The “Computational Modeling in Biology” Network (COMBINE) is an initiative to coordinate the development of the various community standards and formats in systems biology and related fields. COMBINE 2025 will be a workshop-style event hosted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

Local organizers are Elebeoba E. May and colleagues.

Workshop Location

COMBINE 2025 will take place on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Pyle Center (702 Langdon St., Madison, WI), within walking distance of hotels, downtown Madison, the state capitol, and Lake Mendota. In addition to great talks, breakouts and meetings, there will be much to enjoy in Madison: food (known for the cheese and beer), football, lakes, great bike trails, museums, and one of the largest outdoor farmers markets in the USA. Many restaurants are within walking distance of campus and venue.

Schedule

The schedule will be available here.

Arrival and Transportation

There are several airports near Madison, Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the location of the workshop.

• Dane County Regional Airport (MSN): 6 miles from downtown, nonstop flights to major hubs.
• General Mitchell International (MKE): 80 miles east, more flight options.
• Chicago O’Hare International (ORD): 130 miles southeast, ideal for international travel
• Chicago Midway International (MDW): 140 miles southeast, budget-friendly with Southwest

Ground Transportation

Direct flights to MSN are available from major US cities (Chicago, Washington, DC). If flying into MSN you can use ride share or taxi to get to the university. If flying into airports close to Madison, WI (e.g., MKE and ORD) there are reasonably priced regional buses with stops on UW-Madison's campus. [Regional busses](https://transportation.wisc.edu/commuter-solutions/bus/intercitybuses/)

Accommodations and Conference Hotels

There are two conference hotels for COMBINE 2025, UW-Madison's Union South Hotel and the DoubleTree Hotel. A block of rooms have been held and are available for workshop participants to book stays from October 19th-24th at a nightly rate of $186 USD (exclusive of taxes and any applicable fees). Reservations must be made by September 28, 2025.

• DoubleTree Hotel Downtown Madison – COMBINE 2025 (https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/msndtdt-com-9f9ba3f4-979e-4320-988e-43095848ebec/) DoubleTree is 0.4 miles from the Pyle Center with complimentary downtown and airport shuttle service.
• Union South Hotel COMBINE 2025(https://go.wisc.edu/hotel-combine-2025) Union South is 0.8 miles from the Pyle Center with complimentary parking.

Power outlet

Support

Registration

Registration for the meeting is $199 USD for in person and free for virtual attendees. Please register at the link above as soon as possible and finalize your registration using the EventBrite link on the registration form. This will help us plan the schedule and match your interests to the timing of the breakouts, etc. Note, only registered attendees will be sent information related to the meeting.

Call for Breakout Sessions and Tutorials

All attendees can suggest breakout sessions for hacking and/or detailed discussions of certain aspects of one or several of the COMBINE standard(s), metadata and semantic annotations (format-specific or overarching), application and implementations of the COMBINE standards, or any other topic relevant for the COMBINE community. The topics for those breakout sessions, and the time slots which would suit their communities can be submitted via the link above. Note, breakout session organisers will be responsible for creating and hosting their own online sessions, if required.

Call for Lightning Talks and Posters

Requests for a lightning talk (5 min max.) and/or poster can be submitted via the link above. Please use several forms if you want to submit abstracts on different topics. The submission deadline is outlined above. Talks will take place during the community session and posters will be displayed during a dedicated poster session at the meeting.

Topics of Interest

• Data exchange, pipelines and model standards for systems and synthetic biology
• Visualization and graphical notation standards for systems and synthetic biology
• Standards for sharing and analysing biological pathway data
• Standards for computational biological models and modelling support
• Metadata description and model annotation in COMBINE standard formats
• Implementation of COMBINE standards in tools, databases and other resources
• Integrated model and data management for systems and synthetic biology
• Standardization of Artificial Intelligence approaches in biological modelling
• Emerging standardization needs and multicellular and microbial community modeling
• Community aspects of COMBINE