Past Speakers
2024
Spring Symposium [Program]
Patricia Lang: University of California, Berkeley
Yiping Qi: University of Maryland
Modal: University of Georgia
Ullas Pedmale: Cold Spring Harbor Lab
Cara Haney: University of Pittsburgh
Wolters Petra: Corteva
Edgar Spalding: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jianxin Zhao: University of Georgia
2023
Plant Center Fall Retreat [Program]
Julie Law: Salk Institute
Margaret Frank: Cornell University
Ian Wallace: University of Georgia
Md Sultan Mahmud: University of Georgia
Feng Zhang: University of Minnesota
Juliet Chu: University of Georgia
Jim Birchler: University of Missouri
Jim Umen: Donald Danforth Plant Center
David Mendoza: University of Missouri
2022
Plant Center Fall Retreat [Program]
Heike Sederoff: North Carolina State University
Brad Nelms: University of Georgia
Lorena Lacerda: University of Georgia
Guoyu Lu: University of Georgia
Lucia Strader: Duke
Kadeem Gilbert: Michigan State University
Cătălin Voiniciuc: University of Florida
Jake Fountain: University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Alencar Xavier: Corteva Agrisciences
Cranos Williams: North Carolina State University
Ben Long: University of Georgia
Jennifer Grenz: University of British Columbia
Nian Wang: University of Florida
Lei Zhang: University of Georgia
Heather Coleman: Syracuse University
Sam Leiboff: Oregon State University
2021
Plant Center Fall Retreat [Program]
Xinnian Dong: Duke University
Alicia Peduzzi: University of Georgia
Liang Dong: Iowa State University
Yajun Yan: University of Georgia
Robin Buell: University of Georgia
Ryan Weiss: University of Georgia
Megan DeMarche: University of Georgia
Rhuantio Ferrarezi: University of Georgia
2020
Plants by Design: Special Joe Key Symposium [Program]
Jennifer Brophy: Carnegie Institution for Science
Andrew Hanson: University of Florida
Jason Locklin: University of Georgia
June Medford: Colorado State University
Patrick Shih: University of California Davis
Paul South: Louisiana State University
Anna Stepanova: North Carolina State University
Bree Urbanowicz: University of Georgia
2019
Fall Retreat [Program] [Professional Workshops]
Patrick Edger: Michigan State University
Andrea Gallavotti: Rutgers University
John Harada: University of California, Davis
Pamela Ronald: University of California, Davis
Bochra Bahri: Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Jessica Barb: Plant Biology, University of Georgia
Anny Chung: Plant Biology, University of Georgia
Melissa Mitchum: Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Breeanna Uranowicz: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia
2018
Fall Retreat [Program] [Professional Workshops]
Ana Alonso: University of North Texas
Natalia Doudareva: Purdue University
Jim Giovannoni: USDA
Chris Pires: University of Missouri
Daniel Johnson: Forestry, University of Georgia
Janine Sherrier: Crop & Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
Sudeep Bag: Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Ed Buckler: USDA-ARS
Laura Galloway: University of Virginia
Georg Jander: Boyce Thompson Institute
Ruth Shaw: University of Minnesota
Jim Westwood: Virginia Tech
David Habier: Corteva agriscience
2017
Fall Retreat [Program] [Professional Workshops]
Brandon Gaut: University of California, Irvine
Gitta Coaker: University of California, Davis
John Cushman: University of Nevada, Reno
Aaron Lorenz: University of Minnesota (student-invited)
David Jespersen: Crop & Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
Marc Van Iersel: Horticulture, University of Georgia
Mohamed Mergoum: Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics, University of Georgia
Changying “Charlie” Li: Electrical & Computer Engineer, University of Georgia
Li Yang: Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Ivan Baxter: USDA-ARS/Danforth Center
Kevin Hayes: DuPont Pioneer
Candice Hirsch: University of Minnesota
Scott Hamilton Kennedy: Black Valley Films
Seth Murray: Texas A&M University
Cyril Zipfel: The Sainsbury Laboratory
Communication Workshop, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Screening of “Food Evolution” at Cine,Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Seminars
Jill Wegrzyn: University of Connecticut
2016
Fall Retreat [Program] [Professional Workshops]
Erich Grotewold: Ohio State University
Saskia Hogenhout: John Innes Centre
Sophien Kamoun: Sainsbury Laboratory
Toni Kutchan: Danforth Plant Science Center (student-invited)
Alex Bucksch: Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Bioinformatics, School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
Brian Kvitko: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Rajagopalbabu (Babu) Srinivasan: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia
Caterina Villari: School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
30th Anniversary Joe L. Key Spring Symposium [Program] [Website]
Sir David Baulcombe: University of Cambridge (University Signature Lecture)
Roger Boerma: Georgia Seed Development
Mike Clegg: University of California-Irvine
Gloria Coruzzi: New York University
Tom Guilfoyle: University of Missouri
Gretchen Hagen: University of Missouri
Steve Kresovich: Clemson University
Chris Leaver: Oxford University
Natasha Raikhel: University of California-Riverside
Elizabeth Vierling: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Virginia Walbot: Stanford University
John Walker: University of Missouri
Sue Wessler: University of California-Riverside
Seminars
Greg Martin: Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University
2015
Fall Retreat [Program] [Professional Workshops]
Kelly Craven, Noble Foundation (student-invited speaker)
Mary Lou Guerinot, Dartmouth University
Matias Kirst, University of Florida
John Willis, Duke University
Jill Anderson: Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
Jason Wallace: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Gloria Coruzzi: New York University
Jeff Doyle: Cornell University
Andrew Leakey: University of Illinois
Jocelyn Rose: Cornell University
Geoff Wasteneys: University of British Columbia
Tom Wolpert: Oregon State University
Seminars
Dave Des Marais: Harvard University
2014
Fall Retreat [Program]
Richard Hamelin: University of British Columbia, and Canadian Forest Services
John Kelly: University of Kansas
Amy Lawton-Rauh: Clemson University
Blake Meyers: University of Delaware
Karl Lechtreck: Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia
Ali Missaoui: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Federica Brandizzi: Michigan State University
Luca Comai: University of California
Tom Juenger: University of Texas
Melissa Mitchum: University of Missouri
Jesse Poland: Kansas State University
Mark Tester: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
2013
Fall Retreat [Program]
John Doebley: University of Wisconsin
Steve Rounsley: Dow Agroscience
Betsy Arnold: University of Arizona
Neelima Sinha: University of California – Davis
Chang Hyun Khang: Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia
Bob Schmitz: Department of Genetics, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Nathan Springer: University of Minnesota
John Browse: Washington State University
Stacey Harmer: University of California – Davis
Robbie Waugh: The James Hutton Institute
Xinnian Dong: Duke University
Elizabeth “Toby” Kellogg: University of Missouri – St. Louis
2012
Fall Retreat [Program]
Jay Thelen: University of Missouri – Columbia
Ed Buckler: Cornell University
Mike Scanlon: Cornell University
Robin Buell: Michigan State University
Zenglu Li: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics & Center for Applied Genetic Technology, University of Georgia
Marin Talbot Brewer: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Ray Ming: University of Illinois
Adam Bogdanove: Iowa State University
Julian Schroeder: University of California – San Diego
David Mackill: University of California – Davis
Tom Mitchell-Olds: Duke University
2011
Fall Retreat [Program]
Rick Dixon: Noble Foundation
Jiming Jiang: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Doug Cook: University of California – Davis
Mike Freeling: University of California – Berkeley
Dave Nelson: Department of Genetics, University of Georgia
Andrea Sweigart: Department of Genetics, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium [Program]
Patrick Schnable: Iowa State University
Gary Muehlbauer: University of Minnesota
Scott Poething: University of Pennsylvania
Brett Tyler: Virginia Tech
Ester van der Knaap: Ohio State University
Rod Wing: University of Arizona
Seminars
Nathaniel Street: Umeå Plant Science Center, Sweden
Erica Goss: University of Florida
Philip Benfey: Duke University
2010
Fall Retreat [Program]
Jerry Tuskan: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Nick Provart: Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto
Jeremy Schmutz: Hudson Alpha Institute of BioTechnology
Robert Last: Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University
Chris Frost: School of Forestry, University of Georgia
Brian Schwartz: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia
Spring Symposium: Transposing from the Wessler Laboratory to Careers in Science [Program]
Rita Varagona: Monsanto
Michael Purugganan: New York University
Sylvestre Marillonnet: Icon Genetics GmbH, Germany
Jianping Hu: Michigan State University
Yanhong Liu: US Department of Agriculture, Wyndmoor, PA
Lane Arthur: Pioneer Hi-Bred
Qiang Zhang: Monsanto
Liangjiang Wang: Clemson University
Ning Jiang: Michigan State University
Xiaoyu Zhang: University of Georgia
Natasha Raikhel: University of California, Riverside
Amy Bouck: Pioneer Hi-Bred
Cedric Feschotte: University of Texas
Ellen Pritham: University of Texas
Guojun Yang: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Dawn Nagel: University of California, San Diego
Feng Zhang: University of Minnesota
Nathan Hancock: University of Georgia
Yujun Han: University of Georgia
Jim Burnette: University of Georgia
Seminars
Daniel Zamir: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2009
Fall Retreat [Program]
Rick Amasino: University of Wisconsin – Madison
Sarah Elgin: Washington University
Scott Jackson: Purdue University
Spring Symposium [Program]
Gane Ka-Shu Wong: University of Alberta and Beijing Genomics Institute
Blake Meyers: University of Delaware
Z. Jeffrey Chen: University of Texas at Austin
Joseph Ecker: The Salk Institute for Biological Sciences
Seminars
Graham Brookes: PG Economics, London, May 22, 2009
Masaru Olune-Takagi: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Jonathan Wendel: Iowa State University
2008
Fall Retreat [Program]
Hans Bohnert: University of Illinois
David Stooksbury: Georgia State Climatologist, University of Georgia
Lewis Ziska: USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
2007
Annual Retreat (Oct 25-26) [Program]
Seminars
Jorge Dubcovsky: University of California, Davis, April 9, 2007
Natasha Raikhel: University of California. Riverside, April 12, 2007
2006
Annual Retreat (Oct 26-27) [Program]
Joe Bouton: Noble Foundation
Seminars
David Jackson: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, April 13, 2006
2005
Annual Retreat (Oct 27-28) [Program]
John Burke: Vanderbilt University
Seminars
Gerald Tuskan: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 15, 2005
Richard Michelmore: University of California, Davis, November 3, 2005
2004
Annual Retreat (Oct 28-29) [Program]
Maureen McCann: Purdue University
Nick Carpita: Purdue University
Symposium: Plant Development (May 10-11) [Program]
David Baum: University of Wisconsin
Toby Bradshaw: University of Washington
Michael Purugganan: North Carolina State
Seminars
Enrico Coen: John Innes Center, April 5, 2005
Jeff Dangl: University of North, Carolina, April 14, 2005
2003
Annual Retreat (Oct 30-31) [Program]
Martin Dickman: University of Nebraska
Douglas Soltis: University of Florida
Symposium: Plant Epigenetics (May 12-13) [Program]
Bonnie Bartel: Rice University
Robert Martienssen: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Eric Selker: University of Oregon
Seminars
Stephen Kresovich: Cornell University, October 3, 2003
Michael Thomashow: Michigan State University, November 6, 2003
Sabeeha Merchant: University of California, Los Angeles, March 18, 2004
Patrick Schnable: Iowa State University, April 22, 2004
2002
Annual Retreat (May 13-14) [Program]
Ralph Dean: North Carolina State University
Marc Albertsen: Pioneer Hybrid Seed
Seminars
Katrien Devos: John Innes Centre, October 30, 2002
Michel Delseny: University of Perpignan, France, January 21, 2003
Gregory May: Noble Foundation, February 27, 2003
Drew Kershen: University of Oklahoma, March 27, 2003
2001
Annual Retreat (May 14-15) [Program]
David Sankoff: University of Montreal
John Anderson: Monsanto
William Lucas: University of California, Davis
Seminars
Richard Vierstr: University of Wisconsin, November 12, 2001
Vicki Vance: University of South Carolina, March 12, 2002
Anthony Cashmore: University of Pennsylvania, March 28, 2002
Avraham Levy: The Weizmann Institute of Sciences, April 24, 2002
2000
Symposium: Plant Evolution (May) [Photos]
Ralph Quatrano: Washington University
Seminars
Jonathan Walton: Michigan State University September 21, 2000
John Walker: University of Missouri, November 30, 2000
Bob Goldberg: University of California, Los Angeles, December 7, 2000
Kenneth Feldmann: Ceres, Inc., April 5, 2001
Dennis Gonsalves: Cornell University, April 12, 2001
1999
Symposium: Looking Beyond Primary Structure in Gene Function (Feb 26) [Program]
David Baulcombe: John Innes Centre
Luca Comai: University of Washington
Robert Ferl: University of Florida
Marjori Matzke: Institute of Molecular Biology, Austria
Eric Richards: Washington University
Seminars
Mannie Liscum: University of Missouri, October 14, 1999
Valerie Williamson: University of California, Davis, November 11, 1999
Natasha Raikhel: Michigan State University, March 2, 2000
Andrew Staehelin: University of Colorado, April 6, 2000
Steve Key: The Scripps Research Institute, April 27, 2000
Deborah Delmer: University of California, Davis, May 4, 2000
Heinz Saedler: Max Planck Institute, Germany, June 19, 2000
1998
Seminars
Athanasios Theologis: Plant Gene Expression Center, Albany, CA, September 3, 1998
Shauna Somerville: Carnegie Institution of Washington, September 17, 1998
Roger Beachy: The Scripps Research Institute, November 19, 1998
1997
Annual Retreat (Dec 8-9) [Program]
Jeffrey Bennetzen: Purdue University
Curt Hannah: University of Florida
Chris Lamb: Salk Institute
Greg Martin: Purdue University
Symposium: Molecular Marker Technology (May 9-10)
Antoni Rafalski: DuPont, Inc
Steve Knapp: Oregon State University
Jeff Mitton: University of Colorado
Jeff Doyle: Cornell University
Seminars
Paul Keim: Northern Arizona University, October 2, 1997
Richard Michelmore: University of California, Davis, October 23, 1997
Vicki Chandler: University of Arizona, February 19, 1998
Nam-Hai Chua: Rockefeller University, April 30, 1998
Richard Nelson: The Noble Foundation, May 7, 1998
Tom Guilfoyle: University of Missouri, May 19, 1998
1996
Symposium: Plant Improvement (April 19-20)
Charles Arntzen: Cornell University
Maelor Davies: University of Kentucky
Clanton Black: University of Georgia
David Ho: Washington University
Steve Tanksley: Cornell University
Seminars
Patricia Zambryski: University of California, Berkeley, October 17, 1996
Xing Wang Deng: Yale University, November 14, 1996
Sabeeha Merchant: University of California, Los Angeles, December 5, 1996
Thomas C. Osborn: University of Wisconsin, Madison, May 22, 1997
Genichi Kakefuda: American Cyanamid Company, June 5, 1997
1995
Seminars
Pam Green: Michigan State University, February 8, 1996
Gloria Coruzzi: New York University, April 11, 1996
Milton Zaitlin: Cornell University, May 9, 1996
Andrew Paterson: Texas A&M University, May 23, 1996
Ron Sederoff: North Carolina State University, June 6, 1996