Global Agri-Food
Scientific Symposium

Organised by

Supported by

Date & Time:

5 – 6 November 2025 (Wed – Thu)
9:00am – 5:30pm

Venue:

Level 4, Peony Ballroom
Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore

The event aims to bring together researchers, scientists and technology providers to encourage the exchange of knowledge and catalyse scientific discussions amongst those with an interest in the food ecosystem. This platform serves to advance cutting edge science, technology and innovation, and foster collaboration to build agri-food capabilities for climate-resilient and sustainable food ecosystems.

Programme Agenda DAY 1

(5 November 2025)
TIME PROGRAMME AGENDA
8:30am - 9:30am
Registration
9:30am - 9:40am Opening Address by Guest-of-Honour

Mr Zaqy Mohamad
Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment
9:40am - 10:20am Keynote

Brain Organoids and Organoid Intelligence

Professor Thomas Hartung
Professor, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
10:20am - 11:00am Keynote

Professor Lovedeep Kaur
Associate Professor, Massey University
11:00am - 11:30am Tea Break
SESSION 1
Nutrition and Consumer Acceptance
Breakout Session 1: Aquaculture
11:30am – 12:10pm Keynote

Healthy and Palatability: A Mouthful Challenge to Future Food Design

Dr Chen Jianshe
Head of Department (Food and Sensory Division), Singapore Institute for Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), A*STAR
12:10pm – 12:30pm Technical presentation

Effects of Health Literacy, Nutrition Knowledge, and Food Technology Neophobia on Sustainable Protein Acceptance

Professor May Oo Lwin
President’s Chair Professor of Communication Studies at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University
12:30 pm – 12:50 pm Technical presentation

Beyond Processing: Reframing Nutrition in the Age of Alternative Proteins

Dr Anneline Padayachee
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, University of Queensland
12:50 pm – 1:10 pm Technical presentation

Dietary (Poly)phenols for Healthy Aging: Beyond Antioxidants

Professor Ana Rodriguez-Mateo
Reader (Associate Professor), King’s College London
1:10pm – 2:30pm Lunch & Networking (Research Poster Exhibition)
SESSION 2
Agriculture
Breakout Session 2: Future Foods
2:30 pm – 3:10 pm Keynote

Cereal Production in Controlled-Environment Agriculture

Professor Senthold Asseng
Professor for Digital Agriculture, Technical University of Munich
3:10 pm – 3:30 pm Technical presentation

Microclimate Control to Increase Productivity and Nutritional Quality of Leafy Vegetables in a Cost-effective Manner

Professor He Jie
Associate Professor, National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University
3:30 pm – 3:50 pm Technical presentation

Utilising Plant Bioelectrical Signals and Electrical Stimuli for Precision Environmental Control and Crop Yield Enhancement in Controlled Environment Agriculture

Professor Myung Min-Oh
Professor, Chungbuk National University
3:50 pm – 4:20 pm Tea Break
SESSION 3
Aquaculture Feed
4:20 pm – 4:40 pm Technical presentation

Beneficial Fatty Acids for Fish and Consumers – An Aquafeed Perspective

Professor Alexander Chong
Aquaculture Scientist, Northland Aquaculture Centre, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
4:40 pm – 5:00 pm Technical presentation

The Role of Encapsulation Systems in Furthering Singapore’s Aquaculture Plan

Professor Joachim Loo
Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
5:00 pm – 5:20 pm Technical presentation

From Genome to Feed: Artemia as a Model for Aquaculture Innovation

Dr Stephanie De Vos
Researcher / Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Programme Agenda DAY 2

(6 November 2025)
TIME PROGRAMME AGENDA
SESSION 4 Future Foods
9:30am – 10:10am Keynote

Precision Fermentation for the Sustainable and Economic Production of Food Ingredients

Professor Yong Su-Jin
Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
10:10am – 10:30am Technical Presentation

Development of Cultivated Meat: Drawing Lessons from Tissue Engineering and Polymer Processing

Professor Tan Lay Poh
Associate Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
10:30am – 10:50am Technical Presentation

Pursuing Low-cost and Stable Large-scale Production of Cell-cultured Fish Meat

Professor Huang Xiao
Associate Professor, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University
10:50am – 11:20am Tea Break
SESSION 5
Aquaculture Management Breakout Session 3: Agriculture
11:20am – 12:00pm Keynote

Developments in Genomics and Potential Applications to Barramundi Breeding

Professor Nicholas Robinson
Senior Scientist, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima)
12:00pm – 12:20pm Technical presentation

Red-spotted Grouper Nervous Necrosis Virus Infection Mediated by Myosin Light Chain 3 through Macropinocytosis: Insights and Therapeutic Interventions

Professor Jia Kuntong
Professor, Sun-Yat Sen University
12:20pm – 12:40pm Technical presentation

Strengthening Aquaculture Resilience through Vaccines

Dr Ken Loh
Senior Scientist, Pathogen Immunobiology Laboratory, A*STAR
12:40pm – 2:00pm Lunch
SESSION 6
Agriculture/Plant Genetics
Breakout Session 4: Food Safety
2:00pm – 2:20pm Technical Presentation

Dr Lin Ya-Ping
Omics Breeder, World Vegetable Center
2:20pm – 2:40pm Technical presentation

Developing Tomato Varieties for Indoor Farming

Dr Yin Zhongchao
Senior Principal Investigator, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory
2:40pm – 3:00pm Technical presentation

The Journey to Develop Climate-proof Kimchi cabbage

Professor Kim Jinhee
Research Scientist, Department of Vegetable, National Institute of Horticulture and Herbal Science (NIHHS)
3:00pm – 3:30pm Tea Break
SESSION 7
Food Safety
3:30pm – 3:50pm Technical presentation

The Marine Biotoxine Okadaic Acid Inhibits Cytochrome P450-dependent Xenobiotic Metabolism by NF-κB Activation and Subsequent Induction of the JAK/STAT Pathway

Dr Albert Braeuning
Group Head (Research), Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR)
3:50pm – 4:10pm Technical presentation

Emerging Innovations in Predictive Toxicology for Risk Assessment in Food Safety

Professor Eric Chan
Deputy Head (Research), Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore
4.10pm – 4.30pm Technical presentation

Micro-Bioreactor-Enhanced Organ-on-a-Chip: A Human-Mimetic Platform for Food Toxicity Testing

Professor Shireen Goh
Associate Professor, Singapore University of Technology and Design
4:30pm – 4:40pm Closing Remarks by IHL Organising Chair (A*STAR)
4:40pm – 6:00pm Networking Cocktail


2025 Speaker Lineup

Zaqy Mohamad

Senior Minister of State
for Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore

Thomas Hartung

Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Director, Centers for Alternatives to Animal Testing

Lovedeep Kaur

Associate Professor,
Massey University

Chen Jianshe

Head of Division (Food and Sensory Science), Singapore Institute for Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), A*STAR

May Oo Lwin

President’s Chair Professor of Communication Studies at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University

Centre Director, Asian Centre for Health Behavioural Insights and Interventions (HABITS)

Anneline Padayachee

Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, University of Queensland

Founder, The Food and Nutrition Doctor

Ana Rodriguez-Mateo

Professor, King’s College London

Senthold Asseng

Professor for Digital Agriculture, Technical University of Munich

Director, World Agricultural Systems Center

He Jie

Associate Professor, National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University

Myung Min-Oh

Professor, Chungbuk National University

Alexander Chong

Aquaculture Scientist, Northland Aquaculture Centre, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Joachim Loo

Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University

Dr Stephanie De Vos

Researcher / Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Yong Su-Jin

Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Tan Lay Poh

Associate Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University

Huang Xiao

Associate Professor, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University

Nicholas Robinson

Senior Scientist, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima)

Professor, Aquaculture Genetics, Deakin University Australia

Jia Kuntong

Professor, Sun-Yat Sen University

Ken Loh

Senior Scientist, Pathogen Immunobiology Laboratory, A*STAR

Lin Ya-Ping

Omics Breeder, World Vegetable Center

Yin Zhongchao

Senior Principal Investigator, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory

Kim Jinhee

Research Scientist, National Institute of Horticulture and Herbal Science (NIHHS)

Albert Braeuning

Group Head (Research), Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BfR)

Professor, Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany

Eric Chan

Deputy Head (Research), Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore

Shireen Goh

Associate Professor, Singapore University of Technology and Design

*Agenda, speakers and panelists are subjected to changes

Registration

    GLOBAL AGRI-FOOD SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM 2024 HIGHLIGHTS

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