We are pleased to announce the Joint FEBS/EMBO Lecture Course ‘Ion channels and transporters: from atoms to cellular context’, which will be held in Erice (Italy) on 13–19 May 2026. This 5-day lecture course continues the tradition of the Erice workshops for early career scientists in the membrane transport field.

The course is designed to provide an overview of the latest aspects of ion channel and transporter research, with topics including structural, functional, and computational aspects. The course's lectures will incorporate an in depth, didactic component (postgraduate level) and a cutting-edge research presentation. Speakers will deposit handout notes of their lectures onto our dedicated website for participants to download for future use. Importantly, during the course there will be tutorials and hands-on exercises. These will involve researchers meeting small groups of students to discuss specific topics in greater depth or to demonstrate new technologies developed by our industry partners.

The course will also include in depth discussions of broader topics, such as laboratory sustainability and gender inequalities in science, as well as ample opportunities for discussion and ad hoc interactions between students and lecturers. Lastly, the small town of Erice provides a relaxed and beautiful setting for the course.

Scientific focus and program highlights

The 2026 event will explore key themes in membrane transport, including but not only:

• Ion channels in complex
• Sensational ion channels
• Combined in silico and in vitro approaches
• Engineering transport proteins
• Intracellular ion transport

The course will also include:

• A dedicated AI & Data Analysis Workshop
• Flash talks
• Poster sessions
• Selected short talks from posters
• Roundtable discussions, social events, and dedicated networking time with speakers

Confirmed speakers

The scientific program features a remarkable, gender-balanced lineup of internationally renowned researchers, including:

• Cristina Paulino (Heidelberg University, Germany) on cryoEM/biochemistry
• Dan Minor (University of California-San Francisco, USA) on the electrosome
• Lucie Delemotte (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden) on MD simulations
• Norbert Weiss (Charles University, Czech Republic) on pathophysiology
• Jean-Ju Chung (Yale School of Medicine, USA) on reproductive physiology

And many more…

Grants for early career scientists

Several FEBS Youth Travel Fund (YTF) Grants will be available for PhD students and postdoctoral scientist from the FEBS area. The application deadline for these grants will be 1 March 2026.

The course registration deadline will be 15 April 2026. More details and a link to the course website, when ready, will be made available on this post and on the FEBS and EMBO websites.

We look forward to welcoming you to the course!

Course organizer Anna Moroni (University of Milan) and co-organizers Stephan Pless (University of Copenhagen) and Alessio Accardi (Weill Cornell Medicine).

 For more information about the FEBS Advanced Courses programme visit the FEBS website.

Top image provided by the course organizer.