Overview
Evolutionary principles are essential for understanding how biological systems adapt and for predicting how they will respond to future selective pressures. By leveraging these principles, we gain a powerful predictive framework to tackle some of society's most urgent challenges, including conserving biodiversity, protecting endangered species, managing invasive organisms, combating emerging infectious and epizootic diseases, and advancing sustainable agriculture. An evolutionary perspective also provides a clear lens for assessing the impacts of introducing novel genetic traits, whether through transgenic technologies or genome editing. At this Applied Evolution Symposium, we will highlight areas of research where incorporating evolutionary principles can accelerate solutions to local and global problems, including agricultural resilience, biodiversity conservation, and human health. Our goals are:
- Broadening our understanding of research areas where applying evolutionary principles can provide solutions to global problems;
- Identifying the role of land-grant universities in promoting the application of applied evolutionary principles; and
- Encouraging dialogue between researchers and industry to identify key research questions and foster collaboration to address the most pressing issues in these fields.
Our program will feature five keynote speakers, host roundtable discussions, and include a panel discussion with industry partners. The engaging program will culminate in a list of action items and next steps for formalizing a working group in this area, positioning Penn State as a leader in this field.
KEYNOTE Speakers
Schedule
Thursday, March 26, 2026 | Berg Auditorium, Huck Life Sciences Building
4:00 - 5:00 pm | Plenary Speaker 1 : Eric Bishop von Wettberg, University of Vermont "The Legacy of Nikolai Vavilov in Crop Domestication, Applied Evolution, and the Land Grant University System"
5:30 - 7:00 pm | Dinner with speakers and industry panelists
Friday, March 27, 2026 | 134 HUB
8:00 - 8:30 am | Registration, Check-In & Breakfast
8:30 - 8:45 am | Welcoming remarks (by Dr. Andrew Read, Senior Vice President for Research)
8:45 - 9:00 am | Goals for the day (by Margarita López-Uribe)
9:00am | Geoff Morris, Colorado State University "Pomise to products: How we use evolutionary genome biology to advance global food systems"
9:45am | Marcela Mendoza-Suárez, Aarhus University "Designing biofertilisers inspired by evolution, optimised by AI: from the lab to the farm"
10:30am | BREAK - Poster Session
11:15am | Rebekah Oomen, University of New Brunswick "Harnessing evolutionary genomics to reverse decline and enhance resilience of biodiversity"
12:00pm | LUNCH & Poster Session
1:15pm | David Kennedy, Penn State University "Anticipating the evolutionary robustness of interventions to manage human diseases"
2:00pm | Breakout Session (facilitated by Gretta Tritch Roman)
3:00pm | BREAK
3:15pm | Stakeholder Partners Panel (with an introduction by Dr. Troy Ott, Dean College of Agricultural Sciences)
4:30 pm | Wrap up and next steps (facilitated by Gretta Tritch Roman)
5:00 pm | Social hour
STAKEHOLDER Panel
- Analiza Piovesan Alves (Corteva)
- Wendy Clemens (formerly at Bristol Myers Squibb)
- PJ Perry (Penn State & President and Founder of boisei labs)
- Graham Head (Bayer Crop Sciences, Senior Researcher)
- Emily Bellis (Avalo)
For questions about the symposium, please contact Margarita M. López-Uribe
Credits:
All images from Adobe Stock