2025 marks a special milestone for the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI). Since its founding in 2000, the GMI has established itself globally as a premier research institute and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in May. We warmly invite you to the anniversary celebrations and would be delighted for you to join us in marking this milestone.
Date: May 5, 2025, 6:00 PM - doors open at 5:30 PM
Venue: Festsaal of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna
Program:
- Premiere of Erbsenrondo - A Musical Portrait of the GMI (string quartet composed by Cheryl Frances-Hoad)
- Keynote: Prof. Jennifer Doudna (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Innovative Genomics Institute University of California Berkeley & UCSF/Gladstone Institutes)
Genome Editing the Future: Transforming Human and Planet Health with CRISPR Fundamental research to understand how bacteria fight viral infections uncovered the function of CRISPR-Cas programmable proteins that detect and cut specific DNA or RNA sequences. CRISPR technology is now an indispensable tool in human, animal and agricultural research. Furthermore, the FDA’s approval of a CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease marked the beginning of a new era in healthcare. Doudna will discuss the scientific and societal advances that will expand both the applications and impact of genome editing across the globe.
Date: May 23, 2025; Symposium (all day), Party in the evening
Venue: Vienna BioCenter, Campus-Vienna-Biocenter 1 and Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Vienna
This day-long scientific symposium featuring talks from GMI alumni and former group leaders will highlight the wide-reaching impact of plant research at the GMI.
Keynote: Julia Bailey Serres, Center for Plant Cell Biology, University of California, Riverside
Speakers:
Javier Agustí, Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia
Petra Bulankova, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Superieure Paris
Wolfgang Busch, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Marion Clavel, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam
Thomas Greb, Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University
Claudia Jonak, Austrian Institute of Technology
Tomokazu Kawashima, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky
Polina Novikova, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne
Aleš Pečinka, Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences
Karel Říha, CEITEC Masaryk University
Elwira Smakowska-Luzan, Wageningen University and Research
Kelly Swarts, Umea Plant Science Centre, Umea University
Registration is closed.
We look forward to marking this anniversary with you, as we celebrate the vital role of plant research in shaping the future. Please reach out to gmi25(at)gmi.oeaw.ac.at if you have any queries or require additional information.
