WALII’s Inaugural Symposium

The Second Annual WALII Symposium on November 12, 2026 is an annual meeting bringing together researchers and the broader scientific community to explore one of biology’s most remarkable phenomena – anhydrobiosis, the ability of life to persist without water.

Anhydrobiosis is studied across all scales,from molecules to ecosystems,and spanning the tree of life. The WALII Symposium highlights this breadth by asking: How do different organisms endure desiccation and rehydration? And how can we advance our understanding by developing new tools, sharing methods, and working across systems and scales?

As an NSF-funded Biology Integration Institute, the Water and Life Interface Institute (WALII) unites researchers from 12 labs representing molecular biology, biophysics, bioinformatics, ecology, and beyond. We study anhydrobiosis across organisms such as plants, tardigrades, nematodes, yeast, and fungi. Together, we aim to uncover fundamental principles, build translational tools, and foster a welcoming community dedicated to understanding how life persists without water.

With the launch of the WALII Symposium, we begin a tradition of annual meetings that bring the anhydrobiosis community together for cross-disciplinary exchange, collaboration, and discovery. 

View Last Year’s Symposium Here!

Invited Speakers

Olivia M. S. Carmo, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine

Mary Hagedorn, PhD
Smithsonian Institution

John Bischof, PhD
University of Minnesota

Catherine Royer, PhD
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Registration

Registration will be available soon!

Abstract Submission

Abstract submission will be available soon!

Schedule

Time (PST) Section
7:00 – 7:15 AMOpening Remarks
7:15 – 7:45 AMInvited speaker: TBA
7:45 – 8:00 AMContributed Talk: TBD
8:00 – 8:15 AMContributed Talk: TBD
8:15 – 8:30 AMContributed Talk: TBD
8:30 – 8:45 AMBreak
8:45 – 9:15 AMInvited speaker: TBA
9:15 – 9:30 AMContributed Talk: TBD
9:30 – 9:45 AMContributed Talk: TBD
9:45 – 10:00 AMContributed Talk: TBD
10:00 – 11:00 AMBreak
11:00 – 11:30 AMInvited speaker: TBA
11:30 – 11:45 AMContributed Talk: TBD
11:45 AM – 12:00 PMContributed Talk: TBD
12:00 – 12:15 PMContributed Talk: TBD
12:15 – 12:30 PMBreak
12:30 – 1:00 PMInvited speaker: TBA
1:00 – 1:15 PMContributed Talk: TBD
1:15 – 1:30 PMContributed Talk: TBD
1:30 – 1:45 PM Contributed Talk: TBD
1:45 – 2:00 PMClosing Remarks