From October 9th to 10th, the 2019 Crop Disease Resistance Forum was held in Room 104 of the Exchange Center at our university. The forum was sponsored by our university's "Crop Disease Resistance Breeding and Genetic Improvement Innovation Talent Introduction Base" project, and more than 200 experts, scholars, and student representatives in the field of crop disease resistance breeding and genetic improvement from domestic and foreign countries attended the forum. Vice President Chen Yulin attended the meeting and delivered the opening speech.
The forum was chaired by Professor Shan Weixing, the dean of the College of Agronomy. Keynote speeches were delivered by Professor Murray Grant, Professor Lorenzo Frigerio, Professor Patrick Schäfer, and Researcher Ruth Schäfer from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, Professor Gary Loake from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, Professor Brett Tyler, recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award, Researcher Hannele Kreuze from the International Potato Center in Peru, Vice President Zhang Gengyun from BGI in Shenzhen, Professor Wang Wenming from the Rice Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University, Professor Yu Jianing from Shaanxi Normal University, Researcher Liu Jun from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Researcher Li Guangcun from the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor Zhang Meixiang from Nanjing Agricultural University, and our university's experts, including Professor Ji Wanquan, Professor Song Weinong, Professor Zhao Tianyong, Associate Professor Xu Shengbao, Associate Professor Song Yin, Associate Professor Du Yu, as well as postdoctoral researchers Li Tingting and doctoral students Yang Yang, Lu Wenqin, and Ma Zhuoran. The presentations covered multiple areas including the mechanisms of crop disease resistance and stress tolerance, plant-microbe interactions, innovation in crop germplasm resources, and new strategies for molecular breeding of crops, sharing the latest achievements and progress in crop disease resistance breeding research from different perspectives. Teachers and students present interacted enthusiastically with the presenters, engaging in in-depth discussions on the content and issues of interest in the reports.
The elite gathering at the Crop Disease Resistance Forum promoted academic exchanges and friendships in the academic community. The forum played an important role in forming an international academic team, promoting substantial cooperative research at the talent introduction base, strengthening the training of high-level talents, and enhancing the research level and influence of our university's crop discipline.
