Last October, 
as Vice President of the UW-Madison Plant Science Graduate Student Council, (PSGSC), I helped put together our first entirely student-run day-long symposium, Modern Tools for Plant Genetic Improvement. It was a fantastic event with six speakers covering topics from epigenetics, to genomic research, and how to apply these sciences to breeding complex traits in plants. This year, the current council has continued the tradition with its 2012 Plant Science Symposium, Emerging Trends & Paradigm Shifts in Plant Breeding, on Friday, September 28 – tomorrow! And you can be a part of it!
Here is the program schedule and list of speakers: (times are in US Central Daylight Savings Time (-5 GMT)
Friday September 28, 2012
7:30 – 8:30. Registration and Breakfast (poster setup)
8:30 – 8:40. Opening remarks
8:40 – 9:40. Dr. Paul Stephens: “Shifts in the Corporate Plant Breeding Business Model”
9:40 – 10:30. Dr. José Crossa: “Advances in Modeling Genotype x Environment Interaction in Genomic Selection and its Importance for Sustainable Cultivars”
10:30 – 10:45. Break (coffee and snacks included)
10:45 – 11:35. Dr. Patrick Schnable: “Changes in Gene Copy Number and PAVs Contribute to Genetic Gain”
11:35 – 12:25. Dr. Kevin Folta: “Functionalizing the Strawberry Genome: New Genes for Valuable Traits”
12:25 – 2:00. Lunch and Poster Session
2:00 – 2:50. Dr. Andrew Bent: “Sustainable Disease Resistance”
2:50 – 3:40. Dr. Molly Jahn: “An International Perspective on Plant Breeding and Food Security”
3:40 – 4:30. Panel Discussion
4:30. Closing remarks
Readers of this blog know that Kevin Folta needs no introduction, and I’m sure Pat Schnable will also be quite familiar. I am also looking forward to José Crossa’s talk because I’m particularly fascinated with interactions between genotypes and environmental conditions. Molly Jahn just got back from a trip to India, and I’m sure she has some interesting things to talk about as well. I had lunch with Andrew Bent last year and he has some interesting things to say. See this page for more information about the speakers.
Now you may be thinking – how can I get myself to Madison, Wisconsin in less than a day to see this great lineup? Well this year the symposium will be broadcast live over the internet – so you can watch it right where you are! If you are interested, head on over to the webcast registration page to get the link to the feed. Tune in for as much as you like, and discuss the talks with other webcast viewers with the twitter hashtag #UWPSS12.
Also, I know that Frank N. Foode will be in attendance, and I hear he is going to live tweet the talks and join in on the discussion. I hope you can join us on the webcast.