ECCB 2026

The theme of the 25th European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB 2026) is Biodiversity, AI and Health: computational biology to address the challenges of our time. ECCB 2026 will highlight how computational biology drives innovation and addresses global challenges. The conference will run from 31 August to 4 September 2026 and is organised by the Swiss ELIXIR Node, SIB, and hosted in Geneva. Full details, including registration information, are available on the ECCB 2026 website. ELIXIR sponsors this year’s ECCB conference with the Highlights from ELIXIR Communities track and two workshops.

The main conference will take place from Monday 31 August 2026 to Wednesday 2 September 2026, followed by workshops on Thursday 3 September and an SIB Communities Day on Friday 4 September.

The venue, the International Conference Center Geneva, is located next to the Place des Nations, the Office of the United Nations at Geneva and the headquarters of most international organisations.

Call for submissions

ECCB 2026 invites submissions in computational biology and bioinformatics, including proposals for workshops and tutorials, full manuscripts for proceedings publications, and abstracts for highlight talks and posters. All submissions must align with one of the ECCB 2026 scientific themes.

Scientific themes

• Genomics, epigenomics and genome editing
• Transcriptomics and gene regulation
• Proteins and structural biology
• Systems biology, multi-omics integration and modelling
• Biodiversity, sustainability and environmental bioinformatics

ELIXIR Community members are invited to submit abstracts for talks under the dedicated Highlights from ELIXIR Communities track.

All submissions must be made via the EasyChair submission system. Presenting authors must register for the conference and pay the registration fee to attend.

Further general details are available on the ECCB call for highlight talks and posters page, ELIXIR Communities track specific details can be found on the dedicated page.

Highlights from ELIXIR Communities: call for talks

ECCB 2026 invites abstracts for highlight talks based on recently published research articles in computational biology. Eligible publications must have been published on or after 1 March 2025, or accepted for publication and available online as a preprint.

The Highlights from ELIXIR Communities track will showcase ELIXIR Community activities, the benefits of Community and ELIXIR membership, and the use of ELIXIR resources. Submissions must demonstrate a clear application focus and are encouraged to reference resources such as ELIXIR Recommended Interoperability Resources (RIRs), Core Data Resources (CDRs) or other relevant ELIXIR assets.

Accepted highlight talks will be presented in person during the conference. Each presentation will be approximately 15 minutes.

Key dates

• 6 January 2026: Call for highlight talks opens
• 20 April 2026: Call for highlight talks closes
• June 2026: Acceptance notifications for ELIXIR track highlight talks

More details can be found on the official ECCB page. 

Talk abstract submission guidance

• Talks must be submitted by ELIXIR Community co-leads, although the presenter may be different
• The presenting author cannot be changed after formal submission
• The presenting author does not need to be the first author
• Each ELIXIR Community may submit multiple proposals
• Submissions not selected for a talk may be offered a poster presentation

Posters will be presented in person at ECCB 2026. Poster space is limited, but the organisers will make every effort to accommodate eligible submissions.

EasyChair submission guidance

• Select Highlights from ELIXIR Communities as the Scientific Area
• Indicate links to up to two ELIXIR Communities

Evaluation criteria

• Relevance and interest for the conference audience
• Scientific quality and rigour
• Impact within the field
• Clarity, presentation quality and accessibility to a broad audience

Submissions that allow the presentation of relevant unpublished results may be reviewed favourably.

Additional evaluation criteria for the Highlights from ELIXIR Communities track include:

• Demonstrated ELIXIR Community activity and impact
• Clear benefits of Community and ELIXIR membership
• Meaningful engagement with ELIXIR resources and infrastructure
• A strong link to real-world applications and use cases

More information about the Highlights from ELIXIR Communities track is available on the ELIXIR at ECCB 2026 event page.

ELIXIR workshops

ELIXIR sponsors two workshops at ECCB 2026 as part of the five-day conference programme. Details of the ELIXIR workshops will be added here once confirmed.

ELIXIR Communities track programme

ELIXIR sponsors ECCB 2026 with the Highlights from ELIXIR Communities track. Programme details will be added to this section once available.