New CONNECTIONS: plant pathology, entomology and the road ahead
CONNECTED online Conference
28 – 30 June 2022
Bringing together plant pathologists, entomologists and agricultural innovators, this virtual event will build new connections between disciplines and researchers, zoning in on the most crucial areas of interdisciplinary research needed to improve global food security.
The conference will include scientific talks and poster sessions, plenaries from world-class leaders in plant vector-borne disease, workshops to explore priority research questions, opportunities and challenges, plus emerging community needs – all expertly facilitated.
Confirmed speakers to date include:
- Dr Adrian Fox, Principal Plant Virologist at Fera, United Kingdom
- Dr Adrian Valli, Principal Investigator, Spanish National Center for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), Spain
- Dr Carol Ibe, Founder of JR Biotek Foundation, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Dr Christophe Lacomme, Senior Virologist, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), Scotland
- Dr Joseph Daron, Science Manager in International Climate Services at the Met Office and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, UK
- Dr Kolade Olufisayo, Yam Disease Phenotyping Specialist, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria
- Dr. Oluwatosin Aregbesola, formerly of Wesley University, Ondo, Nigeria
- Dr Saliou Niassy, Head of Agricultural Technology Transfer Unit, ICIPE – International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya
- Prof. Shirley Luckhart, Co-Director of Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem, University of Idaho, USA
- Dr Taro Takahashi, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Livestock Systems and Food Security, and Joint Food Security Theme Research Lead at Cabot Institute for the Environment, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- Prof. Toby Bruce, Professor of Insect Chemical Ecology, Keele University, United Kingdom
There will also be significant opportunities and designated space for professional networking, plus twenty places available on a Scriptoria grant-writing workshop in the lead-up to the conference (more details TBC).
The conference will encompass:
- Current and emerging issues and questions in plant vector-borne disease research
- Innovation and translation of plant vector-borne disease research outputs into technologies/solutions/applications
- Interdisciplinarity in plant vector-borne disease – and the future collaborations needed
There are also opportunities to give a 10-15 minute talk – please send your title and a 200-word abstract to connectedvirusnetwork@gmail.com before 22 May. A review process will follow, with priority given to Early Career Researchers. Please also submit scientific posters by the same deadline.
In addition to CONNECTED Network Members, we extend our invitations to this event to all members of the British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP) and the Royal Entomological Society (RES). We hope that bringing these three research communities together to share knowledge, to connect and to collaborate, will help us all to find the interdisciplinary solutions needed to better solve the problems caused by insect-borne plant diseases.
This event is being sponsored by the British Society for Plant Pathology.
