Prof. Dr. Mats Hansson
Title of Talk: Exploring a Historic Barley Mutant Collection for Gene Identification
Prof. Hansson's research aims to understand the molecular processes in plants related to plant architecture design, flowering time, and chlorophyll biosynthesis. He frequently uses historic barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutants, isolated over 50 years ago, to analyze them with modern molecular and biochemical methods. His project addresses fundamental scientific questions while also having practical applications in plant breeding.
Prof. Dr. Jutta Papenbrock
Title of Talk: Combining Basic and Applied Research Focused on Glucosinolate Metabolism and Salt-Tolerant Plants for More Resilient Plant Cultivation
Prof. Papenbrock is a Professor at the Institute of Botany in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. Her research specializes in sulfur metabolism at the molecular level, along with abiotic stress responses. She is also involved in studying stress-tolerant plant species for various purposes, using the natural diversity of plants. Her interests include investigating plants as biofilters for biodegradation of xenobiotics, sources of valuable plant-derived compounds, and potential new food sources.
Prof. Dr. Naglaa A. Abdallah
Title of Talk: Innovation in agricultural biotechnology to increase agricultural productivity and quality
Professor Abdallah served as the coordinator of BSC Biotechnology program from 2010 to 2020. Her research expertise is on plant improvement using genome editing and plant biotechnology as well as food safety and bioinformatics. She is the Editor-in-Chief of a highly respected peer-reviewed open access journal GM Crops & Food. She is leading the National Biotechnology Network for Expertise (NBNE), a proponent of science-based biotechnology development in Egypt and the region.
Professor Olalekan Akinbo
Title of Talk: Commercial release of gene edited and genetically modified crops
Professor Akinbo is a renowned biotechnology expert with over 21 years of experience in international organizations. His expertise spans plant breeding, genetics, biotechnology, regulatory affairs, and science policy. He is currently the technical lead for the Genome Editing program at African Union Development Agency – NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), South Africa.
Ass. Prof. Dr. Helmy M Youssef
Title of Talk: Discovery and Molecular Characterization of Novel Loci Controlling Salinity Tolerance in Two Highly Diverse Barley Populations
Dr. Youssef is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. His research focuses on abiotic stress tolerance in barley during various developmental stages at the molecular level.
Dr. Rasha Altarawneh
Title of Talk: Wild Alleles Enhance Salt Tolerance During Barley Germination and Seedling Growth in HEB-400 Population
Dr. Altarawneh obtained her PhD from MLU-Halle, Germany, in January 2020. She then worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at IPK-Gatersleben for about 1.5 years. Her research focuses on the genetics and molecular breeding of crops under abiotic stress.
Prof. Dr. Götz Hensel
Title of Talk: Precision Mutagenesis in Crops for Functional Genomics and Agronomic Trait Enhancement
Prof. Hensel is the Head of the Centre for Plant Genome Engineering at the Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. His research interests center around gene editing in crops using CRISPR/Cas and other advanced techniques for improving agronomic traits.
Dr. Filippo Bassi
Title of Talk: Genomic Durum Wheat Breeding at ICARDA: Boosting Genetic Gain for Drylands Farming
Dr. Bassi is a Senior Scientist and the leader of ICARDA’s Durum Wheat Breeding Program. His work focuses on developing superior varieties that offer increased yields, especially in the face of rapid climate change. He holds a PhD in plant breeding and genetics from North Dakota State University, USA.
Dr. Olivier van Aken
Title of Talk: The Molecular Basis and Potential Applications of Mechanical Signalling in Plants
Dr. Van Aken's research focuses on how plants respond to environmental stresses. He leads a research group at Lund University, Sweden, and is also the Director of PlantLink, an initiative supporting plant science research.
Dr. Renjie Chen
Title of Talk: A Wheat Tandem Kinase Activates an NLR to Trigger Immunity
Dr. Chen's research primarily focuses on understanding wheat immunity against rust pathogens, particularly through protein interactions and signal transduction mechanisms.
Dr. Aladdin Hamwieh
Title of Talk: Plant microbiome technology for sustainable agriculture
Dr. Hamwieh is a plant breeder and biotechnologist with over 20 years of research experience. His work focuses on developing improved crop varieties using molecular markers, genomic selection, and biotechnology tools for sustainable agriculture.
Dr. Ahmed Sallam
Title of Talk: Identification of Candidate Genes Enhancing Seawater Tolerance in Spring Wheat at Early Growth Stages Using GWAS and RT-PCR
Ahmed Sallam is a Professor of Genetics at Assiut University, Egypt (promoted through the Scientific Excellence Track, 2024). He earned his PhD in Plant Breeding from the University of Goettingen, Germany, after completing his BSc and MSc at Assiut University. He worked as a Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, USA. Dr. Sallam received a DAAD PhD scholarship and the State Encouragement Award in Agricultural Sciences (Genetics), Egypt. His research focuses on improving stress tolerance in cereals and legumes using QTL mapping, genome-wide association studies, and genomic selection. He has published widely in leading journals and serves as a reviewer for several international journals.