Biochemical Society sponsored event reports

The Plant Peptide Receptor Meeting 2025, a Biochemical Society-sponsored Event, took place in Edinburgh from 8 to 10 September, bringing together researchers to discuss advances in plant signalling, particularly cell surface receptors and their ligands. The diverse attendees shared an interest in uncovering mechanistic commonalities across signalling systems.The programme featured talks selected from abstracts, giving many early-career researchers the chance to present their work. Attendees also engaged through posters and flash talks. Congratulations to Ann-Katherin Roessling and Irene Guzmán-Benito for ECR talk prizes, and to Rebecca Burkhart and Bruno Smet for poster prizes.Support from the Biochemical Society helped cover invited speakers’ travel costs. Keynotes were delivered by Keiko Torii (University of Texas at Austin) and Ueli Grossniklaus (University of Zürich, EMBO-sponsored). Keiko highlighted interactomics and chemical genetics approaches to understand receptor kinase signalling in stomatal patterning, while Ueli discussed receptor kinase-mediated gamete communication and its evolutionary history.Eight additional invited speakers - Thorsten Hamann, Ora Hazak, Gitta Coaker, Lena Mueller, Julien Gronnier, Renier van der Hoorn, Ari Sadanandom, and Yan Wang - covered diverse aspects of receptor biology. Highlights included Gronnier’s work on receptor kinase organization in the plasma membrane, van der Hoorn’s insights into apoplastic proteases in immune signalling, and Coaker’s studies on host–pathogen co-evolution and AI-driven prediction and engineering of receptor specificity.The meeting provided an excellent forum for collaboration, networking, and idea exchange, strengthening the plant signalling research community.The Influenza Update Meeting 2025, a Biochemical Society-sponsored event, welcomed 150 researchers from industry and academia. This was the 18th edition of the meeting, bringing together academics from all career stages, from PhD students and postdocs to group leaders. The meeting continued its history of providing an open and friendly environment for sharing ideas, new data, and experiences across the field.The programme featured 20 talks and around 50 poster presentations, organised across four scientific sessions reflecting the diversity of current influenza research: transmission and surveillance, host–pathogen interactions, replication and trafficking, and immunology and vaccines. A dedicated early career researcher session, run as a panel discussion, provided valuable advice on career development, funding, and navigating academia. Poster and presentation prizes were generously supported by the Biochemical Society. We thank the Society for its support.Across the meeting, there were many timely discussions around influenza viruses currently causing significant outbreaks in the UK, as well as the emergence of influenza virus infections in cattle in the United States. These conversations highlighted the importance of surveillance, cross-species transmission studies, and rapid data sharing, and underscored the need for continued investment in influenza research at both national and international levels.The keynote lecture was delivered by Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert from the University of Oxford, who reflected on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how these insights can help us respond better to future outbreaks. Her perspective on preparedness, vaccine development, and collaboration set the tone for a lively and engaging meeting. Overall, the conference was extremely well received, with enthusiastic feedback on the quality of the science and the inclusive atmosphere. Attendees left energised and are already looking forward to the next Influenza Update Meeting, which will be hosted in London in December 2026.Organised annually by EMBL PhD students, the Biochemical Society-sponsored EMBL PhD symposium brought together 140 early-career researchers and internationally recognised scientists to explore how fundamental biological research can generate long-term benefits for health, the environment, and society.The programme was structured into three thematic tracks. Advancing Health and Biomedical Solutions examined how research is responding to the dual reality of rising chronic conditions and persistent infectious disease threats, highlighting how new technologies are reshaping the way we diagnose, understand, and ultimately prevent disease. Navigating Planetary and Environmental Challenges focused on the biological consequences of human-driven environmental change, reporting on research that helps quantify, interpret, and potentially mitigate the pressures acting on ecosystems and the planet. Improving resources and food systems addressed the need to rethink resource use and food production in the face of finite inputs, population growth, and shifting demand, with a strong emphasis on work advancing resilience and sustainability.The participants listened to new AI applications in biology, in vitro culture of model organisms and organoids, or about a large-scale effort to map marine ecosystems, to cite some. The Biochemical Society’s support was key to delivering these topics, since it was used to cover the travelling costs and accommodation for one of our early-career speakers.The symposium also focused on professional development and community-building. Workshops provided structured opportunities to build transferable skills, including sessions on appropriate language in peer review with Review Commons’s chief editor Dr. Sara Monaco, translating ideas into impact via start-ups with EMBLEM Technology Transfer GmbH, and a practical workshop on sharpening research direction. Additionally, a panel discussion, “Beyond the bench: from fundamental research to global solutions”, reinforced the meeting’s focus on translation pathways and long-term relevance. Students also had the opportunity to present their work through a poster session.Facility tours complemented these sessions by giving participants a concrete view of the technologies and infrastructures that enable high-impact science at EMBL. On-site tours such as the Advanced Mobile Lab, GeneCore, and the Imaging Centre linked the symposium themes to real-world platforms that accelerate discovery and support collaboration.Informal networking moments lowered barriers between career stages and research areas, such as the network event on the first day, the outing to Heidelberg Christmas market, and the symposium party featuring the EMBL DJ Club, which offered a relaxed and fun setting for new connections.Overall, the symposium reinforced a clear takeaway: long-term scientific impact depends not only on excellent research but also on the ecosystems around it: skills, networks, industry, and institutions that help discoveries travel from the bench to broad societal value.The next EMBL PhD Symposium will take place in 2026.