September 11, 2017
Delegate Registration and Inaugural Ceremony
Welcome and Introduction to the South Asia Biosafety Program: Dr. Vibha Ahuja, Biotech Consortium India Limited, India
Connecting Innovation and Sustainable Development: The Role of Modern Biotechnology: Dr. Morven McLean, Executive Director, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, USA
Address: Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Address: Dr. Shri Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka
Keynote Address: Dr. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India
Vote of Thanks: Ms. Libby Williams, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, USA
Plenary Session I: Regulation and Capacity Building Initiatives in South Asia
Chair: Dr. D.B.T. Wijeratne, Food and Agriculture Organization, Sri Lanka
Update on Biosafety Regulation in Bangladesh
Ms. Papia Sultana, Department of Environment, Bangladesh
Update on the Bhutanese Biosafety Regulatory System
Mr. Jambay Dorji, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA), Bhuta
Update on Risk Assessment of GE Plants in India
Dr. K. Veluthambi, Madurai Kamaraj University, India
Biosafety Regulations in Sri Lanka: An Update
Ms. Surani Pathirana, Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, Sri Lanka
The Current State of GMO Regulation in New Zealand: Recent Decisions, Changes to Regulations, and Other New Developments
Dr. Timothy Strabala, Environmental Protection Authority, New Zealand
Plenary Session II: Crop Biotechnology and Biosafety in South Asia
Chair: Dr. R.H. Sarker, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Enhanced Performance of Sugarcane Transgenics Under Water Limited Conditions and its Biosafety Considerations
Dr. C. Appunu, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, India
In planta Transformation Following Cloning of Na+/H+ Antiporter Gene in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) to Develop Salinity Stress Tolerant Variety
Dr. Aparna Islam, BRAC University, Bangladesh
Genetic Engineering of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) for Insect Resistance
Dr. Alok Das, ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, India
Hmgr1 Transgene Integrated Hevea - Future GM Rubber to the Field
Dr. Jayashree Radha, Rubber Research Institute of India
Coleus forskholii: Vegetatively Propagated Medicinal Plant for Production of Recombinant Proteins
Dr. P.H. Ramanjini Gowda, University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore, India
Lightning Round for Students and Young Researchers
Chair: Dr. Andrew Roberts, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, United States
Assessment of Impact of Genetically Engineered (GE) Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) on Honey Bees
Dr. Pranjali Vishwakarma, Biosafety Support Unit, India
Biosafety and in-situ Conservation of Wild Silk Moths in Natural Forest Ecosystem of North East India
Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Government of India
Co-expression of PgNHX1 and AVP1genes in Tomato Improves Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Tomato Plants
Dr. D. L. Savithramma, University of Agricultural Sciences, India
Development of Physically-Contained Facility for Evaluation of Genetically Engineered OX513A Aedes aegypti L. Mosquito Strain in Maharashtra, India
Dr. Prabhakargouda Patil, GBIT Limited, India
Biosafety Data Generation from the Putatively Transformed Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Using afp Gene
Dr. Tahmina Islam, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
How Our Young Generation Perceive GM Food Crop
Dr. Aparna Islam, BRAC University, Bangladesh
Rapid Screening of hpRNAi Constructs for Imparting Plant Viral Disease Resistance by Employing Agro-Infiltration
Mr. Prasad Babu K, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, India
Standardization of Genetic Transformation Technique in Dolichos bean (Lablab purpureus (L.) sweet) for Pod Borer Resistance
Dr. Santosh Sawardekar, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, India
Transgenic Potato Conferring Field Resistance to Late Blight: Difficulties in Generating Food Safety Data of Pure RB Protein
Dr. Sundaresha Siddappa, Central Potato Research Institute, India
Poster Session
The poster session is sponsored by the International Society for Biosafety Research (ISBR). Conference participants were encouraged to share their work with colleagues by preparing a poster for this session. All posters convey relevance to biosafety research, environmental risk assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or the regulation of GMOs– plants, animals, arthropods, or micro-organisms. First and second place prizes will be awarded for the most outstanding posters on September 13.
Opening Reception Dinner
The South Asia Biosafety Program gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the International Society for Biosafety Research for the Welcome Reception.
September 12, 2017
Plenary Session III: Soil and Plant Microbiomes
Chair: Dr. P.K. Chakrabarty, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India
Keynote Presentation: Manipulating Soil and Root Microbiomes to Enhance Bioremediation and Reclamation of Hydrocarbon Impacted Soil Ecosystems
Dr. James Germida, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Harnessing the Power of Natural Biologicals in Agriculture
Dr. Jacob Parnell, Novozymes BioAg, United States
Use of Root Endophyte Piriformospora indica as a Plant Probiotic
Dr. Atul Kumar Johri, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Ecological Implications of "Safe" Agricultural Amendments
Dr. Shilpi Sharma, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Engineering an Environmentally Friendly Azotobacter Strain to Improve Nitrogen Fixation Efficiency
Dr. Jasdeep Chatrath Padaria, National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, India
Parallel Workshops
Pre-registered participants are invited to attend one of the following half day workshops:
Parallel Workshop I: Thinking Ahead: Designing Confined Field Trials to Maximize Data Transportability (Optional)
Parallel Workshop II: Best Practices for Public Sector Genetically Engineered Product Development Programs (Optional)
Parallel Workshop III: Intersection of the Cartagena Protocol and the Indian Biosafety Regulatory System (Optional)
September 13, 2017
Plenary Session IV: Synthetic Biology
Chair: Dr. Andrew Roberts, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, United States
Synthetic Biology Approaches to Improving Agricultural Yields
Dr. John Teem, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, United States
Can Synthetic Biology Lead to Synthetic Life?
Dr. Manju Bansal, Indian Institute of Science, India
Engineering a C4 Rice Prototype
Dr. HsiangChun Lin, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines
Chemical Biology to Combat Against a Parasitic Plant Striga
Dr. Yuichiro Tsuchiya, Nagoya University, Japan
Synthetic Biology in International Forums
Dr. Andrew Roberts, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, United States
Poster Session Awards
Dr. Donald MacKenzie, Treasurer, International Society of Biosafety Research
Prizes were awarded for the top two outstanding posters. First prize consisted of a two-year membership for the International Society of Biosafety Research, a USD $500 cash prize, and an award certificate. Second prize consisted of a two-year membership for the International Society of Biosafety Research, a USD $200 cash prize, and an award certificate. The winners’ names and abstracts will be posted on the South Asia Biosafety Program website, and highlighted in the South Asia Biosafety Program Newsletter.
Plenary Session V: New Applications of Biotechnology: Focus on Forestry and Biofuels
Chair: Dr. Santanu Dasgupta, Reliance Industries Limited, India
Keynote Presentation: Photosynthetic Bio-manufacturing in Green Algae; Food and Fuel for the 21st Century
Dr. Stephen Mayfield, University of California, San Diego, United States
Genetic Engineering of Algae for Higher Biofuel Value and Biosafety Issues
Dr. Shashi Kumar, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, India
Environmental Risk Assessment and Biosafety of Genetically Modified Algae
Dr. Tomal Dattaroy, Reliance Industries Limited, India
An in silico Strategy for Rational Design of Insect-Specific, Multigene Targeting Chimeric hprnai Constructs to Obviate Biosafety Concerns in Transgenic Entomophilous Trees
Dr. Mathish Nambiar-Veetil, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, India
Development of Genetically Engineered Jatropha for Biofuel Production: Quest for Sustainability and Climate Resilience
Dr. Bhavanath Jha, Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, India
The Radiata Pine Estate and the Regulation of GM Forestry Trees in New Zealand
Dr. Timothy Strabala, Environmental Protection Authority, New Zealand
To view the full program, please visit the conference website.
