Welcome to SNL 2026

September 29 - October 2, 2026
Centre International de Conférences Genève in Geneva, Switzerland

Welcome to Genève and to the 2026 meeting of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language! It is a pleasure to bring our community together in this beautiful city to share and discuss the latest research in our field. Geneva is home to the NCCR Evolving Language interdisciplinary research centre, providing a natural meeting point for researchers investigating the biological and cognitive origins of language.

This year's programme features keynotes from John O'Keefe, Yanchao Bi, and Roy Hamilton, alongside symposia, slide and poster sessions spanning the breadth of our field, a panel on evolutionary perspectives on language and cognition, and our Awards Session recognising outstanding work across career stages. As always, the annual meeting is an opportunity to uphold the values that have guided SNL since its beginning: inclusivity and openness alongside rigorous science, and the building and renewal of connections across our international community.

We remain conscious that not everyone who wants to be part of SNL can join us in person, and we continue to work to improve global access, including by making recordings of talks available to members after the meeting. Our member-initiated virtual activities also continue all year, providing opportunities to connect and build our community beyond the annual meeting.

This meeting would not be possible without the tremendous efforts of its organisers. I would like to extend huge thanks to our local organisers in Geneva--to Valentina Borghesani, who chairs the 2026 Program Committee, and to Nina Kazanina and Alexis Hervais-Adelman at the Université de Genève, who have been central to supporting this meeting. The other members of the committee—Nai Ding, Leonardo Fernandino, Ryan Law, Tyler Perrachione, Katrien Segaert, and Kate Watkins—have also worked hard throughout the year to create an outstanding scientific programme. A special thanks to our team at Meeting Perfect—Shauney Wilson, Shawna Lampkin, Jeff Wilson, Lynn Flannery, Lauren Lampkin and Casey McKay—for making sure that all the many details are taken care of.

We are also grateful to our sponsors, including the US National Institutes of Health, the State of Geneva & Geneva Convention Bureau, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva, the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Evolving Language, MIT Press, Department of Basic Neurosciences of the Faculty of Medicine, Elsevier, Neurolite, Neuroswiss AG, Frontiers, Rogue Research, Faculty of Psychology and Science of Education (FPSE) at the University of Geneva and Department of Psychology and Speech Therapy of FPSE at the University of Geneva. Their support, and particularly that of our local Swiss partners, has been invaluable in bringing SNL to Geneva.

Beth Jefferies
Chair, Society for the Neurobiology of Language