CAPB 2026

Prof. Dr. Gleba has over 40 years of research and management experience in plant genetics and biotechnology. Dr. Gleba’s pioneering research in plant genetics, physiology and biotechnology was published in more than 220 research papers, books and over 50 patent families, and has earned respect of the international scientific community as evidenced by his election to World Academy of Arts and Science, Academia Europaea, German National Academy Leopoldina, National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Lithuanian Academy of Science and Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Yuri also received numerous international and national awards and prizes, including Koerber Prize (Germany), A. von Humboldt Prize (Germany), USSR State Prize (USSR), State Prize of Ukraine (Ukraine), etc.

Dr. Joyce Van Eck received her B.S. from The Pennsylvania State University, M.S. from University of Delaware, and Ph.D. from Cornell University. She is a Professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute and Adjunct Faculty in the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section at Cornell University. She is a leader in the development of biotechnological approaches for the study of gene function as it relates to crop improvement with a focus on fast-tracking improvements with gene editing technologies to transform underutilized species into viable sources to diversify and strengthen our food supply. She uses several model plant species for her work in addition to applying genetic engineering strategies and genome editing to food crops such as groundcherry, goldenberry, and tomato. The development of biotechnological techniques in her lab has made it possible to deliver genome editing reagents into plant cells and her lab was responsible for generating the very first CRISPR/Cas9 edited tomato plant lines. She has been involved in teaching and development of outreach activities that have led to a leadership role in public engagement in science.

Dr. Hancock leads a research program focused on plant transposable elements and functional genomics, with the goal of creating more precise and efficient tools for plant biotechnology and crop improvement. For many years, his laboratory investigated the mechanisms regulating transposition of the rice transposable element mPing and has recently expanded this work to transposable elements from a broader range of plant species. His current research aims to harness these elements for targeted gene insertion and functional genomics in plants. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Spearhead Bio, where he advises efforts to commercialize this technology. In addition to his research, Dr. Hancock teaches biochemistry and plant biology at the University of South Carolina Aiken, a primarily undergraduate institution. His laboratory integrates undergraduate students into every stage of the research process, resulting in numerous student presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Yang Qu is a plant biochemist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of New Brunswick, where he leads a research program on plant specialized metabolism and metabolic engineering. He received his B.Sc. from Peking University and Ph.D. from the University of Calgary before joining UNB as a faculty member. Dr. Qu's research seeks to understand how plants produce complex medicinal natural products and to harness these pathways for sustainable biomanufacturing. His laboratory has made pioneering contributions to the elucidation and engineering of monoterpenoid indole alkaloid (MIA) biosynthesis, including pathways leading to the anticancer drug vinblastine and other pharmaceutically important alkaloids. Dr. Qu's research spans  enzyme pathway elucidation, comparative genomics, and synthetic biology, with the long-term goal of transforming our understanding of plant specialized metabolism while developing scalable platforms for the sustainable production of pharmaceuticals. His work has been published in leading journals, including Science, PNAS, and Nature Communications.

Dr. Don Stewart is an entrepreneur and scientist with more than 20 years of management experience in the biotechnology industry. He is also the founder and President of Alba Biologics Group. He served as Director Research of Cangene Corporation from 1997 to 2007. At Cangene, he led programs to develop monoclonal antibodies and recombinant protein drugs; supervised animal efficacy and toxicology studies as well as clinical trial programs; and obtained more than $15 million in external grant and contract funding over a five-year period. Dr. Stewart has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of London in the U.K. He has given numerous lectures at international symposia on research management, manufacturing strategies and biosimilar pharmaceuticals.

Dr Amanda Cavanagh is an Associate Professor in Plant Biology and Director of the Plant Productivity Research Group at the University of Essex. She received her PhD from the University of New Brunswick in 2016 and was subsequently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she worked on international efforts to improve photosynthetic efficiency in crops. Her research asks how photosynthetic metabolism determines crop performance under changing environmental conditions. Her group combines enzyme biochemistry, plant physiology and field experiments to understand how heat, rising carbon dioxide and fluctuating environments affect photosynthesis. Her research established that engineering photorespiration can protect crop productivity against elevated temperatures. She is now translating advances in photosynthesis engineering into agronomically important crops, including soybean and cowpea, and testing which interventions deliver consistent gains under current and future climates.