Explore the Agenda

8:20 am Registration & Networking

8:55 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Unveiling Consumer Preferred Quality Traits that Earn Premiums

9:00 am Exploring Consumer Acceptance to Drive Gene-Edited Crop Success

Associate Director, Communications, Pairwise
  • Highlighting real-world consumer reactions to gene-edited produce to validate market readiness
  • Comparing academic insights with in-market testing to refine messaging and product positioning
  • Collaborating with partners to showcase trust-building strategies and sustainable innovation

9:30 am Spotlighting CPG Strategies for Consumer Trust & Market Success

Vice President, Global Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, Ingredion
  • Reviewing how leading CPGs navigate labeling, transparency, and public perception to support gene-edited product launches
  • Comparing internal decision-making frameworks for sourcing gene-edited ingredients and aligning with brand values
  • Identifying communication tactics that build consumer confidence and accelerate adoption across diverse markets

10:00 am Panel Discussion: Turning Consumer Insights into Market Advantage

Associate Director, Communications, Pairwise
Vice President, Global Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, Ingredion
Director, Plant Sciences Mars Advanced Research Institute, Mars
  • Translating consumer acceptance data into actionable strategies for product development and positioning
  • Identifying trust-building tactics that accelerate adoption without compromising innovation speed
  • Leveraging partnerships between technology providers, CPGs, and retailers to maximize premium potential

10:30 am Morning Refreshments & Poster Session

Advancing Disease & Pest Control with Gene Editing & Biocontrol Integration

11:30 am Deploying Sterile Insect Technologies for Precision Crop Protection

Director, Research & Development, Agragene
  • Demonstrating field trial outcomes showing distance-based protection effects in Michigan
  • US EPA Section 3 registration and scaling regulatory engagement for commercial readiness
  • Collaborating with commercial insectaries to expand trial capacity and accelerate 2027 launch plans

12:00 pm Panel Discussion: Integrating Genetics & IPM in Real-World Deployments

Director, Research & Development, Agragene
  • Evaluating risk and benefit from the grower perspective to support adoption
  • Designing stewardship to prevent resistance breakdown and protect longevity

12:30 pm Lunch

Generating Partnerships & Capital that Accelerate Field Impact

1:30 pm The World’s First Commercialized Precision-Bred Non-Browning Bananas & Tropic’s Technology Suite Powering Global Agrifood Innovation

Head of Commercial Partnerships, Tropic Biosciences
  • Highlighting Tropic’s developing and commercializing non-transgenic gene-editing bananas and rice to reinvigorate industry benchmarks, accelerate market readiness, and solve critical on-farm challenges
  • Explore collaboration with Agribiotech and food/beverages startups/multinationals interested in leveraging Tropic’s trait development platforms to solve critical industry challenges, thereby scaling innovation and developing novel non-GM traits in their crops, livestock, and aquaculture species of interest

2:00 pm Stacking Quality Traits in Soybean to Accelerate Market Impact

Senior Director, Research & Development, Confluence Genetics
  • Engineering soybeans for higher oil, protein, and reduced anti-nutrients to meet feed and food demands
  • Combining transformation technologies and trait stacking to improve product performance and stability
  • Licensing validated traits across the agbio ecosystem to expand access and drive commercialization

3:00 pm Afternoon Refreshments

Beyond CRISPR: Advancing Trait Development Through Prime,
Chromosomal, & Epigenetic Editing

3:30 pm Development of a Universal Advanced Gene Editing Technology in Multi Crops

Research Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University
  • This technology can be applied for ANY species, ANY crop varieties, and ANY geneediting (e.g., Cas) platforms

4:00 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks & End of Conference