Scientific Program
Conference Program
Day 1 – Wednesday ,September 16, 2026
Morning
Registration
Lunch Break
Afternoon
13:30 – 13:45 *Welcome and Introductory Remarks*
🕒13:45–17:15 | Session 1 – Plants as Sources of New Active Molecules - chaired by Mélanie Rouhier
◆ Keynote Lecture: Natural products from plants you normally disregard - or even do not see
🎤Keynote Speaker: Henrik Toft Simonsen 📍Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Étienne, FranceShort lecture : Molecular evolutionary basis behind the functional diversity of the UbiA aromatic prenyltransferase family in citrus
🎤Tamara Klett 📍RISH Kyoto University, JapanShort lecture : Genome-wide identification and in silico analysis of GSTs reveals hormone mediated stress response in saffron
🎤Bano Muqaddas 📍University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China🔴Coffee Break & Poster Session
◆ Keynote Lecture: From Marchantia polymorpha to biosynthetic innovations: what basal land plants teach us about chemical evolution
🎤Keynote Speaker: Masaharu Mizutani 📍Kobe University, JapanShort lecture : Tale of two clades: the shared biosynthesis of cyclic diterpenoids between trees and peatland mosses.
🎤Chad Kristian Papenfuhs 📍ETH Zürich, Zürich, SwitzerlandShort lecture: Bryophytes as sources of new bioactive molecules
🎤Raissa Volpatto-Marquès 📍Université de Lorraine, France🔴Poster Session
Evening
Free Visit & Free Public Conference on biomolecules at the Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy (City Centre)
Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy 📍34 Rue Sainte-Catherine, 54000 NancyDay 2 – Thursday, September 17, 2026
Morning
🕒09:00 – 11:15 | Session 2 – Microorganisms as Biomolecule Providers - Chaired by Cyril Bontemps
◆ Keynote Lecture: Natural products biodiscovery from the ocean microbiome: the benefits of combining approaches
🎤Keynote Speaker: Olivier Grovel 📍Nantes Université & ISOMER, FranceShort lecture: Exploring the diversity of 2,5-diketopiperazine scaffolds produced by a new subfamily of cyclodipeptide synthases
🎤Celine Aubry 📍Institute of Integrative Biology of the Cell, FranceShort lecture: Rerouting the actinorhodin biosynthetic pathway toward the production of flavokermesic acid in Streptomyces sp.
🎤Delphine Noel 📍Université de Lorraine, France🔴 Coffee Break & Poster Session
◆ Keynote Lecture: When phenotypes get unusual: new opportunities in natural product discovery?
🎤Keynote Speaker: Sébastien Rigali 📍Université de Liège, BelgiumShort lecture: Identification and characterisation of novel macrolide compounds
🎤Duong Thi Thuy Nguyen 📍The University of Warwick, UK🔴 Poster Session
Afternoon
Lunch Break
🕒13:30–16:00 | Session 3 – Breakthrough Methods in Biomolecule Discovery - Chaired by Frédéric Borges
◆ Keynote Lecture: Beyond the Obvious – Rethinking Genome Mining Strategies for Natural Product Discovery
🎤Keynote Speaker: Joleen Masschelein 📍KU Leuven & VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, BelgiumShort lecture: Activation of GPR18 by cannabinoids to target inflammation: first insights into CBD–GPR18 interactions in macrophages
🎤Nathalie Mercier📍 Université de Lorraine, FranceShort lecture: Development of a correlative imaging method to map molecular and biological actors in the rhizosphere of model trees
🎤Marceau Levasseur 📍INRAE, France🔴 Coffee Break & Poster Session
◆ Keynote Lecture: Metabolomics and the dark metabolome: from detection to functional insight
🎤Keynote Speaker: Gianfranco Diretto 📍ENEA, Rome, ItalyShort lecture: Trapped ion mobility – High resolution mass spectrometry for discovery of bioactive natural products: case study of Streptomyces
🎤Aya Fakih 📍Université de Lorraine, FranceShort lecture: Identification of the first pteropodine 10-hydroxylase reveals a missing step in spirooxindole biosynthesis in Hamelia patens
🎤Anna Luisa Lopez Vazquez 📍Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, EA2106, Université de Tours, France🕒16:15 – 17:45 | Industrial Research Session - Chaired by Frédéric Bourgaud
◆ Industrial Keynote: Veterinary parasite control market: a giant with feet of clay
🎤Michael Donabedian - Vétoquinol, FranceShort lecture: Nanocrystallisation and chemical cross-linking: towards thermostable and recyclable crystal-based biocatalysts for industry
🎤Anna Bonnardel 📍Institut de Biologie structurale, FranceShort lecture: Dark&Strong project: High melanization of dark septate endophytes, an advantageous trait for plant colonization and stress tolerance
🎤Damien Blaudez📍Université de Lorraine, FranceShort lecture: Fungal production of laccases on upcycled plant-based by-products for natural cosmetic colorant extraction
🎤Lionel Muniglia 📍Université de Lorraine, FranceShort lecture: Storage-induced multiscale changes in plant-based powders: Linking matrix stability to functional properties
🎤Laura Gailly 📍Université de Lorraine, FranceEvening
Gala Dinner at Restaurant Grand Café Foy📍Place Stanislas, Nancy
Public Light & Sound Show at📍Place Stanislas, Nancy
Day 3 – Friday, September 18, 2026
Morning
🕒09:00 – 11:00 | Session 4 – Artificial Intelligence & Biomolecules - Chaired by Kira Weissman
◆ Keynote Lecture: Deep learning for data-driven exploration of natural product-inspired chemical space
🎤Keynote Speaker: Guénaël Cabanes📍Université de Lorraine , FranceShort lecture: A structure guided machine learning box scanning method reveals local residue patterns associated with ketosynthase substrate specificity
🎤Rime Walieddine 📍Université de Lorraine, FranceShort lecture: Tailoring Enzyme-guided Expansion of Natural Product Biosynthetic Space
🎤Sandra Panczyk 📍Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany🔴 Coffee Break & Poster Session
◆ Keynote Lecture: Metagenomes as biomolecule reservoirs: big-data strategies to reveal biosynthetic diversity
🎤Keynote Speaker: Nadine Ziemert 📍University of Tübingen, GermanyClosing Remarks
Farewell Lunch