Final Conference in June 2022 – Registrations are open!

The final conference is coming up! From 27-29 June 2022, MicrobiomeSupport will hold its final event in form of a 3-day on-site conference in Brussels before it officially ends its activities at the end of October. We are very excited to welcome you in-person after a long time.

In keeping with its mission to guide the creation of a sustainable and circular, microbiome-based bioeconomy, MicrobiomeSupport’s final conference entitled “Paving the Microbiome Way for Improved Food Systems” will provide unique insights into how microbiomes can deliver sustainable and innovative solutions that create significant positive impacts on our food systems.

The event will feature top speakers representing different stakeholder groups, including representatives from the scientific community who inform about the latest state of research in different types of environments (soil, plants, aquatic environments, animals, humans, etc.), as well as governmental and institutional representatives discussing new policy approaches and the economic and public health importance of microbiomes.

Furthermore, highlights from the project will be presented by the project coordinator Angela Sessitsch, and the four Microbiome Innovation Actions who have been working under the umbrella of MicrobiomeSupport will provide insights into the efforts that have been put into delivering greater impact on microbiomes in the food system.

Last but not least, with speakers and invitees travelling from across the globe, the event will offer a chance to engage in nationwide and global networking.

Programme

27 June, Monday

14:00 Photo competition opening session
15:00 Arrival / Registration

Microbiomes: The big picture

16:00 Welcome and Opening, Angela Sessitsch, MicrobiomeSupport coordinator, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria
16:15 Plenary lecture: Microbiomes from an economic perspective. Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
16:45 Plenary lecture: Food systems microbiomes and technologies for the Circular Biobased Industry. Lene Lange, LLa Bioeconomy, Denmark
17:30 Networking reception

28 June, Tuesday

09:00 Plenary lecture: Emerging Frontiers and Computational Challenges of Microbiome Research. Gail Rosen, Drexel University, USA

Microbiomes for primary production and environmental health

09:30 R&I to tap into the potential of microbiomes in primary production. Gisela Quaglia, DG Agri
09:50 Soil microbiomes in primary production and environmental health: challenges and opportunities. Alberto Orgiazzi, Joint Research Center, European Commission
10:10 Plant microbiomes in primary production and environmental health: challenges and opportunities. Angela Sessitsch, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria
10:30 Animal microbiomes in primary production and environmental health: challenges and opportunities. Antton Alberdi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
10:50 Coffee break

Microbiomes for food security, safety and implications on human health

11:15 Development of microbiome health research funding from the EU political perspective.
11:35 FAO’s perspective on the microbiomes for food security and nutrition. Karen Callens, FAO
11:55 Microbiomes and food security. Linda Kinkel, University of Minnesota, USA
12:05 Microbiomes and food safety. Martin Wagner, FFoQSI, Austria
12:45 Lunch break

Putting research into practice – MicrobiomeSupport & the Innovation Actions

14:00 MicrobiomeSupport highlights. Angela Sessitsch, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria
14:30 From research to products: Microbiome innovation partnerships to solve major societal challenges. Magdalena Gajdzinska, European Commission, DG RTD
14:30 Upcoming microbiome applications for better food systems
- CIRCLES. Marco Candela, University of Bologna, Italy
- HoloFood. Antton Alberdi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- MASTER. Tanja Kostic, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria
- SIMBA. Anne Pihlanto, LUKE, Finland
15:30 Coffee break

The role of food system microbiomes to address current challenges

16:00 Food systems microbiomes to secure food self-sufficiency, resilience and sustainability
16:15 Roundtable discussion
17:10 Closure of day

29 June, Wednesday

Microbiomes for the blue bioeconomy

09:10 Developments in the All-Atlantic Marine Microbiome. Margaret Rae, EU Co-Chair AORA Microbiome Working Group
09:20 A dip in the blue: exploring fish microbiome for a sustainable future of aquaculture. Grazia Marina Quero, Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, National Research Council of Italy, Italy
09:40 The role of the microbiome in seaweed cultivation. Erik Malta, CTAQUA, Spain

Microbiomes for the bioeconomy

10:10 Microbial consortia and biotech applications. Manuel Porcar, University of Valencia, Spain
10:30 Making microbiomes robust for the bioeconomy. Hauke Harms, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Germany
10:50 Coffee break

Global microbiome research: opportunities & challenges (IBF Session)

11:20 USA
11:35 Canada
11:50 Australia
12:05 New Zealand
12:20 India
12:35 Lunch break
13:30 South Africa
13:45 Argentina
14:00 Brazil
14:15 Closing lecture by John Bell, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
15:00 Closure