Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium

 Keynote Speakers

Ari Pekka Mähönen (University of Helsinki) 

Lucia Strader (Duke University) 

 

Confirmed Invited Speakers 

Bénédicte Sanson (University of Cambridge)

Joop EM Vermeer (University of Neuchâtel) 

Kalika Prasad (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) 

Keiko Torii (University of Texas at Austin) 

Marie-Cécile Caillaud (RDP - ENS Lyon) 

Paz Merelo Cremades (Polytechnic University of Valencia) 

Sabrina Sabatini (Sapienza University of Rome) 

Stéphanie Robert (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) 

Thomas Greb (Heidelberg University) 

Utpal Nath (Indian Institute of Science) 

Weibing Yang (Chinese Academy of Sciences) 

Day 1 22 September 

13:00-13:20      Welcome Tea and Coffee 

 Session 1     
 
13:20-13:30    Opening remarks           

13:30-14:30       Keynote 1 

14:30-15:00     Invited speaker 1 

15:05-15:35       Invited Speaker 2 

15:40-15:55       Short Talk 1 

16:00-16:30       Tea Break 

  

Session 2    

16:30-17:00       Invited speaker 3 

17:05-17:20       Short Talk 2 

17:25-17:55        Flash Talks (odd numbers) 

18:00-19:45      Poster session 1 and dinner 

  

Day 2 23 September 

09:00-09:30       Welcome Tea and Coffee

    

Session 3    

09:30-10:00      Invited Speaker 4 

10:05-10:35      Invited Speaker 5 

10:40-11:10      Invited Speaker 6 

11:10-11:15      Group Photo        

11:15-11:45      Tea Break 

  

Session 4  

11:45-12:00       Short Talk 3 

12:05-12:20       Short Talk 4   

12:25-12:55       Flash Talks (even numbers) 

12:55-15:00       Poster Session 2 and Lunch 

 

Session 5 

15:00-15:30       Invited Speaker 7 

15:35-16:05       Invited Speaker 8 

16:10-16:25       Short Talk 5 

16:25-16:45       Tea Break 

  

Session 6 

16:45-17:15      Invited speaker 9 

17:20-17:35       Short Talk 6 

17:40-17:55       Short Talk 7 

18:00-18:45     Drinks Reception

  

Day 3 24 September 

08:30-09:30       Early Career Researchers Breakfast    

09:00-09:30       Welcome Tea and Coffee

  

Session 7  

09:30-10:00       Invited Speaker 10 

10:05-10:35       Invited Speaker 11 

10:40-10:55       Short Talk 8 

11:00-11:15       Short Talk 9 

11:15-11:45       Tea Break 

  

Session 8 

11:45-12:45       Keynote Speaker 2 

12:45-13:00     Closing Remarks 

13:00               Tours of Sainsbury Laboratory, buffet lunch and access to Cambridge University Botanic Garden 

 

Key Dates

• 16 February 2026 – Registration opens

• 30 March 2026 – Abstract submission and symposium fee waiver application deadline **Abstract deadline extended to 20 April 2026**

• 4 May 2026 – Talk and poster acceptance, symposium registration fee waiver notifications

• 15 June 2026 – Registration payment deadline for talk and poster presenters

• 14 September 2026 – In-person attendance registration and payment deadline

• 21 September 2026 – Online attendance registration and payment deadline

Registration Fees

• Group Leaders: £300.00

• Students/Postdoctorates: £200.00

• Industry: £400.00

• Online: £50.00

Abstract Submissions

We particularly welcome abstract submissions from early career researchers, women, people from ethnic groups underrepresented in science and/or resource-limited countries as they are currently under-represented in scientific research meetings. We will be promoting our Symposium to a diversity of research institutions and countries. If you know of any people, research groups or institutions you think would be interested in presenting a short talk and/or poster, please share this website with them or contact us at sls@slcu.cam.ac.uk.

 

Options for participating 

You can submit an abstract as part of the registration process. Abstracts submitted by people who have not registered will not be considered.

You must submit a 250-word maximum abstract if you wish to be considered for presenting a short talk, flash talk or poster. 

• Short Talk: 15-minute talk

• Flash Talk & Poster: 3-minute talk and poster presentation 

• Poster Only: poster presentation

 

Important points for submitting an abstract: 

• Make sure you download the abstract template (.docx, 13.8KB)
• Follow the formatting and 250 word limit. 
• Name your abstract file as your full name as used when publishing scientific papers. 
• Your topic should broadly align to the symposium theme . 
• Abstracts may not be edited/updated after they are submitted. 
• Your abstract should be submitted in English. 
• Please only submit one abstract. 
• The submitting author will receive all correspondence about the abstract so we advise that the presenting author is the person who submits the abstract. 
• Submission of an abstract acknowledges your acceptance for the abstract to be published in the official symposium publications. 
• The presenting author must ensure that all co-authors have approved the abstract content and to its submission to be presented. 

 

Confirmation of abstract submission 

Your abstract is not successfully submitted until you receive a confirmation email after clicking the final submit button as part of the registration process. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact us at sls@slcu.cam.ac.uk. 

 

Notification that your abstract has been accepted 

Each abstract will be reviewed by the Symposium Coordinators. Notification of acceptance or rejection of submitted abstracts will be sent to applicants via email by May 2026. Full instructions concerning talk and poster presentations will be sent to presenters.

Short Talks: 15 minutes including questions (12-minutes presenting and 3-minutes questions) (9 short talk places)

Flash Talks: 5 minute promotion of your poster prior to the poster session your are presenting in  (10 Flash Talk places) 

 

Instructions for Poster Presenters

If you are selected to present a poster, please bear the following in mind:

Please ensure you have the consent of all contributors to your poster to share the information on it and that you have appropriate copyright permissions in place. 

Please indicate any preference for a specific poster session time (lunchtime or evening).

Your poster should be portrait orientation and B1 size (707 x 1000mm / 27.83 x 39.37 inches). We will provide poster boards and velcro dots for your use. 

Here are some suggestions for creating accessible, engaging posters: 

https://guides.library.yale.edu/academic-poster-resources/accessibility

OSF | Better Scientific Poster

The Venue

Sainsbury Laboratory

University of Cambridge

47 Bateman St, Cambridge CB2 1LR

How to find us

 

The Sainsbury Laboratory building

• Step-free access to building and to all venue spaces (fully wheelchair accessible)
• Accessible gender-neutral self-contained toilets
• Prayer/Reflection Room
• Family Room
• Lactation Room

 

Auditorium

• Step-free access
• Audio induction loop

 

Transport

• Train: The Camnbridge Rail Station is 0.5 miles from the Sainsbury Laboratory along a relatively level sealed pathway.

• Parking: There is no car parking available at SLCU other than two spaces reserved for those who require disabled access. If you need to park in the area, full-day pay and display parking is available at the Cambridge Rail Station (0.7 miles) and Trumpington Road (0.3 miles), which are both reached via a relatively level sealed pathway.

• Bicycle facilities: Bicycle parking is available in stands on-site.

 

Internet access

Free wifi access is available onsite and throughout most of Cambridge city via Eduroam or as a UniOfCam-Guest. You can connect to UniOfCam-Guest by registering by email or through your Amazon, Facebook, Github or LinkedIn account.

On-site facilities for children and carers

We have a number of onsite facilities and resources to support attendees and their families. While we are not able to provide on-site childcare, we have a dedicated family room and private lactation room with refrigerator for milk storage - both accessible at any time and located very close to the auditorium. We also provide a number of baby/toddler furniture items, such as highchairs, toilet seat and changing table.

Please contact events@slcu.cam.ac.uk if you have any questions or suggestions for ways that we can support you during the event. 

Junior Delegates

Children will be issued with a Junior Delegate pack including a name badge (first name only, with emergency contact details on the back) and some activities that they might enjoy. Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer at all times.

Family Room (Darwin Room)

A multi-use room will be a dedicated space for families to use during the day. This room has soft lounges, table and chairs, soft floor coverings and is a suitable space for carers to use when supervising young children or for childminders/partners/carers to use while the event is in progress. 

There are also baby changing facilities, toddler toilet seat and highchairs available on site.

Lactation

Breastfeeding is welcome in all public areas of the building. We also provide a private room for nursing and pumping with a separate fridge for milk storage. 

Access to the Botanic Garden

The Lab is surrounded by the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, a traffic free area with a café. Please contact the conference organisers so we can arrange for free access to the Garden for your partner/childminder during the conference.

Suggested activities for children

We are gathering ideas and suggestions from local families and will list nearby parks, activities and child friendly cafes and restaurants on this page closer to the date of the conference. 

 

Local Attractions

Please find below links to a number of family-friendly attractions within walking distance of the symposium or accessible by public transport.

University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden

• Cambridge University Botanic Garden
• Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
• The Fitzwilliam Museum
• Museum of Zoology
• Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
• Museum of Classical Archaeology
• Kettle's Yard
• The Polar Museum
• Whipple Museum of the History of Science

Centre for Computing History

Cambridge Ice Arena

Cambridge Outdoor Market

Cambridge Science Centre

Cherry Hinton Hall Park (duck ponds)

Nene Valley Railway (home to Thomas)

Sheep's Green (play park)

Accommodation in Cambridge

In Cambridge there are multiple options for accommodation including hotels, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, college rooms, and serviced apartments. The symposium will be held during the University of Cambridge summer break and so colleges may have single student rooms available. To find suitable accommodation, we recommend checking the following hotels and websites:

• University Rooms
• AirBnb
• Booking.com
• Travelodge Cambridge Central
• Travelodge Newmarket Road hotel
• Clayton Hotel Cambridge
• Ibis Hotel Cambridge

Getting to Cambridge   Train

The city of Cambridge is easily accessible by train, with the primary station located about a mile from the city centre, which takes approximately 20 minutes on foot. The Sainsbury Laboratory is located only 1 km, or 0.6 of a mile, from Cambridge Station.

For train schedules and ticket reservations, visit National Rail Enquiries or Trainline.

 

Driving 

There is no car parking available at SLCU other than two spaces reserved for those who require disabled access. If you are planning to drive to Cambridge, we recommend you either book accommodation that includes parking or use the Park & Ride scheme. If you need to park in the area, full-day pay and display parking is available at the Cambridge Rail Station and Trumpington Road (0.3 miles). For more information, please visit www.cambridge.gov.uk/parking.

 

Bus

Local bus services usually run to/from Cambridge bus station in Drummer Street, and/or the adjacent Emmanuel Street and St Andrew’s Street. There are frequent buses from the railway station to the city centre.

The 'U' Universal bus service bus service runs from Eddington, next to the Madingley Road Park and Ride site, through to our Biomedical Campus from Monday to Saturday, and from Eddington to Cambridge Railway Station on Sundays.

Creating an inclusive and respectful meeting

 

Professional and respectful etiquette

We are looking forward to many productive and invigorating discussions at the Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium. In order to create a space that fosters open dialogue and where everyone feels welcomed, respected and safe we expect that all Symposium participants will treat others with consideration and professionalism.  Discrimination, intimidation, hostile conduct and all other forms of harassment will not be tolerated. 

To help create a meeting that welcomes free expression of ideas, please: 

• Listen to the contributions of everyone with respect and appreciation. 
• Be open to other participants’ opinions. Critique ideas, not people. 
• Give feedback constructively and with kindness. 
• Share your thoughts and be mindful that time is limited and others may wish to speak.

  Positive action

We are working to provide a Symposium where everyone can participate. We acknowledge that science in general and this conference in particular do not reflect the true diversity of the global plant science community. We are taking the following actions:

• Actively promoting the Symposium as a platform to present their work to scientists around the world and in particular targeting institutions and countries that are underrepresented in scientific research meetings.
• Establishing an abstract review committee of early career scientists (students and postdoctorates).
• Collecting optional demographic data of participants who register to present at and attend our Symposium. The purpose of these questions is to assist with diversifying speakers in sessions & engaging non-traditional speakers including the prioritisation of balanced demographics in speakers. This will also enable the Symposium organisers to determine if their outreach and dissemination efforts are effective.
• Presenters will have the option to have their presentations be made public after the symposium so that their content can reach a larger audience.
• Providing a multi-use family space for carers, lactation room, gender neutral toilets, and accessible spaces.
• Providing a neuro-inclusive evironment, for example providing hybrid attendance options for everyone at any stage of the symposium, providing a quiet room that provides a respite from the meeting while still offering the opportunity to listen in on sessions with headphones, offering priority access to refreshments and meals and asking in-person delegates to minimise the use of perfume and other scented products.
• Accessible auditorium, with flexible seating options (fixed seating, bench seats, free-standing chairs and designated wheelchair spaces) and provision of an audio induction loop system.
• Asking delegates at registration to identify ways that the Sympoisum can be made more readily accessible to them and making changes in response.

 

If you have any comments of questions regarding the Symposium EDI initiatives, please contact sls@cam.ac.uk.

Poster [PDF]

 

Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium 2024

17-19 September 2024

Coordinators: Sebastian Schornack and Alexander Jones

Abstract Review Committee: Zoe Nahas, Alan Wanke, Henry Temple, Tamsin Spelman, Jawahar Singh, Lucie Riglet, Renuka Kolli, Elena Salvi, Elliot Cordier, Aram Gurzadyan, Pjotr van der Jagt  and Haitem Elmassoudi. 

Theme: Development Reprogrammed 

The theme for the 2024 Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium was “Development - Reprogrammed”. Throughout plant evolution, and notably during crop domestication, the processes and mechanisms underpinning plant development have undergone changes. Additionally, plants are remarkable in their ability to adapt their development to environmental cues such as temperature, light, drought, and plant-inhabiting microbes. This Symposium united researchers from various disciplines who work with a wide range of species from around the world, all with an interest in understanding developmental variation be it genetically-encoded plasticity or genetically-selected by nature, breeding or rational design.

The Symposium's four topic areas were:   Reprogramming by Evolution 

Over millions of years, plants have undergone intricate genetic changes that have shaped their growth patterns, morphology, and reproductive strategies. This reprogramming is evident in the diverse array of plant forms we see today, from towering trees to delicate flowers. In this session, we’d also like to hear how environmental pressures, such as climate shifts and interactions with other organisms, have played a pivotal role in driving these developmental adaptations. 

Reprogramming by Domestication 

The domestication of crops has led to a targeted and deliberate reprogramming of their development, driven by human selection pressures. Over millennia, as agriculture emerged, humans began cultivating and breeding plants to enhance desirable traits such as yield, nutritional content, and resistance to pests. This selective pressure has influenced the genetic makeup of domesticated plants, altering their growth habits, reproductive strategies, and overall morphology. This session’s focus is the process of artificial selection and how humans have essentially guided the course of plant development, shaping species to meet specific agricultural needs.  

Reprogramming by Environment 

The reprogramming of plant development in response to their abiotic and biotic environment reflects the interplay between genetic predisposition and external stimuli. Abiotic factors such as temperature, light, and soil composition, as well as biotic factors like interactions with other organisms, exert selective pressures that drive adaptive changes in plant physiology and morphology. This session will feature presentations showcasing the complex molecular mechanisms underpinning the adjustment of plant developmental pathways to optimize survival and reproduction in specific environmental contexts. A dynamic responsiveness allows plants to exhibit a remarkable degree of phenotypic plasticity to navigate and adapt to the diverse challenges presented by their surroundings. 

Reprogramming by Engineering 

By precisely manipulating specific genes, biotechnological approaches enable scientists to tailor plant development for improved yield, resilience to environmental stress, and enhanced nutritional profiles. In this session we will showcase the cutting-edge approaches and how they harness the potential to revolutionise agriculture by customising the intrinsic developmental processes of plants, paving the way for more robust and adaptable crop varieties. We also discuss the responsible implementation and thorough consideration of ethical implications to ensure that bioengineering practices prioritise sustainable and beneficial advancements in plant development. 

Keynote Speakers

• Keiko Sugimoto (RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science) How do plants reprogramme cell fate in regeneration? 
• Zachary Lippman (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) Revealing and dissecting hidden genetic complexities of plant stem cell control 

Invited Speakers

• Benjamin Blackman (UC Berkeley) Sunflower growth, reproduction, and the predictable environment 
• Caixia Gao (Chinese Academy of Sciences) Precision Genome Editing Technologies: Revolutionizing Crop Breeding for Future Agriculture 
• Devin O'Connor (Pairwise) Engineering genetically dominant maize yield-component improvement with gene editing 
• Eric Giraud (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)) ET-Nod: A new class of diverse Type III effectors in Bradyrhizobium strains triggering nodule
• Jorge Casal (Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA)) Integration of environmental cues to reprogram growth patterns
• Jorge Dubcovsky (University of California Davis) Wheat spike development: insights from genetics and spatial transcriptomics studies 
• Laura Moody (University of Oxford) Genetic regulation of the 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional growth transition in the moss Physcomitrium patens
• Laura Ragni  (Universität Freiburg) From Stem Cells to Shield: Unravelling the Mechanisms of Periderm Development 
• Ross Sozzani (North Carolina State University) Decoding Stem Cell Regulation in Plants: Insights from 3D Bioprinting and Predictive Modeling 
• Yuki Hirakawa (Hiroshima University) Genetic mechanisms controlling stem cell identity in the meristem of Marchantia polymorpha 

 

 

Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium 2022

21–23 September 2022

Theme: Regulatory Dynamics in Development and Evolution

This symposium fostered a dialogue between researchers working on regulatory dynamics from different fields across the plant and animal kingdoms. Whether you are working with animals or plants, we are all investigating the mechanisms behind the formation of diverse shapes and patterns within tissues or the ability of cells to deploy different responses to environmental cues – all of which rely on the assembly, rewiring and co-option of gene regulatory networks. Bringing together theoretical and experimental researchers from diverse disciplines using a broad range of species and approaches brought about new insights and led to new collaborations to further our understanding of the regulatory dynamics contributing to the emergence of biodiversity. It was also important to us that this meeting provided early career researchers from different countries around the world with opportunities to share their research. Our hybrid format supported this goal by giving scientists easy access to fully participate in discussions and ask questions during the sessions. 

Coordinators: Edwige Moyroud and James Locke

Abstract Review Committee: Argyris Zardilis, Alan Wanke, Carlos A Lugo, David J. Hoey, Elena Salvi, Heather M McLaughlin, Maxime Hamon-Josse, Nadia Mohd-Radzman, Renuka Kolli, Rituparna Goswami, Sebastian Moreno, Tamsin A Spelman and Zoe Nahas.

Keynote speakers

• Kerstin Kauffman (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Regulatory mechanisms controlling cellular differentiation in flower development
• James Sharpe (EMBL) 3D tissue morphogenesis from plants to animals? Same difference.

Invited speakers

• Erik Clark (University of Cambridge) Arthropod segmentation dynamics during development and evolution
• Ting-Ying Wu (Temasek Life Science Laboratory) Expansion of gene regulatory network in plants upon environmental changes: what is kept and what is lost throughout the evolution
• Alexandre Marand (University of Georgia) An exploration of cis-regulatory diversity in plant single-cells         
• Berta Verd (University of Oxford) On the role of cell rearrangements in pattern formation
• Renske MA Vroomans (University of Cambridge) Evolution of spatial patterning in vascular plants     
• Suriya Murugesan (National University of Singapore) Gene-regulatory network governing the origin of butterfly eyespots- a novel complex traits      
• Kaisa Kajala (Utrecht University) Evolution of dynamic barrier cell types
• Isaac Salazar Ciudad (Centre De Recerca Matematica) How to develop and evolve complex robust phenotypes?
• Marcus Heisler (University of Sydney) Patterning lateral organ development in Arabidopsis       
• Aman Husbands (University of Pennsylvania) HD-ZIPIII transcription factors are controlled by deeply conserved START domains             
• Annis Richardson (The University of Edinburgh) How do Grasses Grow?

 

 

Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium 2020

19–21 September 2020

Theme: Pluripotency in Plant Development

Plants as multicellular organisms harbour cells and cell groups that are responsible for growth and patterning of the tissue. The stem cells can be part of the embryo, the shoot or root apical meristem or vascular meristems. They can also be part of developing, regenerating or symbiotic organs. Several gene functions and regulatory networks have been identified that orchestrate the stem cell function. The aim of SLS'20 was to synthesise the current knowledge on the architecture, dynamics and diversity underlying plant stem cell systems, based on a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches.

This symposium was held fully online during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Coordinators: Henrik Jönsson and Yka Helariutta

Keynote Speaker

• Doris Wagner (University of Pennsylvania) (Re) programming cell identity and function in response to developmental and environmental cues

Invited speakers

• Jan Lohmann (University of Heidelberg) From transcription to morphogenesis

• Xian Sheng Zhang (Shandong Agricultural University) ARF3-controlling maintenance of root stem cell niche requires auxin-responsive histone acetylation

• Dorota Kwiatkowska (University of Silesia) Symplastic but heterogeneous: variability in plant growth at various scales

• Keiko Sugimoto (RIKEN) Control of cellular reprogramming in plant regeneration

• Francesco Licausi (University of Oxford) Happy hypoxia: causes and consequences of oxygen gradients in plant meristems

• Pilar Cubas (Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-CSIC) Spatial control of potato tuberization by the TCP transcription factor BRANCHED1b

• Jill Harrison (University of Bristol) The Physcomitrium CLAVATA pathway regulates stem cell identity and auxin homeostasis

• Lin Xu (Chinese Academy of Sciences) Wound signalling and cell fate transition in de novo root regeneration

• Laila Moubayidin (John Innes Centre) Biradial-to-radial symmetry transition and tissue polarity is coordinated by HD-ZIP II proteins

• Dolf Weijers (Wageningen University) Convergence of cell polarity systems across multicellular kingdoms

• Sandy Hetherington (University of Oxford) Fossil evidence for the origin of the root apical meristem

• Ari Pekka Mähönen (University of Helsinki) Stem cell dynamics during secondary growth

• Keiko Torii (University of Texas at Austin) Orchestrating cell-state switch from bipotent stem cells to stomata

 

 

Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium 2018

19–21 September 2018

Theme: The Coordination of Development

Plant development is modular, continuous, and plastic. Thus, developmental decisions must be made throughout the plant lifecycle without a centralised information processing system. The resulting distributed decision making is a hallmark of plant development, but this meeting was a forum to address developmental phenomena that rely on coordinated decision making. It brought together a diverse group of international researchers studying structures, signals, and mechanisms involved in the coordination of plant development to explore this fascinating interdisciplinary field.

Coordinator: Alexander Jones

Invited speakers

• Patrick Achard (Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (IBMP)) Long-distance transport of gibberellins in plants
• Tim Brodribb (University of Tasmania) Talk title: Coordination between the vascular supply and stomatal demand for water in leaves
• Simon Gilroy (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Coordinating long-range stress signaling in Arabidopsis
• Stefan Kepinski (University of Leeds) Gravity and the shaping of plant form: growth angle control in root and shoot branches
• Mark Lagrimini (University of California) Is trehalose-6-phosphate a key regulator of carbon utilization and partitioning?
• Yoshikatsu Matsubayashi (Nagoya University) Long-distance peptide signalling mediating systemic regulation of nitrogen acquisition
• Richard Morris (John Innes Centre) Green Telecommunication
• Jarmila Pittermann (UC Santa Cruz) Adaptive radiations and novel traits: co-ordination of xylem structure and function through deep time.
• Salomé Prat (Centro Nacional de Biotechnologia) Thermomorphogenesis regulation by the PIF-BES1/BZR1 transcription module
• Adrienne Roeder (Cornell University) How variable cells make reproducible organs
• Sandrine Ruffel (INRA) Regulatory network behind systemic nitrogen signalling in Arabidopsis
• Hitoshi Sakakibara (Nagoya University) Quantitative and qualitative tuning of cytokinin actions for plant growth optimisation
• Alison Smith (John Innes Centre) Growing in the dark

 

 

Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium 2016

4–6 April 2016

Theme: Induced Plant Development

This was the inaugural Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium was held in 2016. In contrast to animals, developmental processes in plants are strongly influenced by the environment. This meeting brought together 70 international researchers studying plant developmental processes that are modulated by the environment. The meeting covered processes that are established de novo or are significantly changed in response to the environment.

Coordinator: Sebastian Schornack

Keynote speakers

• Sofie Goormachtig (VIB/Ghent University) Strigolactone networks in the root
• Christian Fankhauser (University of Lausanne) Light-induced morphogenetic changes improving access to
  sunlight

Invited Speakers

• Elena Baena-Gonzalez (IGC, Portugal) SnRK1 kinases, a link between metabolism, stress, and development
• Malcolm Bennett (University of Nottingham) Dissecting the mechanisms controlling root adaptive responses to soil water and nutrient distribution
• Martin Crespi (Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay) Non-coding RNAs in the environmental control of gene expression in root development
• Kerry Franklin (University of Bristol) UV-B control of plant architecture
• Melissa Mitchum (University of Missouri) Modulation of CLE signalling systems for nematode parasitism
• Thomas Greb (University of Heidelberg) The Strigolactone-associated SMXL4 and SMXL5 genes - a link between primary energy metabolism and growth regulation?
• Jose Gutierrez-Marcos (University of Warwick) Epigenomic changes induced by stress and developmental reprogramming in plants,
• Saskia Hogenhout (John Innes Centre) Effector specialisation in the making of a ‘Zombie’ plant
• Gwyneth Ingram (ENS-Lyon) Probing the physical interactions underpinning co-ordinated seed development in Arabidopsis
• Seisuke Kimura (Kyoto Sangyo University) Impact of environment on leaf development: Studies on heterophylly in Rorippa aquatica
• Olivier Loudet (INRA-IJPB, France) Natural variation for growth response to the environment in Arabidopsis
• Gabriele Monshausen (Penn State) Calcium and the limits of cell expansion
• Richard Morris (John Innes Centre) Symbiotic calcium signals: Requesting planning permission for new development
• Steven Penfield (John Innes Centre) Gene environment interactions in seeds: thinking beyond the individual
• Ken Shirasu (RIKEN) Vascular hijack by parasitic plants
• Jeff Stuart (Purdue University) Avr gene discovery reveals molecular mimicry underlying Hessian fly-induced plant gall formation
• Mary Wildermuth (University of California, Berkeley) Plant host cell cycle manipulation by powdery mildew fuels fungal reproduction

 

 

Developmental Biology Symposium 2015

23 March 2015

Invited Speakers

• Professor Michael Akam (Department of Zoology) Why study a centipede!
• Professor Beverley Glover (Department of Plant Sciences) Evo-devo of flowers and pollinator attraction
• Professor Ray Goldstein (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics) How a Volvox embryo turns itself inside out
• Dr Nick Brown (Gurdon Institute) Using genetics and imaging to explore the relationships between cell adhesion, the cytoskeleton and morphogenesis
• Dr Katja Röper (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) Molecular mechanisms for making tubes: anisotropies and cytoskeletal crosstalk
• Dr Bénédicte Sanson (Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience) Connecting the actomyosin cytoskeleton planar polarity with cell and tissue behaviours
• Dr Isabel Palacios (Department of Zoology) The Drosophila germ line as a model for tissue integrity and cytoplasmic self-organisation)
• Dr Eugenia Piddini (Gurdon Institute) Cell competition by mechanical insults among epithelial cells
• Professor Yrjö Helariutta (Sainsbury Laboratory) Mobile signals control vascular development in Arabidopsis
• Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith (Department of Genetics) Genomic imprinting as a developmental switch to control gene dosage
• Dr Jennifer Nichols (Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute) Pluripotency in the early mammalian embryo

 

Symposium 2014 Theme: Quantitative Approaches to Development

22–23 July 2014

SLCU hosted a two-day symposium focusing on quantitative approaches to development featuring early career scientists from around the world as speakers. This event was free to attend.

Invited Speakers

• Kyriacos Leptos (University of Cambridge) Steering (or not) towards light: Flagellar photoresponse in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
• Micha Hersch (University of Lausanne) Resource-aware auxin signalling in Arabidopsis?
• John Fozzard (Nottingham University) Computational modelling of growth regulation by auxin responses during gravitropism
• Renaud Bastien (Harvard University) A simple model of the interaction between tropisms and perceptions
• Sur Herrera Paredes (University of North Carolina) Root microbiome assembly: the search for host modulation factors
• Sarah Robinson (University of Bern) Extending plants - a novel method to understand the mechanics of development
• Démosthène Mitrossilis (Institut Curie, Paris) Mechanotransductive activation of mesoderm invagination triggered by stochastic apex cell pulsations in early Drosophila embryos
• Adam Corrigan (University College, London) Quantitative Investigation of Transcription Dynamics in Development and Growth
• Petter Hammar (Uppsala University) Transcription Factor Kinetics in Living Cells
• Maryam Aliee (ENS-Lyon) A theoretical approach to investigate how boundaries are shaped in developing tissues