This HotTopics edition will be organized together with NIME (the Netherlands Integrative Microbial Ecology initiative). Find out about the program and invited speakers on our HotTopics website. NOTE: You are also invited to contribute and present your own work (oral or poster)!

The Benelux Metabolomics Days, the annual conference of the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre (NMC), aims to bring together the Metabolomics community in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. This year, the Benelux Metabolomics Days 2025 will be held August 27 and 28 at Leiden University.

Plants dynamically interact with a wide range of organisms—some harmful, others beneficial. These interactions are not only fascinating subjects of scientific inquiry but also critically important, as plant pathogens and pests are responsible for the loss of nearly 35% of the world’s annual crop harvest. 

Join the upcoming EPS Theme 3 meeting, where we will explore the exciting intersection of plant metabolism and adaptation—two fields that are fundamentally interconnected and vital to understanding plant function and resilience.

Join the upcoming EPS Theme 3 meeting, where we will explore the exciting intersection of plant metabolism and adaptation—two fields that are fundamentally interconnected and vital to understanding plant function and resilience.

Dear Colleagues,

The Communications Team of the Wageningen Doctoral Council and the Career Committee of the PE&RC PhD Council are excited to announce the third talk in the PE&RC CAREER Talk Series 2025. This series, hosted by the Career Committee of the PE&RC PhD Council, is designed to Create Advanced Routes for Exploration and Expansion of Resources (CAREER).
Have you ever considered entrepreneurship as a career option? Even if the answer is no, this session may open new perspectives. Hearing directly from experts and entrepreneurs is a unique chance to learn how research can be transformed into startups, networks, and innovations that create impact. Who knows, you may find yourself inspired to take an entrepreneurial step after seeing the opportunities available.

Together, we will explore key questions such as:
•    What entrepreneurial pathways are available to researchers after completing their PhD?
•    How can we identify the right support networks and mentors?
•    What financing opportunities exist for early-stage ideas?
•    In what ways can StartHub and StartLife support aspiring academic entrepreneurs?

This talk will be held virtually on 9 September 2025, from 11:00 to 13:00, and features an exciting lineup of speakers:
•    Gitte Schober – Coordinator of the Entrepreneurship team at Wageningen University & Research, with over 25 years of experience in sustainable entrepreneurship and impact startups. She leads initiatives from courses and research projects to workshops and startup incubation at StartHub, working with businesses, investors, and advisors to turn WUR expertise into sustainable value.
•    Sjacco van Kol – Community Manager at StartLife, where he accelerates the agrifoodtech ecosystem by connecting startups, mentors, and stakeholders. With a background in Life Sciences, Health Food Innovation Management, and marketing, he bridges science and business. He also co-hosts the podcast Tomorrow’s Bites and shares daily insights on food innovation through his LinkedIn platform.
•    Wouter Bac – Founder of TechNature, a company pioneering vision and robotics solutions for the agro-industry. After a PhD on pepper-harvesting robots and teaching image analysis at WUR, he recognized the potential for flexible robotics tailored to customer needs. Since 2014, TechNature has grown from a one-person consultancy into a product-focused company with projects across the Netherlands and abroad.
•    Salma Rian – Postdoctoral researcher at WUR and innovator of Hydra Peck, a wet-feeding system for poultry that improves animal health, increases farmer profits, and reduces the environmental footprint of poultry farming. Currently advancing her innovation from TRL5 to TRL7, she is passionate about bringing research into practice and developing as an entrepreneur through the Faculty of Impact program.

Join us in learning more from the experts Gitte and Sjacco, who support and guide academic entrepreneurship, and from the entrepreneurs Wouter and Salma, who are transforming their ideas into real-world impact. Whether you are curious, inspired, or simply eager to explore opportunities, this session will offer valuable insights, and maybe even awaken the entrepreneur in you.
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pe-rc-phd-council-career-committee/

Please accept or decline this invitation so we can best organize the session, and feel free to forward this invitation to anyone else who may find the talk interesting.

Best regards,
The Career Committee of the PE&RC PhD Council
The Communications Team of the Wageningen Doctoral Council

________________________________________________________________________________
Microsoft Teams: Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 338 866 312 683 6 
Passcode: Ux3Hn2q9 
________________________________________
 

Dear Colleagues,

The Communications Team of the Wageningen Doctoral Council and the Career Committee of the PE&RC PhD Council are excited to announce the third talk in the PE&RC CAREER Talk Series 2025. This series, hosted by the Career Committee of the PE&RC PhD Council, is designed to Create Advanced Routes for Exploration and Expansion of Resources (CAREER).
Have you ever considered entrepreneurship as a career option? Even if the answer is no, this session may open new perspectives. Hearing directly from experts and entrepreneurs is a unique chance to learn how research can be transformed into startups, networks, and innovations that create impact. Who knows, you may find yourself inspired to take an entrepreneurial step after seeing the opportunities available.

Together, we will explore key questions such as:
•    What entrepreneurial pathways are available to researchers after completing their PhD?
•    How can we identify the right support networks and mentors?
•    What financing opportunities exist for early-stage ideas?
•    In what ways can StartHub and StartLife support aspiring academic entrepreneurs?

This talk will be held virtually on 9 September 2025, from 11:00 to 13:00, and features an exciting lineup of speakers:
•    Gitte Schober – Coordinator of the Entrepreneurship team at Wageningen University & Research, with over 25 years of experience in sustainable entrepreneurship and impact startups. She leads initiatives from courses and research projects to workshops and startup incubation at StartHub, working with businesses, investors, and advisors to turn WUR expertise into sustainable value.
•    Sjacco van Kol – Community Manager at StartLife, where he accelerates the agrifoodtech ecosystem by connecting startups, mentors, and stakeholders. With a background in Life Sciences, Health Food Innovation Management, and marketing, he bridges science and business. He also co-hosts the podcast Tomorrow’s Bites and shares daily insights on food innovation through his LinkedIn platform.
•    Wouter Bac – Founder of TechNature, a company pioneering vision and robotics solutions for the agro-industry. After a PhD on pepper-harvesting robots and teaching image analysis at WUR, he recognized the potential for flexible robotics tailored to customer needs. Since 2014, TechNature has grown from a one-person consultancy into a product-focused company with projects across the Netherlands and abroad.
•    Salma Rian – Postdoctoral researcher at WUR and innovator of Hydra Peck, a wet-feeding system for poultry that improves animal health, increases farmer profits, and reduces the environmental footprint of poultry farming. Currently advancing her innovation from TRL5 to TRL7, she is passionate about bringing research into practice and developing as an entrepreneur through the Faculty of Impact program.

Join us in learning more from the experts Gitte and Sjacco, who support and guide academic entrepreneurship, and from the entrepreneurs Wouter and Salma, who are transforming their ideas into real-world impact. Whether you are curious, inspired, or simply eager to explore opportunities, this session will offer valuable insights, and maybe even awaken the entrepreneur in you.
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pe-rc-phd-council-career-committee/

Please accept or decline this invitation so we can best organize the session, and feel free to forward this invitation to anyone else who may find the talk interesting.

Best regards,
The Career Committee of the PE&RC PhD Council
The Communications Team of the Wageningen Doctoral Council

________________________________________________________________________________
Microsoft Teams: Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 338 866 312 683 6 
Passcode: Ux3Hn2q9 
________________________________________
 

PE&RC Day 2025 - Picture Awards

Thursday 9 October 2025

The Picture Awards are an important part of the PE&RC Day, therefore it will also be one of the topics of the online PE&RC Day 2025 programme.

To give everyone a chance to win, we divided the competition into three categories: 1) Thesis cover, 2) Fieldwork, 3) Labwork & modelling. So take this opportunity and submit a beautiful/meaningful/weird/tear-jerking picture of your PhD work. Show us what you’ve got! You can now submit your pictures for the competition here.

Each participant can submit one image per category. The pictures will be exhibited on the PE&RC website and via social media. Everyone will get the chance to vote for their favourite picture. The prize awards are based on the combined scores given by the evaluation committee (50%) and the audience (50%). At the end of the afternoon, the scores are calculated, and the prizes awarded.

Submission Criteria: Be sure that the pictures are of sufficient quality to be shown on screen. Accompany the picture with a short description of what we see on the picture (max 100 words). To take part in the competition, the applicant needs to be a member of PE&RC and present during the PE&RC Day!

Submission deadline: Thursday 2 October 2025 at 9.00 am

To take part in the competition, please fill in your details and upload your picture below.

Dear colleagues,

On Tuesday October 7th, the next B-Wise meeting will take place at 12:30h, in room C0226 in the Forum building. 
Lunch will be available from 12:00h onwards.

We will have two speakers:

• Eelco Tromer, senior researcher and Veni fellow at Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, will talk about 'Traversing the Twilight Zone of Homology: Evolutionary Detective Stories in Chromosome Biology’.
• Stefan Hoffmann, assistant professor at WU Systems & Synthetic Biology, will speak about 'Pools of Parts: SynBio Testing at Scale’.

If you would like to join for the (free) lunch at 12:00h, please send an e-mail to lunch@bioinformatics.nl by Thursday October 2nd latest.

For those joining the meeting online, here is a link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NWJkNDA5MDItYmE3Yy00ZTY1LTgxMjctY2ZjMTIxNjI1MzVk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2227d137e5-761f-4dc1-af88-d26430abb18f%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2256ef330b-6bdc-4bbc-8cb6-2a27a5245e9d%22%7d

• Meeting ID: 334 231 132 745 6
• Passcode: uG9pc3zu

Please pass this message on to any co-workers you believe might be interested.

Looking forward to meeting many of you there!

Best regards,
Marnix Medema

Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University
http://www.bif.wur.nl/

Join us for an essential day designed to support postdocs in exploring diverse career pathways, planning for uncertainty (including navigating institutional budget cuts), and hearing from inspiring professionals who’ve successfully transitioned across sectors.

Dear colleagues,

On Tuesday October 7th, the next B-Wise meeting will take place at 12:30h, in room C0226 in the Forum building. 
Lunch will be available from 12:00h onwards.

We will have two speakers:

• Eelco Tromer, senior researcher and Veni fellow at Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, will talk about 'Traversing the Twilight Zone of Homology: Evolutionary Detective Stories in Chromosome Biology’.
• Stefan Hoffmann, assistant professor at WU Systems & Synthetic Biology, will speak about 'Pools of Parts: SynBio Testing at Scale’.

If you would like to join for the (free) lunch at 12:00h, please send an e-mail to lunch@bioinformatics.nl by Thursday October 2nd latest.

For those joining the meeting online, here is a link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NWJkNDA5MDItYmE3Yy00ZTY1LTgxMjctY2ZjMTIxNjI1MzVk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2227d137e5-761f-4dc1-af88-d26430abb18f%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2256ef330b-6bdc-4bbc-8cb6-2a27a5245e9d%22%7d

• Meeting ID: 334 231 132 745 6
• Passcode: uG9pc3zu

Please pass this message on to any co-workers you believe might be interested.

Looking forward to meeting many of you there!

Best regards,
Marnix Medema

Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University
http://www.bif.wur.nl/

It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the upcoming Food System Microbiomes 2025 International Conference! This second conference will explore the interconnectedness of microbiomes across food systems and their critical roles in addressing global challenges. It will be held in place in Wageningen, known as the “City of Life Sciences” from 25-28 November 2025.

Have you ever wondered about the evolutionary research happening at the NIOO-KNAW (Netherlands Institute of Ecology)? Join us for Lab Rotation 2025 and see it for yourself!

This event, organized by the NLSEB Junior Board, will take place on 17 October 2025 at NIOO-KNAW in Wageningen. The day will feature a series of talks from both junior and senior researchers, along with guided tours of the labs and other facilities.

We'll wrap up the day with an informal networking session —drinks and snacks included, of course. 
More details will follow soon. For now, save the date! We look forward to seeing you there.

Dear all,

We are planning to revive the existing Agroecosystems discussion group, which is part of the PE&RC graduate school. The group aims to discuss a wide range of topics, including the application of production ecology and systems theory in various contexts worldwide, from both a bio-physical and socio-economic perspective, at the levels of the field, the farm (or household), and the farming system.

All early-career researchers, especially PhD candidates part of PE&RC, are invited to join the group. PhDs receive 1.5 credits per year for active participation in group meetings, which are held monthly and last 1-2 hours each. This group is not limited to PhDs. While many of us work in different contexts, we often share common methodologies, approaches and theories. This group is a chance to learn from one another, regardless of whether you’re working in the Netherlands, Europe, Africa, South America, or elsewhere.

We haven't decided on the structure or content of the meetings yet and wish to finalise these details during our introductory meeting:
25 June, 15:00-16:00
Radix Nova B:109 R:0010 SPRING

There will be some cookies. Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly. Regular meetings will start after the summer break.

Kind regards,
Rohit (on behalf of Jop)

The Life & Planet research community committee contributes to the organisation of the life sciences field and gives solicited and unsolicited advice to the Round Table Life Sciences and the board of the NWO Science domain on NWO policy. Central to the research community is the realization that declining biodiversity and deteriorating ecosystems are one of the major challenges of our time. Halting and reversing these trends is a huge task that will require societal changes on multiple levels and scales. Whilst ecological research and knowledge are key to understand the magnitude and direct causes of biodiversity loss, this is only a part of the complex puzzle to solve. Bending the curve of biodiversity loss requires interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. Researchers, experts and stakeholders from the humanities, social and natural sciences have to synthesize different forms of knowledge and coproduce options for actions that are both effective and just. On Monday 17 November 2025, the Life & Planet community organizes its second national biodiversity symposium. It provides a venue for participants from the various disciplines within biodiversity research to come together and inspire each other. They will also present a first version of a joint national biodiversity research strategy. 

Life & Planet Newsletter with more information.

Each year around 450 representatives of the Dutch plant scientist community meet each other for a two day meeting.  This meeting welcomes junior and senior research from academics and industry and offers an excellent opportunity to hear the latest scientific developments and to network.

Dear all,
 
This year we will be hosting our Bioinformatics Academic Year Closing again! Please join us at NIOO on Monday 30th of June 2025 to celebrate the end of the academic year and the start of the summer holidays.

Date: Monday, June 30, 1500-1800
Address: NIOO, Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen

We proudly present our keynote for this year: 
Ass. Prof. Dr. Carlo Vermeulen,  De Ridder Lab at the University Medical Center Utrecht
Title: Intraoperative sequencing: classifying brain tumors in 90 minutes

Followed by the lightning round of 5-minutes flash presentations. The aim of this session is to give researchers, students and engineers from bioinformatics and related fields the possibility to show their work and ideas. Everybody who is interested in presenting themselves and/or their work are invited to send us (meetings@bioinformatics.nl) two or three slides. You have 3-5 minutes to present your slides, so make it short and sweet. Please tick the box if you'd like to present (https://forms.office.com/e/eDZiNPsYGn). 

Please let us know when you'd like to join, so we can leave a sign-in sheet at the front desk and order enough nibbles and drinks.
More information: meetings@bioinformatics.nl
Sign-up: https://forms.office.com/e/eDZiNPsYGn

You are invited to send this invitation to anyone in bioinformatics or related fields who you think would like to join us for the presentations and drinks.  The 'Bioinformatics Academic Year Closing' will be hosted at the NIOO, with drinks on the beautiful rooftop of the building. 

This afternoon is offered to you by the WUR Bioinformatics Group, Applied Bioinformatics WUR and NIOO. 

Hope to see you there!

Dick, Marnix, Mattias and Sven
 
Sign-up: https://forms.office.com/e/eDZiNPsYGn