Priming Plant Metabolism for the New Bioeconomy

The Gordon Research Seminar on Plant Metabolic Engineering is a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas.

The 5th Plant Metabolic Engineering Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will bring together young leaders from the international plant science community for an enthusiastic and constructive discussion about propelling the field to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Through poster and oral presentations, the 2015 GRS will feature new, unpublished progress in the following fields of plant primary and specialized metabolism:

• Harnessing Plant Chemical Diversity
• Advances in Bioinformatics and Mining Big Data
• Pathway Engineering and Deciphering Plant Metabolic Networks
• Omics Approaches for Plant Improvement

Dr. Sally Mackenzie, an inspirational educator and a key leader of the Plant Science Research Summit’s Decadal Vision 2015-2025, will provide the keynote address. The program is further designed to facilitate thought-provoking discussion via round-table sessions on topics such as improving scientific influence in public policy, advancing training opportunities in big-data fields, enhancing international collaborations, nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit for mutually beneficial academia-private sector partnerships, and closing the gender gap at the faculty and executive levels.

The scientifically rigorous yet friendly atmosphere of the meeting is designed to develop collaborations and promote professional growth of the next generation of plant scientists. The GRS immediately precedes the Plant Metabolic Engineering Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and is designed for and by young scientists, including graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. We enthusiastically encourage participation of junior scientists with diverse backgrounds and experiences from around the world. Travel and registration awards for both U.S. and international participants are anticipated.