Schedule
All sessions are in Loeb G70 (basement of Loeb building)
Sunday, May 17, 2026
| 18:00 - 21:00 | MBL Club (100 Water St.) | Opening Reception |
Monday, May 18, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Course Faculty & Participants | Welcome, introductions, and workshop overview |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Bielawski | Scientific ethics |
| 11:00 - 12:00 | Introduction to phylogenetics | |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Zenil-Ferguson | Introduction to Likelihood |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Zenil-Ferguson | Likelihood in Phylogenetics |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | TAs | Intro computer lab |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | TAs | Alignment lab |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Evening social gathering |
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Phylogenetic Models | |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Introduction to Bayesian Inference | |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Model selection | |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Bayesian Phylogenetics | |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | TAs | IQ-TREE introduction |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | TAs | IQ-TREE lab IQ-TREE quiz |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Evening social gathering |
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Brown | Introduction to graphical models and RevBayes |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Brown | Gene tree estimation with RevBayes |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Heath | Divergence-time estimation |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Heath | Divergence-time estimation Lab |
| 17:30 - 19:00 | Swope Private Dining Room | Panel and Mixer with Logan Science Journalism Program |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | Beerli | Introduction to The Coalescent |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | Beerli | Extending the coalescent |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Social |
Thursday, May 21, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Kubatko | Species Tree Estimation |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Kubatko | Species Tree Estimation |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Swofford | PAUP* |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Swofford and Kubatko | Species Tree Estimation with SVDQuartets |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | Solís-Lemus | Phylogenetic networks to study reticulate evolution |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | Solís-Lemus | Network models tutorial |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Social |
Friday, May 22, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Beerli | Model comparison in biogeography/population genetics using MIGRATE (introduction slides) |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Beerli | MIGRATE (Tutorial) |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Moreau | Ant Phylogenomics and Evolution |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Moreau | Ant Phylogenomics and Evolution |
| 17:00 - 19:00 | Free Time | |
| 19:00 - 22:00 | MBL Club | Course Dinner Party |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Post-dinner social gathering |
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Free Day (sleep in, catch up on email, visit Martha’s Vineyard, go whale watching in Hyannis, etc.)
Sunday, May 24, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Bielawski | Theories of molecular evolution: Lecture slides |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Bielawski | Intro to codon models: Lecture slides |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Chang | Adaptive protein evolution: Introduction |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Chang | Adaptive protein evolution: Detecting changes in selection |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | Smith | Machine learning and molecular evolution |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | Smith | Machine learning and molecular evolution |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Social |
Monday, May 25, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Bielawski | PAML lab, lab slides |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Bielawski | Additional lab resources, optional advanced lab |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Gill | Phylodynamics of Infectious Disease |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Gill | Phylodynamics of Infectious Disease |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | Edwards | Multilocus phylogeography and phylogenetics |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | Edwards | Pangenomes and evolution |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Social |
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Eme | Deep phylogenomics |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Eme | Deep phylogenomics |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | McTavish | Phylogenomics slides, Tree updating lab |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | McTavish | Phylogenomics slides, Tree updating lab |
| 19:00 - 20:30 | Knowles | Evolutionary applications of genomic data |
| 20:30 - 22:00 | Knowles | Evolutionary applications of genomic data (cont.) |
| 22:00 - 23:59 | Loeb Quad | Almost-the-end party |
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Bielawski | Scientific ethics panel discussion. (Slides are for reference: Ethics Intro and Values, diversity & ethics) |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Open lab |