adaptive Immune Response in T-Cells"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:15 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:15 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Escaping Immunity: Viral Adaptation and Antibody Pressure Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am	"Complete Identification of Viral Mutations that Affect Antibodies use to Prevent RSV in Infants"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:55 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:20 am	"Convergence in Immune Repertoires"
10:20 am - 10:30 am	Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am	Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:15 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:15 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:40 am	"Ultra-Soft Sweeps Drive HIV Evolutionary Escape from Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies"
11:40 am - 11:50 am	Discussion
11:50 am - 12:05 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:05 pm - 12:10 pm	Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:20 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:20 pm - 12:25 pm	Discussion
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Design Principles of Plants: Genetics and Metabolic Function Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:00 pm	"A Million Shades of Green: Understanding and Harnessing Plant Metabolic Diversity"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:25 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
8:25 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm	"A Grass-Eating Primate Changed the World: Now the System Needs to Evolve Again"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:15 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:15 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Cancer as an Evolutionary System: Mutation, Selection and Spread Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am	"Somatic Evolution in Health and Disease"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:55 am - 10:00 am	Discussion
10:00 am - 10:15 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
10:15 am - 10:20 am	Discussion
10:20 am - 10:50 am	Coffee Break
10:50 am - 11:10 am	"Cancer as a Functionally Evolving System: Selection, Mutation, and Epistasis in Tumors"
11:10 am - 11:20 am	Discussion
11:20 am - 11:35 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:35 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 11:55 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:55 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm	Discussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Microbial Ecosystems: Mapping Function and Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:00 pm	"Mapping and Shaping the Space of Microbial Ecosystem Functions"
8:00 pm - 8:10 pm	Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:20 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
8:20 pm - 8:25 pm	Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:35 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
8:35 pm - 8:40 pm	Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:00 pm	"Ecology and Evolution of the Gut Microbiome"
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm	Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:20 pm - 9:25 pm	Discussion
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair(s); Complete the GRC Evaluation Forms; Election of the Next Vice Chair(s)
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	The Physics of Evolution: Linking Molecular Structure and Population Change Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am	"High-Dimensional Antibody and Antigen Sequence-Function Landscapes and the Constraints on Viral-Immune Coevolution"
9:30 am - 9:40 am	Discussion
9:40 am - 9:50 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
9:50 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:05 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
10:05 am - 10:10 am	Discussion
10:10 am - 10:20 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
10:20 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:15 am	"Generative Models for Protein Function"
11:15 am - 11:25 am	Discussion
11:25 am - 11:40 am	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
11:40 am - 11:45 am	Discussion
11:45 am - 12:00 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:20 pm	Short Talk Selected from Poster Abstracts
12:20 pm - 12:25 pm	Discussion
12:25 pm - 12:30 pm	General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Evolutionary Tradeoffs and Adaptation in Host-Pathogen Systems Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:15 pm	"Evolutionary Gymnastics of Dual-Host Viruses"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:05 pm	"How Evolutionary Tradeoffs Shape Function in Microbial Ecosystems"
9:05 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure

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Poster Information

Poster sessions are an integral part of the our conferences, and offer all conferees an opportunity to discuss their research.

Preparing your GRC poster

Funding Opportunities

Financial assistance is available beginning in 2026 for qualified applicants through the Carl Storm Opportunity Fellowships program. Learn more.

Registration Fees

Conferee Single Room:

$1,750.00

Conferee Shared Room:

$1,560.00

Conferee Off-Site:

$1,115.00

Guest Single Room:

$1,530.00

Guest Shared Room:

$1,340.00

Guest Off-Site:

$895.00

Child 4-12 yrs Shared Room:

$670.00

Child 4-12 yrs Off-Site:

$448.00

Child Under 4 yrs Shared Room:

Free

Child Under 4 yrs Off-Site:

Free

Bus Arriving:

$65.00

Bus Departing:

$65.00

Additional Fee Info

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