Share Sessions: Photosynthetic Factories Novel Bioproducts New tools and Technologies in Synthetic Biology Engineering Biotic Interactions Engineering Plant Development and Morphology Engineering Primary Productivity Food and Nutritional Security Keynote Speakers: Caixia Gao, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Jim Haseloff, University of Cambridge Christine Raines, University of Essex Invited Speakers: Yagut Allahverdiyeva-Rinne, University of Turku Yang Bai, IGDB, Beijing Arren Bar-Even, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology Pierre Crozet, Sorbonne University Andrew Hanson, University of Florida George Lomonossoff, John Innes Center Cathie Martin, John Innes Center Alistair McCormick, University of Edinburgh Marnix Medema, Wageningen University Jennifer Nemhauser, University of Washington Silke Robatzek, Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen Matias Zurbriggen, Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Conference Co-Chairs: Poul Erik Jensen, University of Copenhagen Alison Smith, University of Cambridge Organizing Committee: Tobias Erb, Max Planck Institute Patrik Jones, Imperial College London Stephane Lemaire, CNRS, Sorbonne Université June Medford, Colorado State University Anne Osbourn, John Innes Centre Nicola Patron, Earlham Institute Henrik Scheller, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Patrick Shih, University of California Davis Featured Speakers George Lomonossoff George is a virologist who uses molecular biology to understand the assembly and properties of viruses. He uses a synthetic biology approach to create synthetic virus-like particles. He has exploited a highly efficient transient expression system to produce pharmacologically active proteins within plants. George’s research uses nanotechnology to create virus-like particles which can be used for immune recognition and vaccine development, they also make good nanoparticles for drug delivery. Creating synthetic virus-like particles Using virus-like particles for...Read more Cathie Martin Cathie’s research interests lie in using plant science to improve human diet and health. She is particularly interested in biofortification and using plant metabolic engineering to enhance foods nutritionally. Much of Cathie’s work has been undertaken in tomatoes, enriching their nutrient content with, for example, resveratrol and anthocyanin. Cathie collaborates to test these enhanced foods in intervention studies and also undertakes studies into how these modified fruits have improved shelf-life and reduced susceptibility to grey mould, Botrytis cinerea. ...Read more Alistair McCormick Alistair holds an MSc from the University of Stellenbosch and a PhD from the University of KwaZulu Natal, which he gained while at the South African Sugarcane Research Institute. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and John Innes Centre before joining Edinburgh in October 2013 as a Chancellor’s Fellow in plant molecular physiology and synthetic biology. Alistair's research interests have centred around photosynthesis and how it can be manipulated to produce novel products or improve plant productivity. ...Read more Marnix Medema Marnix Medema is an Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He obtained a BSc. in Biology (Radboud University Nijmegen, 2006) and an MSc. in Biomolecular Sciences (University of Groningen, 2008). In 2013, he completed his PhD in the groups of Eriko Takano and Rainer Breitling, also at the University of Groningen. During his PhD he spent time in the lab of Michael Fischbach at the University of California, San Francisco, as a visiting research fellow. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Frank Oliver Glöckner at the Max Planck...Read more Jennifer Nemhauser Jennifer Nemhauser is a Professor of Biology at the University of Washington and an HHMI Faculty Scholar. She is fascinated by the premise that regulation of a small number of cellular functions—division, growth, differentiation, communication, death—makes multicellular life possible. Her long-term objective is to use plant signaling pathways to program each of these core functions in a synthetic context and then to use this information to rationally engineer crops. In the process, she hopes to learn a great deal about the principles shaping cell signaling networks and how evolution has re...Read more
George Lomonossoff George is a virologist who uses molecular biology to understand the assembly and properties of viruses. He uses a synthetic biology approach to create synthetic virus-like particles. He has exploited a highly efficient transient expression system to produce pharmacologically active proteins within plants. George’s research uses nanotechnology to create virus-like particles which can be used for immune recognition and vaccine development, they also make good nanoparticles for drug delivery. Creating synthetic virus-like particles Using virus-like particles for...Read more
Cathie Martin Cathie’s research interests lie in using plant science to improve human diet and health. She is particularly interested in biofortification and using plant metabolic engineering to enhance foods nutritionally. Much of Cathie’s work has been undertaken in tomatoes, enriching their nutrient content with, for example, resveratrol and anthocyanin. Cathie collaborates to test these enhanced foods in intervention studies and also undertakes studies into how these modified fruits have improved shelf-life and reduced susceptibility to grey mould, Botrytis cinerea. ...Read more
Alistair McCormick Alistair holds an MSc from the University of Stellenbosch and a PhD from the University of KwaZulu Natal, which he gained while at the South African Sugarcane Research Institute. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and John Innes Centre before joining Edinburgh in October 2013 as a Chancellor’s Fellow in plant molecular physiology and synthetic biology. Alistair's research interests have centred around photosynthesis and how it can be manipulated to produce novel products or improve plant productivity. ...Read more
Marnix Medema Marnix Medema is an Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He obtained a BSc. in Biology (Radboud University Nijmegen, 2006) and an MSc. in Biomolecular Sciences (University of Groningen, 2008). In 2013, he completed his PhD in the groups of Eriko Takano and Rainer Breitling, also at the University of Groningen. During his PhD he spent time in the lab of Michael Fischbach at the University of California, San Francisco, as a visiting research fellow. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Frank Oliver Glöckner at the Max Planck...Read more
Jennifer Nemhauser Jennifer Nemhauser is a Professor of Biology at the University of Washington and an HHMI Faculty Scholar. She is fascinated by the premise that regulation of a small number of cellular functions—division, growth, differentiation, communication, death—makes multicellular life possible. Her long-term objective is to use plant signaling pathways to program each of these core functions in a synthetic context and then to use this information to rationally engineer crops. In the process, she hopes to learn a great deal about the principles shaping cell signaling networks and how evolution has re...Read more