Please consider attending the upcoming Symposium on “Plants for the Future” May 25-27 in the Bond Life Sciences Center on the University of Missouri Columbia campus. . The registration deadline is May 2, 2011

Speakers will address current and future breakthroughs in genetic engineering of crops, biofuels, plants and pharmaceuticals, and food sustainability. Among those invited to speak are Drs. Jane Langdale from Oxford; Ed Buckler from Cornell and the USDA-ARS; Michael Hermann from Crops for the Future; Steve Mayfield from the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology; Richard Flavell from CERES; and Steve Long from the Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois.

The keynote address will be given by Drs. Mark Plotkin and Christopher Herndon. The title of their talk is “Plants shamanic healing and rainforest conservation in the 21st century.” The talk will be May 24 at 7:00 PM and it will be open to the general public

For a complete list of speakers and a schedule, see http://muconf.missouri.edu/ipgsymposium/index.html.

We specifically organize and design the IPG Symposium to attract young investigators. Registered students and postdocs will have the opportunity to have lunch with the invited speakers on Thursday, May 26. The cost of the lunch is included in the registration fee for postdocs/students.

The organizing committee also invites poster submissions on topics related to plant biology research in general. The posters may describe recently completed research, research in progress, or publicly presented research. You need to be registered to have a poster at the IPG Symposium. You can submit abstracts at this address: http://muconf.missouri.edu/survey/Ta...rveyID=l6K3l94

You also can register online at this address: http://muconf.missouri.edu/ipgsymposium/index.html

Many thanks and hope to see you in Columbia in May.

John Walker