An inherent challenge of interdisciplinary research is breaching the barriers between theory and experiment, both in communication across disciplines and expertise in the domain-specific fundamentals. As such, it is not always obvious when there is the potential for collaboration, or how theorists and experimentalists can best navigate their collaborations to address open problems and inspire new research. In collaboration, curiosity is as fundamental as it is to science broadly – experimentalists and theorists have the power to inspire each other when they are receptive and curious to learn perspectives and techniques outside their respective fields. Interdisciplinary discussion and research can yield novel biological questions, uncover general principles, and reveal unexplored avenues by which theory can advance our understanding of biological systems.

This workshop will bring together early-career researchers across disciplines with the goal of inspiring curiosity and revealing avenues of collaboration. Sessions will be aimed at encouraging learning across the experiment-theory spectrum and stimulating cross-disciplinary conversation, with a mix of tutorial-style talks, presentations from leaders at the scientific intersection, and discussion sessions.