This workshop will focus on strategies for generating high-quality, stable, uniform, and true-to-type bioengineered plants that meet standards required for research, product development, and commercial deployment. As plant biotechnology continues to advance, ensuring genetic integrity and phenotypic consistency remains a critical challenge throughout the transformation and plant regeneration process. Speakers will highlight key factors that can influence the quality of bioengineered plants, with an emphasis on minimizing the occurrence of chimeras, reducing somaclonal variation, and preventing unintended changes in chromosome number. Topics will include best practices in transformation system design, explant selection, tissue culture optimization, regeneration pathways, and screening methodologies that support the genetic integrity. Attendees will gain insight into how culture conditions, developmental biology, and molecular characterization approaches can be leveraged to enhance the likelihood of obtaining high-quality transgenic and genome-edited plants.

Learning to clearly communicate research to a wide array of audiences is an important part of the professional development of future scientists. This exciting event will be hosted by the SIVB Toastmasters. Toastmasters are part of an international, multi-disciplinary organization committed to developing confidence in public speaking skills. This luncheon will have networking activities to build skills and confidence to orally present research in a safe social environment. There will be a fun contest with prizes in many categories.

Advances in gene editing and precision breeding are unlocking unprecedented opportunities for crop improvement. This workshop brings together a federal regulator, an academic researcher, and an industry practitioner to trace the full journey from evolving regulatory framework to market-ready product. The session opens with the scientific foundations of biotech risk assessment. Speakers will trace the evolution from early transgenic crops to modern gene-edited products, review the current Coordinated Framework, and highlight research priorities that can strengthen the scientific basis for exemption pathways. Next, a real-world case study features CoverCress®. The presenter will detail how an academic lab used CRISPR technology to stack multiple edits into wild pennycress for de novo domestication, molecularly characterized and verified each edit, and compiled the scientific data required for regulatory readiness. Finally, an industry perspective covers data-generation design for regulatory submissions, lessons from recent filings, and partnerships between academic labs, government agencies, and private developers that can shorten commercialization timelines. The workshop concludes with an interactive panel discussion and audience Q&A focused on identifying priority research gaps in biotech risk assessment. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end regulatory pathway for gene-edited crops alongside direct connections to the experts shaping the field.

Lab automation offers significant benefits to the laboratory workflow. It can increase efficiency, boost productivity, and improve consistency and reliability of results by reducing human error. However, the process of adopting automated systems presents several hurdles including high initial costs, workflow rigidity, and underestimation of maintenance needs. To address these and other issues, this panel discussion will feature experts from manufacturers, industry users, and academic research scientists, providing valuable insights into the automated systems and covering common challenges and potential solutions at different phases of lab automation.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

This session will explore the ever-evolving journey of transgenic and gene edited crop technologies from their early discovery stages to widespread commercial adoption over the past thirty years.  We will examine key scientific breakthroughs, regulatory forces, and market dynamics that have shaped the global landscape of agricultural biotechnology.  The key milestones in tissue culture and molecular biology that led to the present-day advances including the development of genome editing will be explored. We will complete the picture with the emerging regulatory frameworks surrounding gene editing, highlighting how evolving regulations are influencing innovation, commercialization, and public perception. Attendees will gain insights into the intersection of science, policy, and commercialization, and how these forces continue to redefine the future of crop development. 

The In Vitro Animal Cell Sciences (IVACS) Section of the Society for In Vitro Biology is pleased to announce the 2026 Student Oral Presentation Competition during the SIVB Annual meeting in Reno, NV. This competition encourages the exchange of scientific information between the presenters, attendees, and expert judges. Moreover, it provides an invaluable opportunity for students to practice and improve their presentation delivery and public speaking skills. Students who wish to participate in this competition should check that option during the submission of their abstract to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the SIVB. Applicants should also e-mail a copy of their complete abstract and submission ID number to the session moderator, Dr. Addy Alt-Holland (addy.alt_holland@tufts.edu). The top finalists will be selected for this competition based on the quality of their abstracts, as well as the merit of their research and scientific findings. The text of the abstract should include the following sections: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions. Where appropriate, the Methods section should include relevant statistical analysis. The abstract text should not exceed 1800 characters and should not include references. The oral presentations will be presented in-person at the meeting, and a panel of expert judges will select the winning presentations. Evaluation criteria will include experimental design, data analysis, proper interpretation of the results, originality of the study, technical difficulty, professionalism, the ability of the finalist to explain the research and answer questions, as well as adhere to the allocated time for the presentation. The Student Oral Presentation Competition session serves to recognize and reward the research and achievements of outstanding students. The top three finalists will be presented with a certificate and a cash award during the 2026 Annual Meeting. The DEADLINE for abstract submission for the Student Oral Presentation Competition is February 27, 2026. Should you have any questions, please contact the SIVB Office or the session moderator. We are looking forward to reviewing your abstract!

Plants are emerging as innovative, sustainable production platforms for a wide range of health and industrial products. Advances in plant biotechnology, synthetic biology, genome editing, metabolic engineering, and AI-guided biological discovery are enabling the transformation of crops and specialized plant systems into biological foundries capable of manufacturing high-value compounds. Speakers will share strategies for engineering metabolic pathways, enhancing product yield and quality, and application of emerging genome-engineering technologies for the production of natural rubber, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, and other human-use materials. This session will highlight emerging technologies which leverage plants as viable and versatile production platforms for the next generation of bioproducts while exploring opportunities and challenges associated with scale-up for commercial deployment.

Learning to clearly communicate research to a wide array of audiences is an important part of the professional development of future scientists. This exciting event will be hosted by the SIVB Toastmasters. Toastmasters are part of an international, multi-disciplinary organization committed to developing confidence in public speaking skills. This luncheon will have networking activities to build skills and confidence to orally present research in a safe social environment. There will be a fun contest with prizes in many categories.

While students are often introduced to careers in academia, industry, and government, the full breadth of opportunities (both within and beyond these traditional sectors) is rarely highlighted. This luncheon will begin with a brief overview of diverse career paths available to scientists, followed by small-group discussions led by professionals representing a range of fields. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore specific career areas in greater depth and engage directly with experts. A short survey will be circulated prior to the event to help match participants with their preferred discussion groups, though there will also be flexibility to join a group on the day of the event. This event is geared toward students, postdocs, and those exploring graduate programs or early career paths after a bachelor’s degree.

Because of long juvenility periods and reproductive cycles, improvement of woody plant species through traditional breeding methods remains time-consuming and labor intensive. Rapid improvements in woody plants can be realized through either transgenic or genome editing approaches, applying to yield, plant architecture, disease resistance, food quality, or fiber and timber production, to name only a few. Ideally, biotechnology would be used as a supplement to existing breeding efforts to quickly introduce known or novel characteristics into elite germplasm, improving agricultural outputs without requiring more inputs. Unfortunately, many woody species have historically proven recalcitrant to transformation and in vitro culture. In this session, we invite experts to present on novel biotechnological tools, methods or applications that have enabled efficient transformation or gene editing in woody plant species. These breakthroughs and others like them will ultimately enable the realization of plant improvement and novel trait introduction through biotechnology in woody plant species.

The deployment of CRISPR-based and other precision breeding technologies in crop improvement necessitates rigorous characterization of on-target efficacy and off-target activity to satisfy both regulatory frameworks and ecological risk assessment standards. This symposium presents current progress in detecting and assessing unintended molecular consequences of genome-editing technologies and evaluating trait-based biocontainment strategies designed to mitigate transgene flow and ecological risk in engineered crops. Collectively, the symposium presentations will address genome-wide off-target profiling, recombinase fidelity assessment, and reproductive containment engineering to advance a more rigorous, evidence-based framework for biosafety evaluation of transgenic and gene-edited crops. Discussion will include methodological standardization for off-target detection, the regulatory implications of editor- and recombinase-associated genomic alterations, and the design of durable containment traits for bioenergy and other transgenic crop systems.

As our ecosystems are changing rapidly, animals continually face different threats that negatively affect their health and survival.  While some threats are widespread and occur across ecosystems worldwide (e.g., colony collapse disorder in honeybees, deadly chytridiomycosis in amphibians, common fin diseases in farmed and wild fish), others are highly localized as they arise from the complex interplay of region-specific habitat characteristics and anthropogenic factors (e.g., poor water quality and agal blooms in the Indian River Lagoon).  At present, there exist many knowledge gaps in how diverse animal species respond to specific threats; this represents a major barrier to the development of innovative solutions to protect those vulnerable animals and enhance their resilience.  In this Animal Symposium, we highlight the exceptional work by leading researchers from diverse scientific disciplines who are at the forefront of their respective fields. By developing in vitro approaches to tackle these complex problems, their work generates new insights into diverse aspects of animal biology while expanding the toolkit of new biological resources, techniques, methods, and technologies to study them.

Bio: Dr. S. Eliza Lockwood is an emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist with a long-standing interest in global health.  After completing her toxicology fellowship at NYU in 2006, Dr. Lockwood returned to Washington University in St. Louis and started an ACGME accredited fellowship in Medical Toxicology. Over the following ten years, Dr. Lockwood became increasingly involved with global health and humanitarian relief projects.  She organized a relief mission to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, started the scholar track in Global Health for the Washington University Division of Emergency Medicine, and was one of the Global Health Scholars for the Department of Internal Medicine. Over the years, Dr. Lockwood began to realize that in order to have a sustainable impact in global health, she needed to find creative ways of addressing malnutrition and insect-borne illness, two of the most commonly encountered public health problems in developing countries.  With that in mind, Dr. Lockwood started working as the Medical Affairs Lead for Bayer, a global seed and chemical company with innovative technology that has great potential to remediate malnutrition. Dr. Lockwood has lectured nationally and internationally on a diverse range of topics in medical toxicology and global health.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

Cells are the fundamental unit of life, yet predicting the complexity of cellular structure and function within tissues and organs is an exceptionally challenging task. This is due, but not limited to the diversity of cell types, microenvironments, dynamics on the plasticity of cell states, and complexities of intracellular, intercellular and extracellular interactive networks. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming an important tool in unravelling these biological complexities. AI provides the computational capability to perform multifaceted tasks that sense, comprehend, act, and learn to solve complex problems. AI approaches include supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement and mixed learning models. This workshop will introduce basic AI concepts and provide AI examples in cell biology from a leading expert in this field, Dr. Gerald Quon, UC-Davis. The workshop will be organized to ensure networking with fellow students and postdocs.

Artificial intelligence is no longer simply a tool that responds to queries, but is increasingly becoming an active collaborator in discovery research. This session examines the rapidly evolving role of AI as a research partner, highlighting both the transformative opportunities it creates and the new standards it requires from the scientific community. It will cover multi-agent AI systems that generate and refine scientific hypotheses, accelerating research across biology, chemistry, and agricultural sciences. It will also present an example of generative AI in protein engineering, demonstrating how models trained on the evolutionary record of biological sequences and on all-atom molecular structure can design novel functional proteins that extend the boundaries of what nature has explored, opening new frontiers in crop improvement, animal health, and therapeutic development. Finally, it will consider the implications of AI-assisted manuscript development for scholarly publishing, including authorship attribution, transparency, reproducibility, the use of AI in peer review, and broader questions of scientific integrity. Together, these perspectives raise a critical question for every researcher: in an era of AI co-authorship, how do we ensure that our standards evolve as quickly as our tools.

The Plant Biotechnology Section is pleased to announce the 2026 Bob V. Conger Plant Biotechnology Student Oral Presentation Competition. This event provides a platform for emerging scientists to showcase their research in plant biotechnology. Competition finalists are selected based on the quality of the abstracts. A panel of judges will evaluate the presentations at the meeting. Criteria for the evaluation include experimental design, data analysis, proper interpretation of the results, originality of the study, technical difficulty, appearance and ability of the student to present it. Winners will be presented with a certificate and a cash award at the meeting.

Animal cell culture continues to expand its indispensable role in advancing knowledge, biotechnology, and translational applications. This IVACS session will highlight recent in vitro biology studies that examine novel cell line development for food innovation, develop and characterize new porcine cell lines for applications in diagnostic virology and virus-host receptor binding studies, and elucidate proteomic biosignatures accompanying the immortalization of fish cell lines. Together, their research showcases how modern advances in animal cell cultures provide new insights into novel fundamental biological concepts and processes while addressing contemporary issues in sustainability, agriculture, nutrition, food safety, animal welfare, and climate change.

We are pleased to announce the 2026 Postdoctoral Oral Presentation Competition for the Plant Biotechnology Section. This engaging session highlights the work of exceptional researchers who are now advancing the frontiers of postdoctoral research. The symposium serves as a platform to showcase cutting-edge innovations in plant biotechnology and foster opportunities for intellectual exchange and interdisciplinary collaboration. Finalists were selected based on the scientific quality and clarity of their abstracts. A panel of judges will evaluate presentations during the meeting based on experimental design, data analysis, interpretation, originality, technical rigor, presentation quality, and overall communication skills. Winners will receive a certificate and a cash award. 

Learning to clearly communicate research to a wide array of audiences is an important part of the professional development of future scientists. This exciting event will be hosted by the SIVB Toastmasters. Toastmasters are part of an international, multi-disciplinary organization committed to developing confidence in public speaking skills. This luncheon will have networking activities to build skills and confidence to orally present research in a safe social environment. There will be a fun contest with prizes in many categories.

The In Vitro Animal Cell Sciences (IVACS) Section of the Society for In Vitro Biology is pleased to announce the 2026 Post Doctoral Oral Presentation Competition during the SIVB Annual meeting in Reno, NV. This competition encourages the exchange of scientific information between the post doctoral presenters, attendees and expert judges. Additionally, it provides an invaluable opportunity for post doctoral presenter to enhance their presentation delivery and public speaking skills. Post doctoral fellows who wish to participate in this competition should check that option during the submission of their abstract to the 2026 SIVB Annual meeting. Applicants should also e-mail a copy of their complete abstract and submission ID number to the session moderator, Dr. Kolla Kristjansdottir (kkrist@midwestern.edu). The abstract text should not exceed 1800 characters and should not include references. The oral presentations will be presented in-person at the meeting, and a panel of expert judges will select the top presentation. Evaluation criteria will include experimental design, data analysis, proper interpretation of the results, originality of the study, technical difficulty, professionalism, the ability of the finalist to explain the research and answer questions, and importantly, adherence to the allocated time for the presentation. The Post Doctoral Oral Presentation Competition session serves to recognize and reward the research and achievements of outstanding post doctoral presenters. The finalists will be presented with a certificate and a cash award during the 2026 SIVB Annual meeting. The DEADLINE for abstract submission for the Post Doctoral Oral Presentation Competition is February 27, 2026. Should you have any questions, please contact the SIVB Office or the session moderator. We are looking forward to reviewing your abstract!

Doubled haploid (DH) technologies have become essential tools for accelerating crop improvement, enabling the rapid production of completely homozygous breeding lines in a single generation. This symposium will highlight advances across both in vitro and in vivo haploid induction platforms, showcasing  developments in microspore embryogenesis and expanding DH applicability across diverse species. The symposium will also examine rapidly expanding in vivo haploid induction systems and their integration in precision breeding, hybrid development and genome editing workflows. This session will provide a comprehensive perspective on the current state and future direction of doubled haploid technologies as foundational platforms for modern crop improvement.

Advancements in plant engineering are essential for global food security, yet transformation and regeneration remain constrained by species and genotype. This workshop convenes leading researchers and industry experts to present cutting-edge strategies that directly address these barriers—from fast, genotype-flexible in planta transformation systems, to novel technologies for delivering nucleic acids and proteins, to viral-mediated delivery of morphogenic regulators enabling leaf transformation. The session concludes with a moderated panel in which speakers will discuss practical applications, performance parameters, and implementation challenges. By focusing on validated approaches and current research, the workshop aims to accelerate robust transformation workflows and enable high-yielding crops.

This session will examine how organoid models are advancing mechanistic and translational studies of host–microbe interactions across diverse biological systems. The presentations will address virus–host interactions in intestinal organoids, fungal–mucosal crosstalk and inflammation, and companion-animal-derived organoids for translational research. Collectively, these studies highlight the potential of organoids to recapitulate tissue-specific host responses, define mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis and inflammation, and improve the translation of experimental findings into clinically relevant applications.

Synthetic biology applies engineering principles to biological systems to design and build unique modules, devices, or organisms with new and useful functions for various applications. This exciting, multidisciplinary field features various “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches to redesign entire organisms, construct functional biological components, or develop molecular machines. Synthetic biology is projected to account for a third of the global manufacturing output by the end of the next decade and poised to disrupt human health and food production. This plenary session will feature selected research aspects of this field in both plant and animal systems.

This session will explore how organoid-based co-culture systems are being used to model the dynamic crosstalk between epithelial, stromal, and immune compartments in both healthy and diseased tissue. As organoid platforms move beyond single-lineage culture, a central challenge has emerged: capturing the multicellular signaling circuits that govern tissue homeostasis, regeneration, and disease progression, including cancer. Speakers in this session will present advances in co-culture design, tissue engineering, omics analysis, including single-cell and spatial multi-omic approaches, that are being applied to dissect epithelial-stromal-immune interactions in vitro. The session will highlight both the biological insights these multicellular systems are generating and the machine learning and image analysis tools now being used to extract mechanistic understanding from increasingly complex organoid models. Attendees will come away with a practical view of the current state of the field, the technical challenges that remain in modeling tissue crosstalk outside the body, and the opportunities AI-enabled analysis offers for accelerating discovery in complex, multicellular tissue systems.

Nanotechnology has emerged as a transformative tool in addressing global challenges and advancing sustainable development, particularly in healthcare. By manipulating materials at the nanoscale, researchers have unlocked new possibilities across diverse fields including energy, agriculture, construction, transportation, environmental conservation, and medicine. In healthcare, the application of nanotechnology—known as nanomedicine—has demonstrated significant potential in combating both common and complex diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, neurological conditions, and cancer. Nanotechnology is already contributing to advances in diagnostics, targeted drug delivery, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, dentistry, oncology, aesthetics, and therapeutics. Realizing the full potential of nanomedicine requires close collaboration among physicians, clinicians, researchers, and technologists. Such interdisciplinary cooperation will enable the development of more precise, programmatically designed interventions aimed at improving patient outcomes. Recent progress in understanding the molecular and pathophysiological basis of disease is also helping to overcome existing challenges in the application of nanotechnology to medicine. This session will explore the current successes, persistent challenges, and future opportunities of nanotechnology in healthcare, with a focus on how it can revolutionize disease diagnosis, treatment, and patient care.

Green revolution in the 20th century transformed agriculture and livelihoods in Latin America and Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), these technologies were not widely adopted, primarily because high-yield crop varieties needed large amounts of input like chemical fertilizers and water. Smallholder farmers in SSA produce yields that are only 15-20% of what is achieved in regions with similar climates. At the same time, the population in SSA is projected to double by 2050, making it nearly ten times what it was back in 1960. Low agriculture productivity is a major driver of persistent poverty in the least developed countries, and economic growth through agriculture is more effective at reducing poverty than any other sector. Demand for innovation for smallholder farmers is high and increasing in SSA. However, investment in technology remains limited for SSA with primary focus toward a select number of cash crops, such as maize. This session will showcase innovative biotech products created by scientific community in Africa, aimed at improving agricultural productivity. Presenters will share experiences in developing trait products for cowpea, cassava, and maize. These products address Africa-specific challenges and will soon be launched to support small-holder farmers.

Learning to clearly communicate research to a wide array of audiences is an important part of the professional development of future scientists. This exciting event will be hosted by the SIVB Toastmasters. Toastmasters are part of an international, multi-disciplinary organization committed to developing confidence in public speaking skills. This luncheon will have networking activities to build skills and confidence to orally present research in a safe social environment. There will be a fun contest with prizes in many categories.

Plant tissue culture provides the foundation for modern biotechnology, which has revolutionized plant breeding, propagation, and food production. In this process, plant cells, tissues, or organs, are cultured in a highly controlled environment on a well-defined culture medium containing complex mixtures of nutrients, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates, gelling agents, and other components. The composition of the culture media can dramatically impact the growth and development of the tissues and make the difference between success and failure. However, the optimal combination of culture medium components can be highly species and even genotype specific. While biotechnology has progressed rapidly with exciting advances in plant transformation and genome editing in a vast array of species, most systems still rely on a small selection of media optimized for a limited number of plants. As a result, plant regeneration, multiplication, and acclimatization remain major bottle necks in implementing these techniques in many high-value species. Last year, the SIVB held an exciting workshop that reviewed the role and importance of different components of plant tissue culture media and the different approaches for media optimization. This workshop will expand upon this and delve deeper into modern approaches for media optimization. Come listen to academic and industry leaders discuss practical approaches to optimizing culture media and improve plant tissue culture systems. Topics presented include the integration of plant tissue nutrient analysis for iterative media optimization and applications of machine learning and optimization algorithms to develop and validate predictive models.

Genome editing has emerged as important tool in crop improvement by making targeted and precise changes to plant genomes. Unlike conventional breeding, which often requires multiple generations of crossing and selection to achieve specific traits, genome editing allows for precise modifications in both coding and non-coding regions. Genome editing can also address traits that were previously considered difficult or inaccessible through traditional methods. Developments in genome editing are contributing to new approaches in agriculture and food production globally. This session will discuss genome editing within non-coding regions that regulate gene expression and explore potential applications for non-coding sequences in crop biotechnology. Furthermore, recent advancements in base-editing technology will be discussed by comparing different editor platforms. The session will also address improvements to genome editing tools aimed at increasing accuracy and facilitating the modification of multiple alleles and genes.

Spatial omics technologies are revolutionizing our understanding of gene function by enabling the mapping of gene activity within the architectural context of tissues, organs and cell cultures. This session will explore cutting-edge applications of spatial omics researches in both plant and animal systems to accelerate the gene discovery and functional annotation. In plant research, spatial omics is shedding light on tissue-specific gene expression patterns critical for development, stress responses, and metabolic specialization. In animal systems, these technologies are advancing our understanding of cellular heterogeneity in complex tissues, lineage trajectories, disease microenvironments and developmental biology in cultured tissues and 3D models. The session will highlight innovations and breakthrough in spatial data acquisition and integration, imaging-based transcriptomics, computational tools that bridge spatial resolution with functional genomics, and applications in gene discovery.   By bringing together researchers from both plant and animal biology, this cross-disciplinary session aims to inspire new applications of spatial omics in in vitro biology and foster collaboration between plant and animal researchers working at the interface of spatial genomics and in vitro biology.

Spatial omics technologies are revolutionizing our understanding of gene function by enabling the mapping of gene activity within the architectural context of tissues, organs and cell cultures. This session will explore cutting-edge applications of spatial omics researches in both plant and animal systems to accelerate the gene discovery and functional annotation. In plant research, spatial omics is shedding light on tissue-specific gene expression patterns critical for development, stress responses, and metabolic specialization. In animal systems, these technologies are advancing our understanding of cellular heterogeneity in complex tissues, lineage trajectories, disease microenvironments and developmental biology in cultured tissues and 3D models. The session will highlight innovations and breakthrough in spatial data acquisition and integration, imaging-based transcriptomics, computational tools that bridge spatial resolution with functional genomics, and applications in gene discovery.   By bringing together researchers from both plant and animal biology, this cross-disciplinary session aims to inspire new applications of spatial omics in in vitro biology and foster collaboration between plant and animal researchers working at the interface of spatial genomics and in vitro biology.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing biological research, offering unprecedented opportunities to accelerate discovery and innovation across in vitro biology. This plenary session will explore how AI tools and techniques are transforming research in both plant and animal cell culture systems, from fundamental cellular processes to agricultural biotechnology applications. The session will introduce key AI methodologies including machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision. Expert speakers from academia and industry will share case studies of successful AI implementation, discuss readily available AI tools and platforms, and provide guidance for researchers at all technical levels. Whether you are seeking to incorporate AI into existing research or to understand how these powerful tools can accelerate scientific discoveries, this session will provide valuable insights into the transformative potential of AI in advancing in vitro biology research and applications across plant and animal systems.

Feeding a growing global population while reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint demands crop systems that can thrive in increasingly extreme and unpredictable climates.  This session brings together leading experts from academia and industry to explore cutting‑edge breeding and biotechnology solutions for building climate‑resilient food and bioenergy systems. Talks will highlight advances in breeding for stable productivity and quality across diverse environments, innovative strategies to improve drought tolerance and water‑use efficiency—including succulence traits and synthetic CAM engineering—and new chloroplast‑based platforms for durable next‑generation traits. The session also features breakthroughs in metabolic engineering to enhance crop‑derived renewable bioenergy production. Together, these presentations showcase how integrated breeding, system biology, and modern biotech are accelerating the development of resilient, efficient crops capable of thriving under extreme environmental stresses.  The session will offer a forward‑looking perspective on how holistic crop design—spanning genetics, physiology, and biotechnology—can drive a new era of resilient and efficient agricultural production for a changing world.

Protoplasts – plant cells without cell walls – have re-emerged as a powerful system for advancing plant biotechnology, synthetic biology, genome editing, and crop improvement. This session will explore cutting-edge developments in protoplast isolation, engineering, and regeneration, with emphasis on their role in gene editing, synthetic biology, and trait improvement. This session will highlight breakthroughs in overcoming long-standing challenges of plant protoplast regeneration, efficient transformation, novel gene editing and metabolic engineering applications, and strategies to harness protoplasts as versatile platforms for trait discovery, functional genomics, and sustainable crop improvement. By bringing together experts in cell biology, molecular genetics, and crop science, this session will provide new perspectives on how protoplast technologies are shaping the future of sustainable agriculture, crop resilience, and plant-based biomanufacturing.