We are pleased to announce our keynote speakers for the XI International Symposium on Kiwifruit. Please continue to check back, as we add additional keynotes as our programme evolves.
Takashi Akagi
Takashi Akagi has been studying on reproductive traits in horticultural crops, using not only conventional molecular techniques but also evolutionary or population genetics/genomics, and recent AI techniques. His current main focus is to elucidate how horticultural crops have evolved separated sexualities, such as dioecy (male and female individuals) or monoecy (male and female flowers), to harness their molecular mechanisms to flexibly modify crop sexuality. The group is also interested in the evolutionary contexts of various fruit traits, including maturation or parthenocarpy in the genus Actinidia.
Francesco Spinelli
Francesco Spinelli is associate professor in Fruit Tree Production at the Department of Agriculture and Food Science (DISTAL) of the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna. In 1998, he graduated in Biology, with a major in Ecology, and, in 2003, he obtained a PhD in Fruit Tree Science in 2003 under the supervision of Prof. G. Costa and Dr. Joel Vanneste. He has been visiting scientist at in Plant&Food Research (1.5 years); Max Plank Institut fur Zellebiologie, Lademburg; BASF Agricultural Centre, Limburgerhof; Technische Universität München and Radboud University, Nijmegen. In 2013 he has also been responsible for the course Methods in Woody Plant Pathology at the Technische Universität München and in 2018 he holt seminars on Crop ecology and management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Since his PhD research Prof. Spinelli research encompasses the development of sustainable cultural management strategies of fruit trees grounded on the decipherment of crop ecological interactions and the study of alternative to chemical pesticides. Special attention has been given to the signalling network between plant and plant and among plant and microorganisms, both beneficial and pathogenic. Spinelli lab currently focus on the management of kiwifruit cultivation to increase productivity, fruit quality and storability and vine resistance biotic stresses such as Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae and kiwifruit vine decline syndrome. Prof. Spinelli has been in charge of the kiwifruit breeding program at UNIBO since 2015 which has led to the release of three new A. chinensis var. chinensis varieties. Moreover, the research group is involved in the development and implementation of precise agriculture techniques including the early diagnosis (e.g. by VOCs detection) of plant disease and abiotic stresses. He has been involved in 7 European Projects and he is vice-chair of the Cost Action 22158: Exploiting Plant-Microbiomes Networks and Synthetic Communities to improve Crops Fitness.
Prof. Spinelli is responsible at DISTAL of the PhD program on Fruit Trees and Woody Plant Science and he holds the course on Philosophy of Science for PhD students .
He has published 111 international papers (H index: 32) and over 35 national papers and book chapters.
Kate Meyer
Kate is an engineer, sustainability scientist, and author. She has worked as a sustainability advisor for over 15 years, taking on senior leadership roles such as the Sustainability Director at Beca (leading their international sustainability practise). In response to the gap between the science of sustainability and the decisions being made by consumers, businesses, and governments, Kate created a novel framework called Planetary Accounting that enables science-based decision making beyond carbon at any scale. Kate is the Founding Director of the Planetary Accounting Network, a New Zealand charity that helps people, businesses, and governments to operate within the planet’s limits. Her work in this space has been shared through high-profile events from keynotes in Europe to TEDx in New Zealand, and has been recognized through accolades ranging from the University of Auckland’s 40Under40 awards to the C40 Cities Women for Climate Change programme.