Events & Calls for Paper
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Events available for Registration...
Events in the month of April 2027
The concept of “cell type” and the practices of cellular classification have recently become subjects of debate among biologists across different subdisciplines. This is notably due to the advent of single-cell sequencing techniques, which provide information about cellular populations in unprecedented detail. These approaches have revealed unexpected heterogeneity and plasticity, thereby challenging the traditional view of neatly separated, discrete cell types. At the same time, they are often taken to offer new “data-driven” and potentially superior methods for classifying cells.
However, there is currently no consensus among biologists on how the notion of cell type should be revised—or even whether such a revision is necessary. The conceptual and classificatory issues raised in this debate provide a natural opportunity for philosophical engagement.
This workshop aims to bring together philosophers and scientists to explore these questions in a broad and cross-disciplinary manner and to create a space for the development/emergence of shared perspectives.
Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:
Submission Details: Please submit a ~300-word abstract to: fridolin.gross@u-bordeaux.fr. Deadline is December 1, 2026.
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Thursday, April 8, 2027 - Friday, April 9, 2027
Call for Abstracts Workshop: “What is a Cell Type?”, Bordeaux, April 8–9, 2027The concept of “cell type” and the practices of cellular classification have recently become subjects of debate among biologists across different subdisciplines. This is notably due to the advent of single-cell sequencing techniques, which provide information about cellular populations in unprecedented detail. These approaches have revealed unexpected heterogeneity and plasticity, thereby challenging the traditional view of neatly separated, discrete cell types. At the same time, they are often taken to offer new “data-driven” and potentially superior methods for classifying cells.
However, there is currently no consensus among biologists on how the notion of cell type should be revised—or even whether such a revision is necessary. The conceptual and classificatory issues raised in this debate provide a natural opportunity for philosophical engagement.
This workshop aims to bring together philosophers and scientists to explore these questions in a broad and cross-disciplinary manner and to create a space for the development/emergence of shared perspectives.
Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:
- Definitions of cell types
- Principles of cellular classification
- Challenges and opportunities of single-cell technologies and atlasses
- The meaning and use of related concepts such as “type”, “state”, “identity”, “plasticity”, etc.
- Historical perspectives on these concepts
- Contemporary debates and future directions for cellular classification
- Silvia Domcke (ETH Zurich)
- Detlev Arendt (EMBL)
- Jordi Solana (University of Exeter)
- James DiFrisco (Crick Institute)
- Domitille Chalopin-Fillot
- Fridolin Gross
- Meike Wiegand
Submission Details: Please submit a ~300-word abstract to: fridolin.gross@u-bordeaux.fr. Deadline is December 1, 2026.