site-logo

Agricultural Biotechnology Seminar Series 2026 | Seminar 1: Enabling Regulatory Cohesion with Gene-Edited Crops

    May 15, 2026
    10:00 am - 11:45 pm
    Virtual (AEST/UTC+11)
    Canberra, Australia

The first installment in the 2026 Agricultural Biotechnology Seminar Series, this virtual seminar aims to foster learning, discussion, and collaboration outside of the annual APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) meeting. The session will explore the potential for gene-edited crops to support food security, climate resilience, and economic growth, with a focus on enabling greater regulatory cohesion across the APEC region. It will begin with an overview of new agricultural biotechnology tools and how gene-edited crops differ from genetically modified crops, followed by perspectives from both regulators and the processing sector on gene-edited products. Speakers will also examine the current regulatory landscape through the lens of agricultural trade, including considerations for seed and grain markets and frameworks for technology stewardship. The seminar will conclude with a moderated panel discussion on harmonizing regulatory policies in the APEC region and the implications for food security and sustainability.

The sponsoring economy for this session is Australia.

Agricultural Biotechnology Seminar Series

By bringing together policymakers, risk assessors, and scientists, the series seeks to foster greater participation and enhance engagement in the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) outside of the annual meeting.

This seminar’s objectives are to:

  • Present the potential for agricultural biotechnology to assist in building food security, climate resilience, and economic resilience, with a focus on gene-edited (GEd) crops.
  • Explore the differences between gene-edited and genetically-modified (GM) crops and the implications for researchers, policy makers, and trade.
  • Offer insights into recent developments with GEd crops across grain, oilseed crops, and rice.
  • Examine the current regulatory landscape and highlight implications for trade of seed and grain, as well as opportunities for greater consistency and cohesion.

Agenda

10:00 am

Technical Introduction

Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D., PMP
Senior Manager–Scientific Programs, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI)

10:05 am

Opening Remarks

TBC
Department of  Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Government of Australia

10:10 am

Potential of New Agricultural Biotechnology Tools and How They Differ

Barry Pogson, Ph.D.
Executive Chair of Plant SynBio Australia (PSBA) and Professor, Australian National University (ANU)

10:25 am

Perspective on Gene-Edited Products

TBC (Regulator Perspective)

TBC (Processor Perspective)

10:45 am

Considerations in Regulation of Gene-Edited Crops Through the Lens of Agricultural Trade

Krista Thomas
Managing Director, International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC)

TBC
Grain Trade Australia (GTA)

11:15 am

Moderated Panel Discussion on Harmonization of Regulatory Policies in the APEC Region–Implications for Food Security and Sustainability

TBC (moderator)
Grain Trade Australia (GTA)

All speakers

11:40 am

Closing Remarks

TBC
Department of  Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Government of Australia

 *AFSI is supported by a grant from the USDA FAS New Technologies and Production Methods Division.

Speakers

Barry Pogson, Ph.D.

Executive Chair of Plant SynBio Australia (PSBA) and Professor, Australian National University (ANU)

Prof. Barry Pogson is the Executive Chair of Plant SynBio Australia (PSBA) and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the Australian National University (ANU). He leads the GPC Biofortification Initiative on improving plants for improving human health and has been involved in the GPC since its inaugural meeting. He is Senior Editor for The Plant Cell and Chair of the Golden Rice Technical Advisory Committee. He is an ISI highly cited author and American Society of Plant Biology top cited author for The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology.

Prof. Pogson has conducted pioneering work on signaling between chloroplasts and nuclei. Among his notable discoveries are a chloroplast-to-nucleus signaling pathway that underlies drought tolerance and an epigenetic regulator of carotenoid accumulation. He is at the forefront of genetic investigations into carotenoid biosynthesis and chloroplast retrograde signaling and their impacts on plant biology and human nutrition, with a particular emphasis on how the energy organelles sense the environment and initiate plant responses to coordinate growth, development, and acclimation to abiotic stress. Prof. Pogson and members of his group have received six national and international awards for research excellence, along with numerous awards for teaching and supervision excellence, including the Fenner Medal from the Australian Academy of Science and the Peter Goldacre Medal from the Australian Society of Plant Scientists.

Prof. Pogson completed his Ph.D. at Macquarie University. He moved to the USA in 1994, working as a post-doc with Dean DellaPenna before taking an Assistant Professorship at Arizona State University in 1997. He moved to ANU in 1999.

Krista Thomas

Managing Director, International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC)

Krista Thomas is Managing Director of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), a role she assumed in June 2025. She leads the implementation of IGTC’s strategic work plan, strengthens external partnerships, and represents the voice of the global grain trade in international policy discussions.

Prior to joining IGTC, Krista served at the Canada Grains Council (CGC), where she led the Council’s work on biotechnology, gene editing, and trade policy. In that role, she played a key part in shaping industry responses to emerging regulatory issues and strengthening Canada’s engagement in international forums. She brings deep experience in international trade policy and the global grain sector, with a track record of leadership on regulatory alignment, digital trade facilitation, and science-based approaches to agricultural innovation.

Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D., PMP

Senior Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI), USA

Dr. Bhavneet Bajaj joined the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI) in July 2018 as Scientific Program Manager. She has been involved in projects related to safety assessment of foods and feeds derived from genetically engineered plants and serves as a resource person in providing technical support for capacity building programs in biotechnology. She was also the program lead for USDA-funded technical training for Chinese and Indonesian regulators and manages operations for both the Crop Composition Database and the World Nutrient Databases for Dietary Studies.

Prior to joining AFSI, Dr. Bajaj was a Visiting Scientist at the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, where she worked on carotenoid pathway regulation in tomatoes. Before then, she was Associate Investigator with the Plant Protection group at (then) DuPont, where she devised a metabolic engineering strategy for insect control in soybean. While in India, she was an Assistant Professor at Jaipur National University, where she taught genetic engineering, enzymology, and biochemistry courses to M.Sc. level students. Her research work over the past 12 years involved plant secondary metabolites of nutri­tional, agricultural, and medicinal importance.

Discover Related Events