PlantLink News October 2022

The autumn semester is in full swing! Don’t forget to sign up for the annual PlantLink day “New plant products” and NordPlant events. Read more about the region’s maybe newest plant researcher Sajeevan Radha Sivarajan who previously was a post doc at SLU Alnarp.

Newsletter Contents

1. Last chance to sign up for PlantLink Day – 5 October!
2. NordPlant annual meeting – 30 November
3. Centennial anniversary of the ecotype concept: the legacy of Göte Turesson – 29 November
4. KSLA Bertebos Prize Seminar – 26 October
5. The annual Plant Biologicals Network Symposium – 17 November
6. Nordic Plant Phenotyping Network (NPPN) workshop – 24-25 November
7. NordPlant-NOVA PhD course – Deadline to apply 15 October
8. GeneBEcon – New HORIZON EUROPE project on gene editing in plants
9. Open positions
10. Calls for grants 
11. PlantLink is preparing applications
12. ELLS Scientific Student Conference 2022 – SLU winners!
13. PlantLink Researcher in the spotlight – Sajeevan Radha Sivarajan

1. Last chance to sign up for PlantLink Day – 5 October!

Join us in Alnarp on the 5^th of October and experience the unique combinations of research and industry perspectives on “New Plant Products”.

Featured speakers: Robert Brummer (Örebo University), Eslam Salah (Lupinta), Mariette Andersson (SolEdits/SLU), Heiko Rischer (VTT Finland), Alice Grønhøj (Aarhus University), Walter de Milliano (Sorghum breeder), Kristian Holst Laursen (University of Copenhagen), Katarzyna Dymek (OptiCept Technologies AB). The day will end with a mingle!
 
Do not forget to sign up here!
 

2. NordPlant annual meeting, 30 November

“Envirotyping for plant breeding and precision agriculture” is the topic of the annual NordPlant meeting in Lund on the 30^th of November in conjunction with the Göte Turesson jubilee commemorating 100 years since the term Ecotype was coined.

Invited speakers: Antoine Harfouche (UNITUS), Jose Luis Araus Ortega (University of Barcelona), Fred Stoddard (University of Helsinki), Therese Bengtsson (SLU), Florent Abdelghafour (INRAE), Nasir Uddin (Husqvarna group), Ajit Nehe (SLU) and Chandana Pandey (University of Copenhagen).
 
Register here!
 

3. Centennial anniversary of the ecotype concept: the legacy of Göte Turesson, 29 November

This symposium will be held in Lund on the 29^th of November together with NordPlant annual meeting. The historic context of the ecotype concept will be presented by Anna Tunlid (Lund University). After that, invited specialists will present different aspects of present-day applications of the ecotype concept.
Confirmed speakers: Timo van der Niet (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), Hans Jaqcuemyn (KU Leuven, The Netherlands), Sophie Karrenberg (Uppsala University), Marie Branderud (Oslo University), Honor C. Prentice (Lund University) and Björn Widén (Lund University).

If you are interested to attend the meeting sign up here!

4. KSLA Bertebos Prize Seminar, 26 October

In honour of the 2022 Bertebos Prize Laureate, Professor Rodomiro Ortiz, the Royal Swedish Academy of
Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA) and the Bertebos Foundation arrange this conference on advances in plant
breeding to meet the United Nation´s Sustainable Development Goals. More information and registration here.

5. The annual Plant Biologicals Network Symposium – 17 November

The meeting will be held on the 17^th of November as a full-day event in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event will be back-to-back with the Copenhagen Bioscience Conference: Plant-microbe Interactions. Full program will be announced soon.
Confirmed speakers: Pamela Marrone (Chestnut Bio Advisers), Angela Sessitsch (Austrian University of Technologies), Rosa Criollo (FMC Agricultural Solutions), Nina Cedergreen (University of Copenhagen), David King (Syngenta), Andrea Genre (University of Turin), Christer Löfstedt (Lund University), Carl Heiselberg (Danske Kartofler)

Register here!

6. Nordic Plant Phenotyping Network (NPPN) workshop – 24-25 November

The workshop will take place on the 24-25^th of November in Båstad. 6P2 and NordPlant will among other things discuss the future of plant phenotyping in Nordic countries.
More information and registration here!

7. NordPlant-NOVA PhD course – Deadline to apply 15 October

It is a high time to apply for the NordPlant supported NOVA PhD course at SLU Alnarp/Lund on “Common data standards and integrative analytic methods for plant phenotyping” 28 Nov-2 Dec. Deadline for application in on the 15^th of October. More information

8. GeneBEcon – New HORIZON EUROPE project on gene editing in plants

A new multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder consortium has been built to harness the innovation potential of gene editing to promote a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe. Through the application of this technology in potatoes and microalgae, GeneBEcon will promote energy-efficient, low-input, and zero-pollution agricultural production and clean industrial processing.

More information

9. Open positions

Doctoral student in Plant Molecular Biology. Deadline for application: 30 September. More information here
 
Postdoctoral scholarship in Molecular Biology: Plant stress signalling and susceptibility genes SLU Alnarp. More information here

10. Calls for grants

EITFood Open Innovation call 2023. Have you got an idea for an innovative project to create positive change in the food system? Great opportunity for those who are looking for a way how to commercialise research! The requirements are, among others, that projects must be based around activities with a TRL (Technology Readiness Level) and have a certain level of income generated shortly after the project end. More information

11. PlantLink is preparing applications

PlantLink team is preparing an application for Region Skåne’s call for circular food systems. If granted, it would support PlantLink activities within the regional industry. The Formas communication call for 2022 is also on our radar, popularising agri-food sustainable development research.

12. ELLS Scientific Student Conference 2022 – SLU winners!

A team of master degree students from SLU won the finals in competition within “implementation of Project-Based Learning among master’s degree students in selected ELLS Universities (iPBL-EU)” project. Their elaboration of a case study on Noorda blitealis moth in moringa trees was selected as the best, facing other teams from BOKU, ČZU and ELLS Summer School. Congratulations!

13. PlantLink Researcher in the spotlight – Sajeevan Radha Sivarajan

Sajeevan Radha Sivarajan is a previous postdoc at the Department of Plant Protection Biology at SLU Alnarp who just turned researcher in the same department. How can the understanding of plant stress tolerance influence the future yields of our major crops? Read the interview!