Imaging Mouse Development

For many years, our understanding of early mammalian development has been limited by the inability to visualize development as it happens. Technical limitations, physical inaccessibility, and complex computational problems have all hindered our ability to answer long-standing questions in the field of mouse development. Recent advances in light microscopy and AI present us with new avenues and opportunities to address outstanding questions.

For the 10th anniversary of this conference, which alternates between Janelia and EMBL Heidelberg, we are bringing together members of the mouse developmental biology community with experts in cutting-edge machine learning and microscopy technologies. This year’s meeting will focus on how emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches can be harnessed to create smarter microscopes, automated image analysis pipelines, and data-driven models. The goal is to unlock new insights from the rapidly expanding amount of data generated by next-generation technologies, from transcriptomics to advanced imaging platforms.

The intimate nature of Janelia meetings fosters an interactive and collaborative environment, with researchers across disciplines coming together for an intense, focused, 3-day gathering to tackle some of the most outstanding questions in mammalian development.

Janelia will cover lodging and meals for all participants, and travel support is available to those in need (please indicate need in that portion of the application). Participants are expected to stay for the duration of the meeting.

The meeting will begin at 6pm ET on the first day and end by 1pm ET on the last.

Application deadline: April 9, 2026 (11:59pm ET).

Please note: Because Janelia conferences are intentionally small and selective, we may not be able to accommodate all applicants. We strive for a broad representation across labs and therefore may limit participation to one person per group. Preference is given to applicants who are active researchers in the field and intend to present their work as a poster or selected talk.