Overview

The 16th RECOMB Satellite Conference on Biological Sequence Analysis (RECOMB-seq 2026) will be held on May 24-25, 2026 in Thessaloniki, Greece, just before the main RECOMB conference. The conference brings together leading researchers in computational genomics and genomic biology. The emphasis will be on new algorithmic and statistical methods for the analysis, management, inference, and interpretation of sequencing data as well as assembled genomes.

Topics

Papers reporting on original research (both theoretical and applied) in all areas of computational molecular biology are suitable for submission. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Sequence alignment and assembly
  • Summarization, comparison, and visualization of big genomics datasets
  • Multiple alignment and consensus sequence construction
  • Methods for calling and characterizing genetic variants, including structural variants
  • Methods for analysis of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data, including single-cell RNA-seq
  • Epigenetics and gene regulation, including ChIP-seq analysis, methylation profiling, and histone modification
  • Metagenomics
  • Methods for analysis of data from other novel sequencing assays
  • Translational applications of sequencing data, including cancer genomics and infectious disease
  • Pan-genomics, genome graphs, and novel uses of new genome assemblies

Key Dates

Proceedings and Overlay tracks

  • Abstract submission deadline: March 12, 2026, 23:59 AoE
  • Full paper submission deadline: March 15, 2026, 23:59 AoE
  • Author notification: April 12, 2026
  • Final version due:
  • Conference dates: 24-25 May 2026

Short talks / Posters

  • Abstract submission deadline: TBA
  • Authors will be notified shortly after submission

Tracks

We solicit contributions in three categories (“tracks”) as follows.

Proceedings Track

Manuscripts describing original work on computational aspects of genomic research involving large genomic datasets. More details will be forthcoming.

To indicate your submission should be considered for the proceedings track, please include “[Proceedings]” at the end of the paper title.

Overlay Track

Manuscripts submitted to this track will be reviewed by the program committee, and selected submissions will be invited for oral presentation. The manuscript should be hosted on a public preprint server (bioRxiv, arXiv, etc.) at the time of submission. There are no specific formatting requirements, but the paper should generally be formatted in a way that emphasizes the methodological contributions. We also encourage authors to keep the manuscripts within similar length limits as for the proceedings track. Manuscripts can be submitted elsewhere at the same time but should not be published or in press at the time of submission. For manuscripts that are in press or published, please consider the Highlights track of the main RECOMB conference.

To indicate your submission should be considered for the overlay track, please include “[Overlay]” at the end of the paper title.

Abstracts for Short Talks or Posters

Regular abstracts describing original work, including software applications. These will be considered for short oral presentations or posters. A 1-2 page abstract describing the methods and key results should be submitted via the EasyChair system.

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts for the “proceedings track” should not exceed 10 pages using at least 10-point font on U.S. standard 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper with no less than one-inch margin all around. This excludes the cover page and references. The cover page should have the title, the corresponding author’s email address, and the abstract. An optional short appendix can be included if necessary, but reading it will be at the discretion of the program committee. Manuscripts must be submitted electronically in PDF format via the EasyChair system.

In EasyChair, please select “RECOMB-seq 2026” track when you click “New Submission” in the “author” portal within the RECOMB conference at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=recomb2026.

Authors must post their submission on a preprint server like bioRxiv. They should not assume that a formal proceedings volume will be published, as a final decision is still pending. All accepted papers will have opportunities for publication through our journal partners.

Formatting instructions for paper submission

  • Main paper format: All paper submissions must be in PDF format. The maximum length is 10 pages (Letter or A4 format), including all figures/tables and their captions, using a minimum font size of 10pt and 1-inch margins. An additional title page containing the paper title, author list, and abstract is permitted. The bibliography does not count toward the page limit. Submissions that violate the formatting requirement (e.g., by decreasing margins or font sizes) or exceed the page limit may be rejected without review. There is no specific template requirement beyond these guidelines. Authors may choose to use the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science template available here, as long at the above-mentioned page limit and margin requirements are respected.

  • Optional Appendix: If necessary, an Appendix can be submitted as Supplementary Material in a single PDF file. The Appendix should contain materials directly supporting the paper content. There is no page limit for the Appendix, but please note that reviewing the Appendix is at the discretion of the reviewers.

  • Source code availability: Importantly, if the paper involves the development of new software or analysis methods, the source code must be made publicly accessible via e.g. a GitHub repository, with a README file that is sufficiently documented by the submission deadline for reviewers to examine. A minimal test dataset must be provided so that the software can be tested on a small example. The link to the public repository must be clearly indicated in the paper.

Abstract registration

There is a mandatory abstract submission deadline on March 12, 2026, 23:59 AoE, seven days prior to the full paper submissions deadline. This deadline allows the Program Committee to begin planning review assignments ahead of full paper submissions. After the abstract submission deadline has passed, new submissions will not be accepted, but authors can update the full paper submission before the paper submission deadline on March 15, 2026, 23:59 AoE. Please ensure the abstract registration closely aligns with full paper submission in terms of title, author list, and abstract content. “Placeholder” abstract registrations without meaningful descriptions will not be accepted. While minor updates to the abstract are allowed before the full paper submission deadline, any substantial changes to the title or abstract content risk being removed without consideration.

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to the Victoria Popic or Kristoffer Sahlin.