The Potential of Genome Editing for Sustainable African Agriculture Symposium, June 30 - July 1, Abstracts Due June 10

The potential of genome editing for sustainable African agriculture symposium, part of the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB) conference series is being held from June 30 to July 1 in Ghent, Belgium. The conference will focus on the transformative power of genome editing and its potential impact on the tolerance and sustainability of agriculture in Africa. It will include a keynote speech given by Florence Wambugu, Founder, Director and CEO of Africa Harvest, KE, short presentations, a poster session and opportunities for networking. In addition, two topic focused sessions will be given:

• Session 1: Advances of Genome editing uses in agricultural research

  • Godfrey Ngure ISAAA AfriCenter, KE - The African agribiotech research landscape

  • Steven Runo Plant Transformation Laboratory (PTL) at Kenyatta University, KE - Striga Resistance in Sorghum through Genome Editing

  • Leena Tripathi Director, East Africa Hub, IITA, TZ - Gene editing of banana for disease resistance

  • Hervé Vanderschuren, KU Leuven, BE - Title TBA

  • Wilkister Nakami Nabulindo - Title TBA

• Session 2: The societal aspects of the technology

  • Samuel Timpo, NEPAD Agency African Biosafety Network of Expertise, BF - Regulating Genome Editing: For an Enlightened Democratic Governance

  • Hans De Steur, Ghent University, BE - Public and stakeholder perceptions of CRISPR

Abstracts are due by June 10th and the final registration deadline is June 16. For more information visit the conference web site.