15th International Congress on EXTREMOPHILES 2026
13(Sun) - 17(Thu)September 2026
Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Open lecturers
Plenary keynote lecturers
Thematic keynote lecturers
Featured Invited Speakers
Technical Workshop
Plenary keynote lecturers

KL1

Aharon Oren

Aharon Oren

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

The Halophiles’ Confusion to Biology

KL2

Ken Takai

Ken Takai

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology, Japan

Dark Energy Microorganisms in Deep-Sea

KL3

Yongqin Liu

Yongqin Liu

Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, China

Early Warning Signals and Innovation Frontiers from Mountain Glaciers

KL4

Meng Li

Meng Li

Shenzhen University, China

Evolutionary Trajectories of Asgard Archaea: From Genomic Features to Functional Dynamics

KL5

Michael Terns

Michael Terns

University of Georgia, USA

Invaders and Evaders from the Deep!

KL6

Stephen D. Bell

Stephen D. Bell

Ohio State University, USA

Epigenetics and Chromosome Archae-tecture

KL7

Michael W. W. Adams

Michael W. W. Adams

University of Georgia, USA

Characterization of Electron Bifurcating Enzymes from Hyperthermophilic Archaea

KL8

Mechthild Pohlschröder

Mechthild Pohlschröder

University of Pennsylvania, USA

Cell-Cell Communication in Extreme Environments

KL9

Antonio Ventosa

Antonio Ventosa

University of Sevilla, Spain

The Prokaryotic Microbiome of Hypersaline Environments: Diversity and Functions

KL10

Don A. Cowan

Don A. Cowan

University of Pretoria, South Africa

Water and Functional Microbiomics in Hyper-Arid Desert Soils

KL11

Volker Mȕller

Volker Mȕller

Goethe University, Germany

An Ancient Carbon monoxide–driven Respiratory System Composed of a CODH Nanowire, a Headless complex-I and a Quinone-Dependent Methylene-Tetrahydrofolate Reductase

KL12

Arnold J.M. Driessen

Arnold J.M. Driessen

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

A Tale of Two Membranes

KL13

John van der Oost

John van der Oost

Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Characterization and Engineering of a Unique Thermostable CRISPR Nuclease

KL14

Haruyuki Atomi

Haruyuki Atomi

Kyoto University, Japan

The Unique Enzymes and Pathways in the Thermococcales

KL15

Kelly M. Zatopek

Kelly M. Zatopek

New England Biolabs Research, USA

A Department of One: How a Single Archaeal NUDIX Enzyme Performs the Work of Many

KL16

George Guo-Qiang Chen

George Guo-Qiang Chen

Tsinghua University, China

Extremophile Biomanufacturing

KL17

Daniel G. Olson

Daniel G. Olson

Dartmouth College, USA

Designing Metabolic Pathways for High-Titer Cellulosic Ethanol Production