The intersection of biology and physics is revealing profound questions about how living systems – operating far from equilibrium – organize, move and develop. Active matter physics, merging non-equilibrium mechanics, soft matter and hydrodynamics, seeks to explain how collective cellular behaviour gives rise to development and regeneration in organisms.

This workshop explores three themes:

• Phases of active matter in cellular systems.
• Rheology of living tissues, linking cellular activity to viscoelasticity in processes like morphogenesis and cancer.
• Mechano-chemical feedback driving self-organization and robust pattern formation.

The goal is to bridge experimental and theoretical approaches for a unified framework of collective cellular function.