Programme
Conference details:
The conference will be held at Konventum, Elsinore, where there will be ample space for a reception area for poster presentations, coffee, lunch and dinner events.
Programme
- About half of the talks in each session will be joint between NPC and NAS, the other half will be as parallel talks.
- The program will include a combination of invited speakers and selected speakers based on submitted abstracts.
- Posters will be displayed throughout the entire conference period.
Speakers
Dr. Jonathan Zehr
Dr. Jonathan Zehr is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ocean Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Western Washington University (1981) and a Ph.D. in Ecology–Limnology from UC Davis (1985). He completed postdoctoral research on nitrogen cycling at SUNY Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory, and on molecular biology at New England Biolabs.
Dr. Zehr joined the Biology faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992 and moved to UC Santa Cruz in 1999. He was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (2009) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2018).
His research centers on nitrogen cycling by aquatic microbes, with additional work on microbial diversity, organic matter and selenium metabolism, and nitrogen fixation in oligotrophic oceans—his primary area of focus.
Prof. Maria Barbosa
Prof. Maria Barbosa is a leading expert on microalgae biotechnology. She is presently Director of AlgaePARC (Algae Production and Research Center – www.AlgaePARC.com) and Research Manager microalgae at the Research Institute Food & Biobased Research Wageningen University and Research Centre. Her scientific interests are in microalgae strain improvement, process development and scale-up.
Prof. Christine Raines
Christine Raines earned her B.Sc. (Hons) in Agricultural Botany in 1982 and completed a Ph.D. in photosynthetic electron transport at the University of Glasgow in 1986. She began postdoctoral research in 1985 at the Institute of Plant Science Research, Cambridge, focusing on the molecular biology of the C₃ cycle. In 1988, she joined the University of Essex, where she became Professor in 2004. She served as Head of the School of Life Sciences (2011–2017) and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research (2017–2021).
Christine has held several external roles, including Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Experimental Botany (since 2011), Chair of the Plant Section at the Society for Experimental Biology (2009–2013), and SEB President (2017–2019).
Her research focuses on plant molecular physiology, gene expression, and the development of transgenic plants. She currently leads a group working to improve photosynthesis by re-engineering the Calvin–Benson cycle and electron transport pathways.
Prof. Roberta Croce
Roberta Croce is Professor of Biophysics of Photosynthesis at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis, using an integrated approach that combines molecular biology, biochemistry, ultrafast spectroscopy, and modeling. She aims to understand how energy is captured, transferred, and regulated in response to environmental changes, from single molecules to whole organisms under physiologically relevant conditions.
Prof. Tomas Morosinotto
Tomas Morosinotto, professor in Plant Physiology, Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, Italy. His current research focuses on studying photosynthesis across various organisms to understand how evolution has shaped the regulation of this metabolic process—from algae to mosses to higher plants. Insights from this fundamental research are being used to develop genetically engineered algal strains and plants with enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and increased biomass productivity.
Dr. Vítor Verdelho
Dr. Vítor Verdelho is the General Manager European Algae Biomass Association (EABA) https://www.eaba-association.org/en and an expert on trends in the algae biomass sector with a focus on algae products and synergies among scientists, industrialists and decision makers. He has published 93 scientific papers within algae biotechnology, food safety, biomass production, market etc. Co-founder, Executive Borad Member, CEO of Cell4Food (https://cell4food.eu/)
Gender Diversity
The conference organisers are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the event. This is reflected in the invited keynote speakers, with at least 40% representation by women. We will ensure a balanced and diverse selection of presenters across all sessions, including national principal investigators, industry representatives, and early-career researchers. This commitment extends to all additional presentations and panel discussions to foster an inclusive environment that represents a wide range of perspectives and experiences.