Speakers - Food Biotechnology Conference

Fatma Boukid

ClonBio, Ireland

Thomas Brück

TUM, Germany

Jessica Brzezowska

Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Mensure Elvan Gezer

PhD Student

Aarhus University

Laurent Falquet

Senior lecturer

Dept Biology, University of Fribourg

Ivo Frébort

Researcher

Palacký University Olomouc/Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute

Jitka Frébortová

Researcher

Palacký University Olomouc/Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute

Barbara Freitas

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Lucas Grob

CEO

Swiss Food Research

Daniel Heine

Lecturer and Researcher

BFH-HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences

Andrew Lamm

University of Technology, Jamaica

Zbigniew Lazar

Professor

Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Mpoi Leuta Hilpert

Associated Researcher

Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel

Amanda Lillberg

Research Scientist

Technological Research Centre of Finland VTT Ltd

Rebekka H. Lülf

Postdoc

Aarhus University

Mahmoud Masri

GST, Germany

Anna Michalska-Ciechanowska

professor

Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Kim Mishra

HES-SO Valais / Planted Foods AG, Switzerland

Tae Seok Moon

Full Professor & Editor-in-Chief

J. Craig Venter Institute & New Biotechnology (EFB official journal, Elsevier)

Aylin Sahin

Lecturer and Researcher in Sustainable Food Systems

University College Cork, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Cork City, Ireland

Fabian Wahl

Agroscope, Switzerland

Lucia Witasari

Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Johannes Zöhrer

PHD-Student

TU Munich

Session type: Social event

Registration & Welcome Coffee

8 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Opening Remarks

8 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Plenary Lecture

8 September

Sion

Sustainable food biotechnology in the 2030 Agenda

Thomas Brück

TUM, Germany

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Session 1: Sustainable Food Ingredients through Biotechnological Innovation

8 September

Sion

Engineering sustainable vanilla alternatives

Andrew Lamm

University of Technology, Jamaica

Next-Generation Plant-Derived Encapsulation Systems for Oxidation-Sensitive Lipids

Lucia Witasari

Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Session 2: Fermentation and Upcycling in Food Systems

8 September

Sion

TBD

Kim Mishra

HES-SO Valais / Planted Foods AG, Switzerland

Yeast Cell Factories for the Production of Cocoa and Palm Oil Substitutes

Mahmoud Masri

GST, Germany

Unlocking nutrition from processing side-streams via fermentation

12:05 - 12:17

Aylin Sahin

Lecturer and Researcher in Sustainable Food Systems University College Cork, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Cork City, Ireland

Lactobacillaceae produce propionate with strong food biopreservation potential

12:17 - 12:30

Mensure Elvan Gezer

PhD Student Aarhus University

Session type: Social event

Lunch Break + Poster Viewing (Part I) – “La Ruche” HES-SO

8 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Session 3: Microbiome-Active Foods and Health Functionality

8 September

Sion

Prebiotic Fibers in Plant-Based Foods: From Structural Functionality to Gut Microbiome Interactions

Fatma Boukid

ClonBio, Ireland

Fermentation of the green biorefinery side-stream brown juice for short-chain carboxylic acid production

14:25 - 14:37

Rebekka H. Lülf

Postdoc Aarhus University

Plant-based oral vaccination in aquaculture: barley as a platform for antigen delivery and immune protection

14:37 - 14:49

Ivo Frébort

Researcher Palacký University Olomouc/Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute

A desert derived Halospirulina strain for sustainable production of protein, canthaxanthin-rich pigments and phycocyanin

14:49 - 15:01

Barbara Freitas

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Session type: Social event

Coffee Break

8 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Roundtable 1: Clean-Label Biotech – Aligning Innovation with Consumer Expectations

8 September

Sion

Roundtable 1

SUMMARY

- What qualifies as “natural” in a biotech-driven food system
- Consumer perception and science-based communication
- Translating health benefits into trust and market success

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Poster Flash Talks & Innovation Pitch Session

8 September

Sion

Processing effects on the nutritional quality of a sustainable lupin-derived ingredient for fermented plant-based cream cheese alternatives

Jessica Brzezowska

Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Transgenic barley as a platform for oral fish vaccines: field evaluation of viral antigen‑expressing lines

Jitka Frébortová

Researcher Palacký University Olomouc/Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute

Exploring koji fermentation for the valorisation of underutilised biomass resources: initial Swiss case studies

Daniel Heine

Lecturer and Researcher BFH-HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences

Upcycling tomato pomace into carbon dots for sustainable thermoplastic starch/bentonite composite films

Anna Michalska-Ciechanowska

professor Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Isolation of colourless protein fractions from Chlorella sorokiniana

Johannes Zöhrer

PHD-Student TU Munich

Valorisation of fruit and vegetable processing side streams in plant cell cultivation – novel plant cell culture ingredients for food use

Amanda Lillberg

Research Scientist Technological Research Centre of Finland VTT Ltd

"The biology works. Now what?" - Why the food bioeconomy's hard problem moved downstream

Lucas Grob

CEO Swiss Food Research

Session type: Social event

Apéro & networking reception

8 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Plenary Lecture

9 September

Sion

The Microbial Mind: Engineering Microbiomes for Sustainable Nutrition

Fabian Wahl

Agroscope, Switzerland

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Session 4: Enabling Technologies in Food Biotechnology

9 September

Sion

From Omics Data to Predictive Biology: Integrating Bioinformatics and AI for Metagenomics

9:30 - 9:55

Laurent Falquet

Senior lecturer Dept Biology, University of Fribourg

Engineering microbial consortia for mixed plastic upcycling into food supplements

9:55 - 10:07

Tae Seok Moon

Full Professor & Editor-in-Chief J. Craig Venter Institute & New Biotechnology (EFB official journal, Elsevier)

From waste feedstocks to functional food ingredients: exploring the metabolic potential of Yarrowia lipolytica

Zbigniew Lazar

Professor Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Session type: Social event

Coffee Break + Poster Viewing (Part II)

9 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Session 5: Ethics, Regulation, and Societal Impact of Food Biotech

9 September

Sion

Making food biotech work - role of public-private partnerships to derisk innovation

Lucas Grob

CEO Swiss Food Research

Navigating novel food regulation: harmonising Swiss and EU frameworks for biotech food innovation

Mpoi Leuta Hilpert

Associated Researcher Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel

Session type: Social event

Lunch Break “La Ruche” HES-SO

9 September

Sion

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Roundtable 2: Policy Pathways to Enable Sustainable Food Biotechnology

9 September

Sion

Roundtable 2

SUMMARY

- Risk perception vs. benefit communication
- Addressing regulatory bottlenecks
- Stakeholder engagement in food innovation policy

Session type: Main Scientific Programme

Closing Ceremony

9 September

Sion