Mutations in Time and Space

The Mutations in Time and Space meeting brings together researchers at the forefront of genomics to explore the origins, patterns and consequences of mutations across biological systems. Spanning cells, tissues, individuals, populations and species, the meeting examines how genome evolution shapes human health and ageing, and illuminates the mechanisms behind cancer, somatic mosaicism and developmental disorders.

Alongside cutting-edge science, the conference will showcase novel experimental, computational and AI-enabled technologies that reveal mutational processes and genome evolution in unprecedented detail.

Our goal is to create a vibrant forum where researchers who rarely meet—because their disciplines don’t traditionally intersect—can exchange ideas and spark new collaborations.

Why attend?

• Cross-disciplinary forum: Join global peers studying cancer, evolution, population and developmental genetics.
• Strong emphasis on new results: ≥25 of 40 talks will be selected from submitted abstracts, providing plenty of opportunity to share your insights with field leaders.
• Methods at the frontier: Covering single-cell and spatial genomics, perturbations, saturation mutagenesis, AI-enabled analysis.
• Posters and relaxed networking to spark collaborations
• Broad, international speaker line-up and active early-career participation

Sessions will include:

• Mutagenesis and changing genomes: From exposures and transposons to ageing—discover the biochemical roots of mutational patterns and the technologies that capture them.
• Germline and populations: Selection in germ cells, adaptation, ancient DNA and how variation shapes human traits.
• Across the tree of life: Pathogens to plants to animals—see species-specific processes and adaptation to environment and climate.
• Somatic evolution and disease: Mosaic disorders, chronic disease and tumour evolution—lineage tracing, clonal dynamics and resistance.
• Synthetic genomics and new methods: Perturbations, saturation mutagenesis, spatial genomics and AI to predict consequence.

Scientific programme committee

Craig Anderson
DKTK/DKFZ, Germany

Kristin Ardlie
Broad Institute, USA

John Grey Monroe
University of California Davis, USA

Tim Coorens 
EMBL-EBI, UK

Raheleh Rahbari 
Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK

Martin Taylor 
University of Edinburgh, UK

Michelle Trenkmann 
Nature, Germany

Kamila Naxerova
Harvard Medical School, USA

Invited speakers 

Carl de Boer 
University of British Columbia, Canada

Richard Durbin 
University of Cambridge, UK

Evan Eichler 
Univeristy of Washington, USA

Maria Eriksson 
Karolinska Institute, Sweden 

Hakon Jonsson 
deCODE Genetics, Iceland 

Nicole Lake 
Yale University, USA

Amanda Larracuente 
University of Rochester, UK

Ben Lehner
Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK 

Liz Murchison 
University of Cambridge, UK

Seishi Ogawa 
Kyoto University, Japan

Daniela Robles-Espinoza 
National Autonomous University of Mexico

Neville Sanjana 
New York Genome Center, USA

Siyao Wang 
Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, Germany 

Caroline Watson 
University of Cambridge, UK

Christopher Walsh
Boston Children's Hospital/hhmi, USA

Registration deadline:  16 March 2026

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee or media pass.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of Monday 13 April and Tuesday 14 April 2026
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended.

If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas

Please check the UK government website for advice on whether you will need a visa or an electronic travel authorisation and how to obtain one: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor. 

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact our events team.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 12 January 2026

Wellcome Connecting Science offers registration bursaries (usually up to 50% of the registration fee) to those who would benefit from attending the conference but face financial barriers to attending events.

Priority will be given to PhD students/trainees,  applicants from lower and middle income countries, or those from underrepresented/minoritised groups. Other early career researchers will be considered if funds allow.

To apply for funding support, please register and then select that you want to apply for a bursary. This will direct you to the online application form. Please explain why you need support and how you will benefit from attending the conference. Once you have submitted the application form, you will be emailed an abstract portal link. Please use this to submit your abstract before bursary deadline.

Applications without abstracts will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Additional funding opportunities

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 2 February 2026

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Presenters of oral presentations are expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

To submit an abstract, you must first register for the conference. Once your registration is completed, you will be emailed a link to submit to the abstract submission portal. If you wish to edit your abstract following submission, please use the link in the abstract acknowledgement email.

All abstracts must be submitted and, if desired, edited by the deadline. The scientific programme committee will then assess your abstract and you will be notified about 2 weeks after the deadline whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation. If you require acknowledgment that your abstract has been accepted earlier than this, please contact the event organiser.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference.

Selected poster presentations will have the opportunity to present a ~1 min ‘poster pitch’ summarising their work.

If you are interested in supporting this meeting, please contact us.

For more information about the benefits of having a presence at this meeting, see our sponsorship page.

Quotient Therapeutics