Our journey to Jeju, our 2027 Congress, is well underway! Read about the line-up for our second Road to Jeju Rising Stars Webinar
Road to Jeju Rising Stars of IS-MPMI — Session 2
Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 3:00 PM UTC. Free, online, and open to all and then posted on our YouTube channel
and website. Use the Registration link
Meet the speakers:
From a deep talent pool, our review panel selected four outstanding early-career researchers from around the globe. Each 15-minute talk will be followed by a short Q&A:
- Anika Damm (University of University of Cambridge, United Kingdom) — “From host signals to parasitism: a transcription factor duet orchestrates effector production”
- Shikha Gautam (BRIC-National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India) — “Protein repair mechanism offers new path to disease-resistant rice”
- Jawahar Singh (Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK) — “Phosphate decides: how nutrient status gates root nodule symbiosis”
- Sejin Choi (Kyung See University, Seoul, South Korea) — “Elucidation of the precise structural recognition mechanism and physiological function of the HSL3 receptor that detects CTNIP4 immune peptides”
These four will join the speakers from Sessions 1 and 3 — twelve Rising Stars in total — vyng for the GetGenome Rising Star Award (a plenary talk at the 2027 Congress in Jeju, plus travel) and the Tanon Life Sciences Excellence Award (travel to the Congress).
IS-MPMI postdoc member Abbie Rogers from Michigan State University will once again introduce the speakers and serve as the moderator.
Want to be an IS-MPMI Road to Jeju Rising Star? The third and last call opens in February, check back for details.
Please apply if you, or a student or PostDoc you know, would like to present. Session 3 will occur in March 2027.
Missed the first session on July 29? Please help us spread the word — share the youtube link with your colleagues and students.
Please consider joining and/or making a donation to support society activities. IS-MPMI is self-managed and run by volunteers. Watch for opportunities to deepen your involvement with the society.
The Road to Jeju Webinar Series is sponsored by GetGenome, Tanon Life Sciences, and the British Society for Plant Pathology.