AgriGenomics World Congress Keynote Speakers

Mario Caccamo Head, Genome Analysis Centre Mario Caccamo is the Acting Director at The Genome Analysis Centre and has over 15 years’ experience on algorithms research. His research is focused on the development of novel and efficient algorithms for genome assemblies and the analysis of large genomics datasets. Mario received his doctoral degree in computer science from the University of Aarhus (Denmark). Mario has previously worked at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, contributing bioinformatics resources to facilitate genome projects for the model organism Danio rerio (zebrafish) and Sus scrofa (pig). In these roles Mario gained experience in aspects of sequencing, assembly and annotation. Mario joined the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) in July 2007 to work in the development of the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA).
Dudits Dénes Research Professor, Biological Research Center, Hungary Professor Dénes Dudits is the Vice President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, responsible for Life Sciences. He is an expert in agriculture with special emphasis on plant breeding and related innovations based on molecular biology and gene technology. His research group produced the first transgenic plants in Hungary (1986), and he coordinated nationwide projects to improve drought-tolerance of cereals for adaptation to climatic changes. He served as Director General of the Biological Research Centre HAS for 13 years in Szeged. He was honoured by the Széchenyi Prize from the Hungarian State and the Ányos Jedlik Inventor Prize. Internationally he is member of the Academia Europea and the European Molecular Biology Organisation. He was also member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Plant Molecular Biology, the ICRO Council and the European Plant Science Organisation. He received the Körber European Scientific Prize. His scientific publications have a total impact factor of 328, 4025 citations, Hirsch index 35, and he is the owner of 7 patents.
Sophien Kamoun Senior Research Scientist, Sainsbury Laboratory Sophien Kamoun joined The Sainsbury Laboratory in 2007 and rose to Head of Laboratory in 2009. He also holds the rank of Professor of Biology at The University of East Anglia. Prof. Kamoun received his B.S. degree from Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France, and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis in 1991. He then was a postdoctoral fellow at the NSF Center for Engineering Plants for Resistance Against Pathogens, UC Davis, and at the Department of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, Netherlands. From 1998-2007, Prof. Kamoun carried out research on oomycete molecular genetics on the faculty at the Ohio State University, Department of Plant Pathology, Wooster campus. At The Sainsbury Laboratory, Prof. Kamoun continues to exploit genomics resources to improve understanding of plant pathosystems, unravel novel processes and concepts in plant-microbe interactions, and devise original disease management strategies based on the gained knowledge. Throughout his career, Prof. Kamoun has made unique and ground-breaking contributions to understanding plant-parasite interactions. His work on oomycete effector biology and pathogenomics has resulted in new approaches to breeding disease resistant crops.