Generative AI has successfully unlocked the design of proteins for directed evolution, yet, the analogous task in genomics, targeted engineering of cellular and tissue states, remains a burgeoning but relatively underdeveloped frontier. Many generative AI applications in genomics often involve retrofitting vision or language architectures to genomic data, which fall short of tackling domain-specific challenges. In parallel, multiple data generation efforts are underway to create foundational datasets capable of supporting the next generation of generative models that promise generalization across biological contexts.
Our workshop, Gen2: Generative AI in Genomics, aims to move beyond consensus narratives and critically engage with these domain-specific barriers and expanding frontiers for biological impact. Through debate-style panels, expert talks from both genomics and generative AI domains, and contributed presentations, we set out to shape an emerging field roadmap: from data generation priorities, to biologically grounded evaluation frameworks, and model designs that respect the hierarchical nature of genomic and cellular mechanisms. Following the workshop, we will synthesize these discussions and attendee presentations into a shared report that lays out a community-driven path forward. We welcome submissions that unearth domain-specific challenges and demonstrate new opportunities for generative AI applications in genomics.
Please check out our Call for Papers, submit your work, and join us at ICLR 2026 this April!
Camera-ready deadline for all accepted papers: 10 March 2026, AoE.
1 March 2026: Decisions are now out on OpenReview ! We thank our reviewers for lending us their time & expertise. We look forward to an exciting program on April 27th at ICLR!
17 Feb 2026: ICLR workshop date assignments are out: We will be holding our workshop on Monday, April 27, 2026. See you in Rio de Janeiro!
8 Feb 2026: One last extension! We extended our paper submission deadline to Feb 11! Submit your work at: OpenReview
5 Feb 2026: We extended our paper submission deadline to Feb 8!
28 Dec 2025: We now accept submissions on OpenReview in the form of full workshop papers (5-8 pages) and tiny papers (2-4 pages). Submission deadline: Feb 7.
22 Dec 2025: We are recruiting reviewers! If you have a background in computational genomics and/or ML/AI and would be interested, please fill out our Reviewer Sign-Up Form.
2 Dec 2025: Our workshop submission was accepted to be held at ICLR 2026! We are working set up our OpenReview page for accepting submissions. Stay tuned!
Names are listed in alphabetical order.
