Program

Tentative Agenda – Final Agenda with talk titles will be posted soon.

Day 1: August 26th 2025

TimeEventLocation
5:00 PM – 7:00 PMSymposium Welcome Reception/Dinner/Check-InCreature Comforts, 271 W Hancock Ave

Day 2: August 27th 2025

TimeEventLocation
8:00 AM – 9:00 AMCheck In/BreakfastSpecial Collections Library – Exhibition Hallway
9:00 AM – 9:15 AMOpening Remarks
Dr. Anna Stenport, Dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, UGA
Dr Harshavardhan Thippareddi, CAES Associate Dean for Research, UGA
Special Collections Library – Exhibition Hallway

Session 1: Engineering Regulation: Single Genes to Multi-Gene Networks

TimeSpeaker/SessionRoom
9:15 AM – 9:45 AMGözde Demirer, Caltech
9:45 AM – 10:00 AMBrad Nelms, Plant Biology, UGA
10:00 AM – 10:15 AMPeggy Ozias-Akins, Horticulture, UGA
10:15 AM – 10:30 AMCoffee Break
10:30 AM – 11:00 AMSonali Quantius, Inari
11:00 AM – 11:15 AMKelly Dawe, UGA
11:15 AM – 11:30 AMBob Schmitz, Genetics, UGA
11:30 AM – 12:00 PMTrainee Lightning Talks
12:00 PM – 1:30 PMNetworking Lunch Special Collections Library – Exhibition Hallway

Session 2: Functional Molecules and Metabolisms

TimeSpeaker/SessionLocation
1:30 PM – 2:00 PMWolfgang Busch, HPI, Salk Inst.Special Collections Library Room 285
2:00 PM – 2:15 PMCJ Tsai, Forestry, UGA
2:15 PM – 2:30 PMYajun Yan, BEBL, UGA
2:30 PM – 2:45 PMBreak
2:45 PM – 3:15 PMRyan Nett, MCB, Harvard Univ
3:15 PM – 3:30 PMChenxin Li, CAGT, UGA
3:30 PM – 3:45 PMBree Urbanowicz, CCRC, UGA
3:45 PM – 4:15 PMPanel Discussion: Innovating Bioproducts – Food, Feed, Fuel, Fibers and Beyond
Moderator: Anumantha Kanthasamy
4:15 PM – 5:00 PMStudent Poster SetupSpecial Collections Library – Exhibition Hallway
5:00 PM – 7:00 PMDinnerSpecial Collections Library – Room 285
7:00 PM – 9:00 PMStudent Poster Competition and Evening SocialSpecial Collections Library – Exhibition Hallway

Day 3: August 28th 2025

TimeEventLocation
8:00 AM – 8:45 AMBreakfastSpecial Collections Library – Exhibition Hallway

Session 3: Designing Organism-Environment Interactions and Resiliency

TimeSpeaker/SessionLocation
8:45 AM – 9:15 AMYumin Tao, CSO, Living CarbonSpecial Collections Library Room 285
9:15 AM – 9:30 AMRobin Buell, CAGT, UGA
9:30 AM – 9:45 AMWayne Parrott, IPBGG, UGA
9:45 AM – 10:00 AMCoffee Break
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMEllen Rim, UC-Davis
10:30 AM – 10:45 AMMelissa Mitchum, Plant Pathology, UGA
10:45 AM – 11:15 AMYasuo Yoshikuni, JGI, LBL, DOE
11:15 AM – 11:45 AMPanel Discussion: Emerging Global Challenges and Synthetic Biology Solutions
Moderator: Marshall Shepard
11:45 AM – 12:00 PMConcluding Remarks