The 2025 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Plant Metabolic Engineering will bring together leading scientists from around the world to explore the theme “Innovations in Plant Metabolic Engineering for Health and Sustainability.” The conference will be held from June 15–20, 2025, in Barcelona, Spain. This prestigious meeting will feature cutting-edge research addressing global challenges in food security, climate adaptation, and sustainable agriculture.
Jing-Ke Weng, Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Biology, and Bioengineering, and Director of the Institute for Plant-Human Interface (IPHI) at Northeastern University, serves as a co-chair for this year’s conference.
The Gordon Research Conferences are widely recognized for their unique format, focusing on unpublished research and fostering in-depth scientific discussions in an intimate setting. The conferences typically feature presentations from both established leaders and emerging researchers, along with extensive discussion periods and poster sessions that facilitate collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
Among the scheduled presentations, IPHI member Adam Caparco, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Chemical Biology, will contribute a talk titled “Plant Defense Through Protein Excretion and mRNA Delivery” in the session on “Plant Engineering for Climate Resilience.” His research examines how protein engineering and drug delivery systems can be applied to enhance plant immune responses, with potential applications for reducing pesticide use while maintaining crop yields.
A group of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from IPHI will also attend to present their work through poster sessions and short talks at the associated Gordon Research Seminar, gaining valuable experience in communicating their research to the international scientific community.
The conference’s emphasis on sustainable approaches to plant bioengineering aligns with ongoing research initiatives at IPHI, which focus on discovering plant-inspired therapeutics, developing climate-adaptive crops, and creating sustainable biomanufacturing platforms.
For more information about the conference program and registration details, visit the 2025 Plant Metabolic Engineering Conference GRC website.
News source: IPHI