Speakers:

Alexandre Roulin (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)

Antonia Monteiro (National University of Singapore, Singapore)

Bern Kohler (The Ohio State University, USA) 

Christine Luscombe (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan)

Emi Nishimura (University of Tokyo, Japan )

Maria McNamara (University College Cork, Ireland)

Matthew Shawkey (Ghent University, Belgium)

Micaela Matta (King's College London, UK)

Pramod B. Shinde (CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, India)

Radames Cordero (John Hopkins University, USA)

Vincent Laudet  (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan)

Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo (Institut Jacques Monod, France)

Organizers

Vincent Laudet, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST)

Antonia Monteiro, National University of Singapore

Micaela Matta, King's college London

Registration Details

Submission deadline: November 30, 2026

Registration Fee:

• Non-students: 35,000 JPY

• Students: 20,000 JPY

  Payment details will be provided at a later date. The registration fee covers lunch, dinner, and the workshop banquet. Any optional excursion is not included.
  
  Accommodation: Accommodation arrangements for invited speakers will be communicated separately. Other participants are kindly requested to arrange their own accommodation near the OIST campus.If a limited number of on-campus accommodation places can be offered to students or early-career researchers, details and selection procedures will be communicated separately
  
  Submission & Notification: Applications close on November 30, 2026. Applications will be reviewed after the deadline on the basis of the submitted abstracts, scientific fit with the symposium, and the aim of achieving broad representation across disciplines, career stages, and geographical regions. Applicants will be notified of acceptance decisions in December 2026.

Tentative Program 

(The program is subject to change)

Day 1

7:00–9:00 Breakfast

9:00–9:15 Welcome and opening remarks Vincent Laudet, Antónia Monteiro, Micaela Matta,

Session I

Chemistry and photophysics of melanin

9:15–10:05 Invited Talk 1

Pr. Christine Luscombe, OIST 

The chemistry of indole, the building block of melanin

10:05–10:55 Invited Talk 2

Prof. Bern Kohler, The Ohio State University 

Watching melanin absorb and relax: spectroscopic perspectives on a notoriously elusive pigment

10:55–11:15 Coffee Break

11:15–12:05 Invited Talk 3

Dr. Micaela Matta, King’s College London 

Computational routes through eumelanin complexity: from molecular disorder to material function

12:05–12:55 Short talks

· Short Talk 1

· Short Talk 2

· Short Talk 3

12:55–14:15 Lunch

15:00–17:00 Informal networking / campus tours / free discussion time

17:00–18:30 Poster Session I Suggested poster themes:

· chemistry and physical properties

· spectroscopy and structural characterization

· materials and devices

· microbial production and applications

19:00–21:00 Dinner

Day 2

7:00–9:00 Breakfast

Session II

Deep time, evolution, and ecological function

9:00–9:50 Invited Talk 5 Prof. Maria E. McNamara, University College Cork 

Melanin in deep time: what fossils reveal about colour, preservation, and evolutionary history

9:50–10:40 Invited Talk 6 Prof. Alexandre Roulin, University of Lausanne 

Melanin-based colour polymorphism as a model for adaptation, climate response, and evolutionary ecology

10:40–11:00 Coffee Break

11:00–11:50 Invited Talk 7 Dr. Radamés J. B. Cordero, Johns Hopkins University 

Fungal melanin in extreme environments: thermal biology, radioprotection, and ecological function

11:50–12:35 Short Talks

· Short Talk 4

· Short Talk 5

· Short Talk 6

12:35–14:00 Lunch

Afternoon Free for Participant Activities

14:00–17:30 Free afternoon Options:

· Visit to OIST

· Snorkeling / coastal outing around OIST

· informal small-group discussions

· ad hoc meetings between speakers and trainees

18:30–21:00 Dinner

19:30–21:00 Poster Session II and evening discussion Suggested poster themes:

· evolution and ecology

· paleontology and deep time

· vertebrate pigmentation

· insect pigmentation and immunity

Day 3

7:00–9:00 Breakfast

Session III

Animal pigmentation, development, disease

9:00–9:50 Invited Talk 8 Prof. Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo, College de France

Comparative analysis of the genetic basis of melanin pattern evolutionary changes in vertebrates and insects

9:50–10:40 Invited Talk 9 Prof. Antónia Monteiro, National University of Singapore 

Butterfly wing pigmentation and spatial regulation of melanin synthesis enzymes

10:40–11:00 Coffee Break

11:00–11:50 Invited Talk 10 Prof. Vincent Laudet, OIST

Pigmentation patterns in coral reef fishes: an eco-evo-devo perspective

11:50–12:40 Invited Talk 11 Pr. Emi Nishimura, University of Tokyo 

Melanocyte stem cells, ageing, and melanoma

12:40–13:25 Short Talks

· Short Talk 7

· Short Talk 8

· Short Talk 9

13:25–14:30 Lunch

Session IV

Melanin applications

14:30–15:20 Invited Talk 12

Prof. Matthew Shawkey, Ghent University 

Melanosomes as optical building blocks: lessons from feathers, hairs, and natural photonic design

15:20–16:10 Invited Talk 13

Dr. Pramod B. Shinde, CSIR-CSMCRI 

Microbial melanin production, purification, and scale-up opportunities for application-driven research

16:10–16:30 Coffee Break

16:30–17:00 Closing synthesis roundtable Moderated by Antónia Monteiro, Micaela Matta, and Vincent Laudet

【Contact】Secretarist

Email: oistlaudet[at]gmail.com