Past Symposia

The annual Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) symposium is organized by Michigan State University graduate students. The symposium features presentations by plant scientists across many disciplines communicating their research with MSU graduate students and faculty. Invited speakers have had research interests in plant and animal breeding, genetics, genomics, molecular biology, agronomy, horticulture, ecology, and nutrition. This event provides an opportunity for graduate students to hone their organizational and personal skills while also learning from and exchanging ideas with renowned researchers. In 2019, we were thrilled to join the Corteva Plant Sciences Symposia Series.

2023 Symposium: Harvesting the Past, Cultivating the Future: Insights in Plant Domestication

December 15th, 2023

Invited Speakers:

  • Esther van der Knaap, University of Georgia
  • Jen Jaqueth, Corteva Agriscience
  • Paul Gepts, University of California, Davis  
  • David Van Tassel, The Land Institute

2022 Symposium: Reproductive Plant Biology

December 16th, 2022

Invited Speakers:

  • Peggy Ozias-Akins, University of Georgia
  • Sarah Carey, HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology
  • Patricia Bedinger, Colorado State University
  • Sreekala Chellamma, Corteva Agriscience

2021 Symposium: Orphan Crop Breeding for Diverse and Sustainable Food Options

December 9-10th, 2021

Invited Speakers:

  • Jonathan Fresnedo Ramirez, The Ohio State University
  • Joyce Van Eck, Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) at Cornell University
  • Margaret Worthington, University of Arkansas
  • Krista Isaacs, Michigan State University
  • Natalie Mueller, Washington University in St. Louis

2020 Symposium: Genome Editing Applications in Plant Breeding

December 10-11th, 2020

Invited Speakers:

  • Jennifer Kuzma, NC State University
  • Bastiaan Bargman, Virginia Tech
  • Doane Chilcoat, Corteva
  • Markita Landry, UC Berkeley

2019 Graduate Student Lighting Talk Competition Awards

  • First Place: Philip Engelgau - Using Nanopore Sequencing to Understand Allelic Contributions to Aroma in Apples - Michigan State University
  • Second Place: Erik Amezquita - Mathematics Meets Plant Science - Michigan State University 
  • Third Place: Catherine Clement - Molecular, Genomic and Cellular Characterization of Emerging Fusarium Wilt of Cotton Race 4 in Texas - Texas A&M

2019 Poster Competition Awards

  • First Place: Catherine Clement - Molecular, Genomic and Cellular Characterization of Emerging Fusarium Wilt of Cotton Race 4 in Texas - Texas A&M
  • Second Place: Ying-Chen Lin - QTL-seq of Young Fruit Resistance to Phytophthora capsici in Cucumber - Michigan State University 
  • Third Place: Blake Trygestad - Genetic Resistance to Tar Spot (Phyllachora maydis) in Maize - Michigan State University 

Annual symposium agendas are available for the past several years. Use the list below for a list of speakers and descriptions of talks.