Dear EvolDir members, We are happy to invite you to participate in our symposium entitled "Evolution of gene regulation: insights from novel molecular and statistical approaches", as part of the annual SMBE meeting that will take place in Copenhagen (June 28th - July 2nd). This symposium features Margarida Cardoso-Moreira (Francis Crick Institute, London) as an invited speaker. Abstract submissions close on February 3rd. We are looking forward to meeting you in Copenhagen. Symposium organizers : Ma�lle Daunesse (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France) Camille Berthelot (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France) Anamaria Necsulea (LBBE, Lyon, France) Symposium abstract: Understanding how gene regulation evolves is central to explaining phenotypic diversity and adaptation across species. Over the past two decades, comparative genomics approaches at the transcriptomic and epigenomic level have revealed that changes in cis-regulatory elements, chromatin organisation, and transcription factor binding are key contributors to regulatory and expression divergence. Recent methodological advances are transforming our ability to address these questions. High-resolution single-cell and spatial assays are providing unprecedented views of regulatory activity across cell types and developmental stages, while chromosome conformation capture methods such as Hi-C are offering new insights into how three-dimensional genome architecture constrains or facilitates regulatory evolution. In parallel, sophisticated statistical frameworks and deep learning approaches are enabling more accurate modelling of regulatory element activity, and inference of causal links between gene expression and regulatory shifts and complex traits. This symposium will bring together researchers exploring regulatory evolution through a diversity of approaches, including functional genomics, single-cell and spatial technologies, comparative epigenomics, and computational modelling. The symposium will also highlight how new computational strategies, including but not limited to deep learning, enable the interpretation of increasingly complex regulatory data. The session will provide a platform for interdisciplinary exchange and will emphasise how novel approaches are opening new avenues for understanding the evolution of gene regulation. We welcome submissions presenting cross-species comparative analyses of novel functional genomics data, as well as dedicated computational modelling approaches. NECSULEA ANAMARIA (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)