This is an open special workshop fully funded by the New Phytologist Foundation, to include registration costs and accommodation.
Abstract submissions closed on 15 September
Email np-symposia@lancaster.ac.uk to enquire about late availability to join the workshop.
Rationale and scope:
Light perception and signalling has a long history of excellent research in plants – from the classical physiology and biochemistry of photoreceptors in diverse species to the detailed definition of the signalling pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana. Light plays a key role in regulating plant growth, development and physiology. The molecular detail of many aspects of light signalling has been genetically dissected model organisms like Arabidopsis thaliana.
Recently, the development of model organisms in key nodes in the Archaeplastida phylogeny and the availability of genome sequences from diverse species among the Archaeplastida means that there is considerable potential to leverage diversity to increase our understanding of the diversity and evolution of light signalling mechanisms. Consequently, we are are now in a position to investigate the diversity and evolution of mechanisms of light signalling. Furthermore, the development of single cell technologies enables increased resolution of light signalling and developmental processes as they take place in living plants. The field of light signalling and development, as well as light-regulated development are therefore primed for major breakthroughs in the next five years.
We will use this workshop to review the most recent developments in these related fields. We will also use the opportunity for the community to highlight future priority areas of opportunity.
Organising committee:
Sourav Datta, IISER Bhopal, Bhopal, India
Liam Dolan, Gregor Mendel Institute, Vienna, Austria
This is a special workshop fully funded by the New Phytologist Foundation, to include registration costs and accommodation for early career researchers (PhD Students and Post-doctoral researchers with within 5 years of receiving their PhD). Attendees will be selected on the basis of how well their research interests fit with the scope of the workshop.
Abstract submissions closed on 15 September 2025.
Applicants were emailed on Tuesday 7 October with confirmation if they have been offered a place to attend. If you have not recieved your response, please contact np-symposia@lancaster.ac.uk
Email np-symposia@lancaster.ac.uk to enquire about late availability to join the workshop.
Early career researchers can apply to attend by submitting an abstract and personal statement outlining how your research fits to the theme scope of this workshop. Researchers with more than five years' experience since gaining their PhD can register their interest in attending by submitting an abstract.
Accepted attendees will receive free registration, 3 nights accommodation in the student hostel at Bhopal and up to INR 6000 to support their attendance.
Additional speakers will be selected from the accepted delegates.
We especially encourage early career researchers based in India to apply to attend, and priority will be given to applicants based in India.
Application deadline - 15 Sept 2025
To apply to attend in addition to your abstract you should submit:
A brief (no more than 200 word) statement indicating your reasons for wishing to attend and how you hope the meeting will enhance your career/research and how your research fits the scope of the meeting.
A CV, which includes academic details, publication history, presentations given, awards and any other information to support your application.
A supporting letter from a scientist who has agreed to act as a reference for your application, this can also be emailed directly to np-symposia@lancaster.ac.uk by 15 September.
Abstract guidelines
* All abstract sections should be provided in English.
* The main text should provide concise details of the background and objective(s) of the investigation, methods used, results and conclusion.
* Abstract text should be no more than 200 words.
Apply to attend on our abstract portal, Oxford Abstracts, you will need to log in. If you don't already have an Oxford Abstracts account, you will need to create a free account.
If you have any questions, please contact the Events and Promotions Manager, Christine Phillips at np-symposia@lancaster.ac.uk.
If accepted to attend, all attendees agree to abide by The New Phytologist Foundation's code of conduct
Invited Speakers include:
Annapurna Devi Allu, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, India
Anjan Banerjee, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India
Ikram Biliou, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Rishikesh Bhalerao, Umea Plant Science Center, Sweden
Sudip Chattopadhyay, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, India
John Christie, University of Glasgow, UK
Riddhi Datta, Barasat Government College, India
Antony Dodd, John Innes Centre, UK
Vivek Dogra, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, India
Sreeramaiah Gangappa, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India
Aditi Gupta, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) Lucknow, India
Ute Hoecker, University of Cologne, Germany
Debabrata Laha, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, India
Tracy Lawson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
Keith Lindsey, Durham University, UK
Naresh Loudya, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, India
Shyam Masakapalli, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, India
Yogesh Mishra, Banaras Hindu University, India
Maarja Öpik, University of Tartu, Estonia
Kishore Panigrahi, National Institute of Science Education and Research Bhubaneswar, India
Ullas Pedmale, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
Jay Prakash Maurya, Banaras Hindu University, India
Bharati Nandi, India
Kalika Prasad, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India
Eswarayya Ramireddy, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati, India
Chandan Sahi, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, India
Santosh Satbhai, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, India
Rameshwar Sharma, Hyderabad Central University, India
Moumita Srivastava, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, India
Prabodh Trivedi, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, India
Himabindu Vasuki, National Institute for Science Education and Research. India
Nathalie Verbruggen, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Sreelakshmi Yellamaraju, University of Hyderabad, India
Selected speakers include:
Ramyani Bhattacharjee, St Edmunds College, India
Shubhajit Das, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Austria
Soumavo Dolui, Gregor Mendel Institute, Austria
Shubhi Dwivedi, IISER Bhopal, India
Riya Ghosh, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
Ritu Godara, CSIR-IHBT, India
Pooja Jakhar, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, India
Nikhil Job, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI), Austria
Debojyoti Kar, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, India
Rajnish Khanna, Carnegie Institution for Science, USA
Rucha Kulkarni, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Zohar Meir, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria
Priyanka Mishra, Indian Institute of Science, India
Annayasa Modak, IISER-Kolkata, India
Arpan Mukherjee, IISER Bhopal, India
Shweta Pawar, IIT Mandi, India
Ajar Anupam Pradhan, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India
Kunnappady Princy, University of Hyderabad, India
Priyanshi Rana, Indian institute of Science, India
Dipan Roy, Durham University, United Kingdom
Surjit Singh, Sister Nivedita University, India
Shashank Kumar Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, India
Akanksha Singh, CSIR_CIMAP, India
Sukriti, CSIR-IHBT, India
Ira Trivedi, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Germany, Germany
The following posters will be presented:
Shafali Bhasin | CSIR -Indian Institute of Integrative medicine | Light-mediated regulation of the WRKY family involved in sclareol production in Salvia sclarea L. |
Kuheli Chalak | Indian Institute of Science | Turnover of inositol pyrophosphate messengers fine-tunes growth and development in Marchantia polymorpha |
Ashish Chauhan | Indian Institute of Technology Mandi | Nutri-metabolomics of lettuce varieties under photosynthetically active radiations |
Swagatam Das | IISER Bhopal | BBX15 as a central integrator of light and hormonal signals in early seedling development |
Shambhavi Dwivedi | CSIR-CIMAP | NtHY5 acts systemically to control light-responsive nicotine transport in tobacco |
Sanika Ghadage | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research | Role of BBX protein in cotyledon greening |
Vanlalhriatpuii Hmar | Mizoram University | Light stress adaptation: Ultraviolet-B induced modulations of growth, physiological mechanisms, antioxidant activity and essential oil composition of Ocimum americanum L. |
Sumit Jamwal | CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicines | Xanthophyll-mediated photoprotective mechanism of Lepidium latifolium L., a sleeper weed from Ladakh Himalayas |
Amit Kumar | C.S.I.R - Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology | Light spectrum mediated physiological and molecular responses in Valeriana jatamansi |
Anjali Kumari | IISER Bhopal | Molecular insights into BBX-mediated light-responsive seedling development in Arabidopsis thaliana |
Akankshya Mahapatra | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal | Role of light signaling in root hair development |
Khushi Motwani | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research | To investigate the role of a BBX protein in cotyledon opening |
Akshay Nair | IISER Tirupati | Short‐term high light stress analysis through differential methylation identifies root architecture and cell size responses |
Ganesh Mahadeo Nawkar | DYPBBI, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth | Red-colored plants: a tool to study the effect of absorbance on phototropic response |
Madhusmita Panigrahy | SIksha O Anusandhan | Prolonged shade tolerance and its complex genomic and micro-RNA regulation in rice |
Dhureen Patel | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal | A B-BOX protein mediates hydrotropic movement of roots in Arabidopsis thaliana |
Padmaja Rai | National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) | Synergistic role of silicon and hydrogen sulfide in safeguarding light-regulated photosynthetic performance and stress tolerance in rice under copper oxide nanoparticle toxicity |
Somdatta Roy | IISER Bhopal | Light-regulating factors control the aluminium-mediated tropic response in Arabidopsis thaliana |
Pallabi Saha | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research | Light-dependent activation of NAC transcription factor promotes seedling establishment in Arabidopsis |
Dipali Sahu | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research | Identifying the light regulated gene involved in root development in tomato |
Samarth Samarth | University of Canterbury | Temporal and seasonal transcriptomic shifts in Fagus sylvatica surrounding summer solstice |
Pranab Santara | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal | Impact of light on aluminium stress tolerance in Arabidopsis Thaliana |
Devlina Sarkar | University of Calcutta | Deciphering temporal dynamics of metabolic reprogramming in guard and mesophyll cells during the C3-to-CAM transition |
Anagha Sasidharan | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal | Role of a light signalling transcription factor in regulating thermomorphogenesis |
Shagun Sharma | Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Himachal Pradesh, India | Light regulated developmental reprogramming drives in vitro regeneration of the endangered medicinal herb Fritillaria roylei Hook. |
Lata Sharma | Jai Narain Vyas University | Nitric oxide (N=O) & Heme Oxygenase 1 cross-talk and regulation of FCR activity to improve Iron (Fe) uptake and biofortification in Triticum aestivum |
Vinay Sharma | ICRISAT, HQ, Patancheru | Light-regulated genes involved in drought tolerance in groundnut |
Aastha Shromona | CSIR-CIMAP | Light-mediated regulation of miRNA biogenesis in plants |
Neha Singh | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal | Functional characterization of Arabidopsis B-box domain proteins under high-intensity light stress |
Shikha Suyal | IISER Bhopal | Role of a BBX protein in regulation of early seedling development |
Yogita Thakur | Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi | Kinetic ¹³CO₂ tracing reveals central metabolic reprogramming during light-dark transitions and UV-B stress in Brassica napus |
Sapna Thakur | CSIR-IHBT | Investigating plastid RNA processing dynamics under high light stress in C3 and C4 model crops |
Kavuri Venkateswara Rao | IISER Bhopal | BBX_NV maintains gravitropic set-point angle of lateral roots in Arabidopsis thaliana |
Julia Zalder | KU Leuven | Optimizing dynamic LED lighting for sustainable crop cultivation |
Getting to Bhopal
By Air
Raja Bhoj Airport (BHO) is the nearest airport, with direct flights to nine destinations within India, including Delhi and Mumbai. The airport is about a 15-minute drive to IISER Bhopal. Private taxis are available with further information on taxis available on the airport’s website.
Local Taxis
You can pre-book local taxis using these numbers:
0091-8878430004
0091-7987760614
Uber also operates in Bhopal.
The cost of a taxi from the Airport to IISER Bhopal range from Rs. 401 – 1000.
By Train
Sant Hirdaram Nagar station is approximately a 20-minute drive and Bhopal Railway station is about a 40-minute drive from IISER Bhopal.
Visas and vaccination requirements
International attendees may require a visa to enter India. Please ensure you have checked the entry requirements at the Government of India Bureau of Immigration page. We will be in touch with international participants with further information about visa applications. You may require a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you are coming from or have recently travelled from a country listed as a transmission risk. Please see Travelhealthpro’s India Guide for details of medical entry requirements and recommended vaccinations.
Travel insurance
We strongly recommend that all Workshop participants have appropriate travel insurance for their trip, including cancellation cover and medical insurance. We encourage participants to check if travel insurance is provided by their university.
Please find below further information for confirmed participants, including invited speaker, selected speakers, poster presenters. If you have any additional questions, or require further clarification, please contact Christine Phillips, Events and Promotions Manager.
Please also ensure you have read The New Phytologist Foundations event code of conduct.
The exact timings of the workshop programme are still being confirmed, and we hope to share a draft timetable soon. Sessions will start mid-morning on Thursday 11 December, and conclude mid to late afternoon on Saturday 13 December. Social activities may be arranged outside of these times.
The Workshop will take place in the conference centre at the Visitors Hostel IISERB
Full address: Visitors Hostel, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal (IISERB), Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri Bhopal 462 066, Madhya Pradesh, India
17 October – Deadline to confirm attendance for selected speaker and poster presenters, invited speaker to have provided an abstract and talk title.
3 November - Deadline to confirm speakers and poster presenters are happy with the details in the draft abstract book/programme. Final opportunity to update talk details prior to programme publication
3 November - Deadline to confirm accommodation requirements.
8 December – Speaker PowerPoint slides due
We will be producing a digital abstract book, which will be emailed to all attendees, as well as posted here on the Workshop website. A draft will be circulated to speakers and poster presenters on 20 October, and you will be asked to provide any final edits by Monday 3 November.
Keynote speakers have been allocated 30 minutes for their talk and 10 minutes for Q&A (40 minutes total).
Invited speakers have been allocated 15 minutes for their talk and 5 minutes for Q&A (20 minutes total).
Selected speakers have been allocated 7 minutes for their talk and 3 minutes for Q&A (10 minutes total).
The chairs will strictly keep to time, so please assist them in keeping your talk within the allocated time.
To ensure things run smoothly we will be presenting all slides from a single dedicated laptop (PC running windows 10 or 11). You will have a remote to advance your slides.
Please send your slides by Monday 8 December
Please provide your slides as PowerPoint files in a 16:9 slide aspect ratio. If you cannot provide PowerPoint files, please let us know by 1 December so we can provide assistance in converting your slides. If you plan to use speaker notes within PowerPoint, we encourage you to bring a print-out as a back-up in case these do not display properly. If you have created your slides on a Mac, please note that extremely large images/graphs may not display correctly on a PC, please let us know if you have used a Mac to prepare your slides.
A template has been provided, showing the holding slides that will be used before and after your presentation, with a blank slide for you to add your own presentation to. You can download the template at: NPW - Slide speaker slide template.pptx
One month before the Workshop we will send speakers a link to a shared one-drive folder for them to upload their slides.
If your files are larger than 15 MB, please upload to OneDrive or send via an alternative file sharing service. Please note that if you have any video files in your presentation, you should send these as separate files as well as embedding them in your presentation.
Making last-minute changes to your presentation
Please note that all presentation files will be loaded into a central slide deck for each session to ensure things run smoothly. This means that making last-minute changes to your slides will be difficult. For any essential minor corrections, we can make emergency last-minute corrections up to the day before.
Please upload a full corrected PowerPoint to OneDrive AND give/check in person to Christine at the venue. Please check with Christine that they have been received and ideally be present to check your slide deck in the refreshment break prior to your session. Christine will be available throughout to check slide decks.
Full details of the AV set-up are still being confirmed; however, speakers will need to ensure that they use the provided microphones during their talks.
Poster will be displayed for the entire meeting, and there will be dedicated poster sessions and each poster presenter will be allocated to one of the sessions.
Poster guidelines
Posters should be portrait, no larger than A0, or 92cm by 122cm.
Good posters should present complex information in a clear and concise way. Posters that present information well will have graphics with large, clear fonts and images, and attractive backgrounds.
The text and figures should be readable from a short distance of at least one metre. The text presented should be precise and structured with a logical flow to the information.
Posters that are considered to be strong for novelty and quality of the research should concentrate on focused problems, innovative solutions, rigorous methodologies, and should be significant contributions to the meeting.
The New Phytologist Foundation is providing a travel contribution/grant to Workshop participants who are not local. You do not need to provide receipts for your travel, and you are free to arrange your travel in the best way that suits you. Travel grants are paid AFTER a participant’s attendance at the Workshop. The amount of your travel grant was confirmed in your initial invitation letter. Travel grants will be paid by bank transfer directly to the participants nominated bank account. We can also transfer travel grants to your institution, please ask your institution to invoice The New Phytologist Foundation for the amount of your travel grant/contribution.
A few weeks before the Workshop, we will send you a secure online form to provide your details to be reimbursed. We aim to pay travel grants as soon as possible after the Workshop, but payments may take 4-6 working weeks to process, following receipt of the delegate’s bank details. Please note that The New Phytologist Foundation Central Office will be closed over the Christmas period from 24 December to 4 January, re-opening on 5 January, however, we will endeavour to process payments as quickly as possible.
Workshop participants will be provided with accommodation at the Student Hostel, located on the campus of IISER Bhopal. From the Student Hostel it is approximately a 10-minute walk to the Workshop venue. The Visitor Hostel will request to see your passport or ID card on arrival. Further check in details will be confirmed nearer the Workshop time.
The majority of participants will arrive by the evening of Wednesday 10 December or the morning of Thursday 11 December and will check out of accommodation on either Saturday 13 December or Sunday 14 December. Accommodation is arranged for single occupancy, in an en-suite room. Please note that these rooms are located in gender-specific wings, and additional guests cannot be accommodated.
For any requests of accommodation outside of these dates, or requests for alternative accommodation arrangements, we will need to check availability with the Student Hostel and confirm this. Please get in touch with Christine to request any additional nights no later than 3 November.
We will provide the student hostel with a rooming list of guests, and all accommodation queries should be made with Christine Phillips, Events and Promotions Manager.
Please be cautious of any third-party emails that claim to arrange accommodation for the Workshop. We do not work with third parties, and these are often spam or fraud emails. Please let us know if you receive anything like this.
Invited speakers/guests will be provided with accommodation at the Visitors Hostel IISERB, located on the campus of IISER Bhopal. The Visitor Hostel will request to see your passport or ID card on arrival. Reception is open 24 hours for arrivals.
The majority of speakers will arrive by the evening of Wednesday 10 December, and will check out of accommodation on Sunday 14 December. Accommodation will be for single occupancy, in an ensuite room, unless alternative requirements have been requested. Speakers are asked to confirm their accommodation requirements when registering, and to inform Christine as soon as possible if any changes are needed.
For any accommodation outside of these dates, we will need to check availability with the Visitor Hostel and confirm this. Please get in touch with Christine to request any additional nights no later than 3 November.
We will provide the visitor hostel with a rooming list of guests, and all accommodation queries should be made with Christine Phillips, Events and Promotions Manager.
Please be cautious of any third-party emails that claim to arrange accommodation for the Workshop. We do not work with third parties, and these are often spam or fraud emails. Please let us know if you receive anything like this.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and coffee breaks will be provided during the Workshop, as per the schedule. If you have any dietary requirements, please ensure you have provided these when registering. All meals will have vegetarian options as standard.
Workshop dinner – Thursday 11 December
On Thursday 11 December we will hold an off-site dinner at a location to be confirmed. Transport to the dinner venue will be provided. Further details will be confirmed in due course.
All attendees can request a digital attendance certificate. These should be requested when filling out the post-workshop survey, or are available upon request.
New Phytologist workshops are relaxed events with no formal dress code, you should wear what you feel comfortable in. You may want to bring layers for air-conditioned rooms, and slightly cooler evenings. You may want to bring a raincoat/umbrella.
We have set up a participant WhatsApp community, with dedicated channels for participants to discuss coordinating travel arrangements, social chats, and general discussion. Confirmed participants will be sent a link to join the WhatsApp community.
Photography and filming may take place at New Phytologist Foundation events.
The resulting photographs and video footage will be used by the New Phytologist Foundation for the purpose of outreach and promoting their activities and may be published on the New Phytologist Foundation’s website and social media channels.
When events are recorded, recordings will only be made available with the explicit permission of the speaker. In some case the recording publication may be delayed while the speaker awaits publication of their research.
By registering to attend in person you are consenting to appear in photographs and or video content from the meeting.
If you do not want to be photographed or filmed, please ensure you have informed the Event and Promotions Manager at least three weeks prior to the start of the Event.
If you have any concerns, please contact Christine Phillips, Events and Promotions Manager.
Privacy Policy
Please see the Foundation's privacy policy.