NEWS
Stay updated on the latest developments in plant science policy and EPSO activities!
We start with two senior scientists exploring the role Genome Editing has to play in modern plant sciences and its potential to help tackle some of the most pressing global issues facing people today.
TTT: The seminar will be held online each third Thursday of the month at three (CET).
In the coming months we will be on the lookout for talented plant scientists among the EPSO membership to present their findings and perspectives to the EPSO seminar series. If we approach you to talk, we hope you will be happy to support the initiative. This is a fantastic opportunity for both eminent world leaders and talented up-and-coming early career researchers to present their research to an international audience and to network with potential collaborators. If you wish to nominate yourself or one of your colleagues to give a seminar, we most welcome your suggestions. Please contact Tim George ([email protected]) to provide your name and potential talk title.
In the inaugural seminar we will present talks from:
Prof. Holger Puchta, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, Germany
“Applying CRISPR/Cas to Plants: From Gene Editing to Chromosome Engineering”
https://www.botanik.kit.edu/molbio/14_146.php
Dr. René Smulders, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
“Opportunities of gene editing for breeding crop varieties that fit in sustainable agriculture”
https://www.wur.nl/en/Persons/Rene-dr.-MJM-Rene-Smulders.htm
The seminars will be hosted on Zoom and last approximately 1.5 hours. Numbers will be limited to 300 attendees and therefore please register early if you would like to join. There will be ample opportunities to ask questions and join the debate. So please join us to support this new and exciting initiative for European Plant Science by following this link just prior to the start of the seminar.
Register in advance for this meeting: https://helsinki.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Mrdu6oqTssGtydAcONLhkSdoTAA400iU5F
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We look forward to seeing you all for the inaugural EPSO seminar on the 18th March 2021
Tim George, Alan Schulman and Emily Breeze
EPSO Plant Science Seminar Series Organising Committee
Click here to read: Full EPSO news item 8.3.2021
Contacts:
- Tim George, Hutton / UK & EPSO Board
- Alan Schulman, LUKE / FI & EPSO President
- Emily Breeze, Warwick University / UK & EPSO Representative
ERC 2021 is the first Work Programme under Horizon Europe, Europe’s new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for 2021-2027 to be published. It includes three main calls for proposals for frontier research actions for a total amount of €1.9 billion.
Over the entire long-term EU budget 2021-2027 of €95,5 Billion in current prices (accounting for inflation), the European Research Council is set to receive over €16 billion from Horizon Europe, which represents an increase of 22% vis-à-vis Horizon 2020. Thus, the ERC will benefit from the biggest single budget line in Horizon Europe.
EPSO encourages its members to apply for ERC 2021 calls following the calendar below.
| ERC
|
Starting Grant | Consolidator Grant | Advanced Grant |
| Call identifier | ERC-2021-StG | ERC-2021-CoG | ERC-2021-AdG |
| Opening date | 25/02/2021 | 11/03/2021 | 20/05/2021 |
| Deadline(s) | 24/03/2021 | 20/04/2021 | 31/08/2021 |
The Synergy Grants are not available under the 2021 Work Programme but will be likely awarded again as from Work Programme 2022. Moreover, the ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant is currently under revision by the ERC Scientific Council and does not appear in 2021 Work Programme.
Wishing you success with your proposals
Karin Metzlaff, Alexandra Barnoux and Alan Schulman
Links:
- EC announcement and ERC 2021 Work Programme, 02.2021
- Briefing on the Horizon Europe, ERC Work Programme 2021, focus for EPSO Members
Contacts: Karin Metzlaff and Alexandra Barnoux
On 3 November 2020 EPSO member-scientists and policy makers from ten countries across Europe held the third open-minded, informal meeting to assess the situation for research and development on New Plant Breeding Technologies (NPBTs) after the ruling of the ECJ in July 2018.
They exchanged views on the current situation of genome editing (GE) in Europe and possible next steps to enable Europe to better address climate change, achieve food and nutritional security, and establish a sustainable agriculture in Europe and world-wide. Such steps should bring the discussion forward on the EU legislation and facilitating potential flagships. The meeting was held under Chatham House Rules.
The next meeting will be held in May 2021.
As explained in our statement of 19.2.2019, EPSO offers to collaborate with policy makers to develop an appropriate future-ready regulation to enable the European public sector, small- and medium-sized companies and farmers to contribute more comprehensively to food and nutritional security and to use all available tools to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. Notwithstanding the technical option retained, EPSO supports a science-based revision of the present European legislation establishing a more proportionate product-based risk assessment. EPSO is also willing to contribute to the societal debate on genome editing and to communicate in a fact-based and yet accessible manner about innovative plant science and its societal role.
Ralf Wilhelm, Jens Sundstrom, Alan Schulman, Ernst van den Ende and Karin Metzlaff
Contacts:
- Ralf Wilhelm & Jens Sundstrom, EPSO Chairs WG Agricultural Technologies
- Alan Schulman, EPSO President
- Ernst van den Ende, EPSO Board
- Karin Metzlaff, EPSO Executive Director
This interactive event aims to exchange about farmers’ needs and upcoming practical solutions to soil health problems and to discuss what needs to be done for farmers to take them up. The target audience includes farmers, land managers and researchers.
In addition, the event can serve to expand your networks and to discuss future collaborations.
Express your interest until 14.02.2021 via the call for participants to join the online seminar ‘Healthy soils for Europe: sustainable management through knowledge and practice’ on 13-14 April 2021. It is organised under the soil mission “Caring for Soil is Caring for Life” launched by the European Commission in September 2020.
Please find the programme outline on the event webpage.
Specific objectives of the seminar:
- Raise awareness of the importance of soil health and introduce various EU initiatives undertaken to preserve it, such as EJP soil and the proposed EU mission “Caring for Soil is Caring for Life”.
- Promote and build upon the results and outcomes of past EIP-AGRI networking activities such as Focus Groups on soil-related issues and relevant workshops.
- Share experiences and good practices to maintain soil health, identified by relevant projects, research activities and farmers.
- Identify synergies between different types of projects working on soil health and encourage further cooperation among participants through networking.
- Discuss challenges and solutions for soil health, and identify what is needed to make these solutions operational for farmers, foresters and other land managers, and make them widely used/adopted.
Contact the organising team: [email protected] or Andres Garcia Lamparte, Task Manager EIP-AGRI Seminar, [email protected]
Want to know more on EIP-AGRI Network? www.eip-agri.eu
Source: EIP-AGRI
The Plant Biology Europe conference 2021 is turning 100% virtual.
From June 28th, 2021 to July 1st 2021 the full virtual congress with keynote speakers, oral communications, posters and sponsors will be available on-line for all the registered participants.
IMPORTANT DATE:
- 30 MARCH 2021: End of the early bird registration
- 30 APRIL 2021: Deadline for submitting poster abstracts for PBE 2021
Registration fee includes:
- Program
- Admission to the scientific sessions
- Certificate of attendance
- Registration of Students and PhDs must be accompanied by a written proof of status, otherwise reduced fee will not be validated.
New reduced registration fees are:
| EARLY by March 30th, 2021 | LATE after March 30th, 2021 | |
| Full Member | € 290,00 VAT inlcuded | € 350,00 VAT inlcuded |
| Student | € 190,00 VAT inlcuded | € 250,00 VAT inlcuded |
| Non Member | € 390,00 VAT inlcuded | € 450,00 VAT inlcuded |
More information: https://europlantbiology2020.org/
Source: PBE 2021
EPSO particularly supports the ambition that ‘R&I in the biodiversity domain will recognize that ecological, social and technological changes go hand in hand and co-evolve, and to focus on this alignment and breakdown of silos.’
EPSO appreciates that the draft SRIA links environmental sustainability, food and nutritional security, and human health. EPSO urges application of this approach across the SRIA as a whole.
Concepts EPSO suggests including, such as ‘diverse crops for diverse diets and human health and resilient production’, as well as ‘combined approaches on crop improvement, crop management and crop processing’, will enable interdisciplinary approaches with co-benefits in Europe and beyond.
The partnership rightly defines the goals and should lead the process to achieve these, leaving the pathways to reach these open – based on open and transparent approaches ranging from research to innovation, public procurement to legislation.
We provide further insight on how these concepts can benefit the evolving SRIA and its implementation and how plant scientists can contribute to this in the Annex.
Click here to read: Full EPSO statement 29.1.2021
Contacts:
- Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE
- Alan Schulman, LUKE, FI & EPSO President