Mobile Genetic Elements

August 28 - 30, 2025, Woods Hole, MA

Abstract Submission Deadlines: July 25 for talk and fellowship consideration; August 7 for poster presentations. Approximately half of the talks will be chosen from submitted abstracts.

Meeting Organizers: 

Blair Paul, Vladimir Kapitonov, Irina Arkhipova, Marine Biological Laboratory;

Phoebe Rice, The University of Chicago; Cedric Feschotte, Cornell University

Confirmed Speakers and subject areas: 

Jeff Miller, UCLA (Keynote: Diversity-generating retroelements)

  Partho Ghosh, UCSD (RNA control of reverse transcription)

  Samuel Sternberg, Columbia University (Exploring and exploiting bacterial defense systems)

  Cedric Feschotte, Cornell University (TEs and regulatory evolution)

  Alexei Aravin, Caltech/Cornell University (Small RNAs and TE silencing)

  Kathleen Burns, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Transposons and disease)

Dear Mobile Elements Researchers,

We are pleased to announce the eighth edition of the Mobile Genetic Elements meeting which will take place from Thursday, August 28 to Saturday, August 30, 2025 at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. This meeting brings together experimental and computational scientists seeking to narrow the gap between the fast-paced discovery of transposable elements in silico and the limited number of experimental models amenable to functional studies of structural, mechanistic, and regulatory properties of transposable elements and their impact on prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. The meeting will start with dinner at 6:00 pm on Thursday and end with lunch at 1:00 pm on Saturday.

The 8^th Mobile Genetic Elements meeting continues the series of meetings held in Woods Hole since 2007. Mobile element enthusiasts from any state or country are welcome and have enjoyed attending in the past. Please forward this information to your colleagues or trainees who might be interested in attending.

Abstracts should be submitted via the following google link: Abstract Submission, and include title, authors, institutions, and body text. This should be a concise <300-word description of the work to be presented by the submitting author. Please indicate oral/poster preference on the form.

Poster Size - Portrait size max. 32" x 54"

Talks chosen from abstracts will be 20 minutes, including Q&A

We especially welcome abstract submissions from young scientists at the graduate, postdoctoral, and early-stage investigator levels. Approximately half of the talks will be selected from submitted abstracts. Partial reimbursement of registration costs may be offered to selected presenters, pending availability of funds. To qualify for support, please provide a brief justification to either of the MBL co-organizers by e-mail upon abstract submission. Abstracts submitted after July 25 will not be considered for talks.

We look forward to seeing you in August!

Blair Paul, Vladimir Kapitonov, Irina Arkhipova, Phoebe Rice, Cedric Feschotte, Organizers