Simulated Bodies: Whole Body Biomechanical Models
The second iteration of our SimBodies conference will focus on computational simulation of biomechanical body models, bringing together scientists from the neuroethology, physics simulation, machine learning, and computer vision communities. Recent technological advances in automated behavior analysis, anatomical microscopy, simulation software and machine learning now enable detailed biomechanical simulations of behaving animals at the whole-body scale. We aim to assess the state of the art, identify existing gaps, and continue to foster an interdisciplinary community to address those gaps. The program will include invited and selected talks highlighting individual model organisms and cross-cutting approaches.
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.
Applications deadline: Nov 21, 2025 (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.
Organizers
Srini Turaga, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus
Wyatt Korff, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus
Bing Brunton, University of Washington
Vikash Kumar, Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute
Invited Participants
Eiman Azim, Salk Institute
Vittorio Caggiano, Harvard University Gwyneth Card, HHMI/Columbia University
Eugenia Chiappe, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
Netta Cohen, University of Leeds
James Cotton, Northwestern University
Monica Daley, University of California, Irvine
Friedl De Groote, KU Leuven
Michael Dickinson, California Institute of Technology
Josh Dudman, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus
Adrienne Fairhall, University of Washington
Mitra Hartmann, Northwestern University
Christina Harvey, University of California, Davis
Auke Jan Ijspeert, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Rob Johnson, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus
Eva Kanso, University of Southern California
Lili Karashchuk, Allen Institute
Ann Kennedy, Scripps Research Institute
Vittorio La Barbera, Royal Veterinary College, London
Matt McHenry, University of California, Irvine
Josh Merel, Fauna Robotics
Eva Naumann, Duke University
Kiisa Nishikawa, Northern Arizona University
Bence Ölveczky, Harvard University
Talmo Pereira, Salk Institute
Pavan Ramdya, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Sanjay Sane, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Shreya Saxena, Yale University
Pierre Schumacher, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
Sam Sober, Emory University
Yuval Tassa, Google DeepMind
Lena Ting, Emory University
Emo Todorov, University of Washington
John Tuthill, University of Washington
Claire Wyart, Paris Brain Institute
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Applications deadline: Nov 21, 2025 (11:59pm ET)