Speakers at the Millennium Seed Bank

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is dedicated to collaborate nationally and internationally. Experts are invited to deliver authoritative talks to the staff, covering various aspects of science and conservation.

Contact Dr Tiziana Ulian (t.ulian@kew.org)

List of past speakers


No	Date	Speaker	Affiliation	Title of talk
80	7 Dec 2011	Dr Hans-Peter Mock	IPK Gatersleben, Germany	Proteomics to evaluate genetic resources for stress defence responses
79	23 Nov 2011	Dr Isolde Ferraz	Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Brazil	Working with tropical tree seeds – the experience of the Amazon Seed Network
78	9 Nov 2011	Dr Uwe Fischer	KWS Saat AG, Germany	Production, processing and quality of sugar beet seed
77	21 Jun 2011	Dr Tiziana Ulian	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Project MGU - The Useful Plants Project
76	10 May 2011	Dr Philip Goodwin	TREE AID, UK	Tackling Poverty and Protecting the Environment in the Drylands of Africa
75	20 Apr 2011	Dr Annette Büttner-Mainik	University of Freiburg, Germany	Basic and applied research on sugar beet seeds
74	28 Mar 2011	Dr Steven P.C. Groot	Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands	The damaging effects of oxygen on seed viability are underestimated
73	8 Dec 2010	Dr Hardy Rolletschek	IPK Gatersleben, Germany	From seed formation until germination - new approaches to study seeds
72	17 Nov 2010	Prof Michael Hutchings	University of Sussex, UK	The intimate life of the early spider orchid: sex, indolence .... and climate change
71	8 Sep 2010	Dr Sebastian Bopper	University of Hohenheim, Germany	Measuring seed oxygen consumption during imbition - a non-destructive measuring tool?
70	7 Jul 2010	Dr Paul Smith	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	A virtual tour of the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard
69	19 May 2010	Dr Nick Lane	University College London, UK	Life in the Universe: Chance or Necessity?
68	10 May 2010	Dr Gerard Courtin	Laurentian University, Ontario, Canada	Forensic Investigation: A botanical and ecological perspective on the crime scene
67	14 Apr 2010	Filip Vandelooks	University of Leuven, Belgium	Seed germination ecology of temperate woodland herbs
66	17 Mar 2010	Manuela Nagel	IPK Gatersleben, Germany	Parameters related to seed longevity in cereal seeds
65	24 Feb 2010	Susan Allan	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Inspiring the next generation, the work of Wakehurst Place Schools & Families Programme
64	21 Jan 2010	Dr Paul Smith	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	A beginner’s guide to biodiversity and Kew’s Breathing Planet Programme
63	9 Dec 2009	Giles Laverack	SCOTIA SEEDS, UK	Commercial Wildflower Seed Production
62	11 Nov 2009	Dr Christopher West	University of Leeds	DNA repair: roles in germination and seedling growth
61	28 Oct 2009	Dr Julia Buitink	University of Angers / INH / INRA, France	Desiccation, dormancy and defence in legume seeds
60	9 Oct 2009	Ernst van Jaarsveld	Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, SANBI, Republic of South Africa	Cape Agulahs (southernmost part of RSA) to Angola
59	30 Sep 2009	Dr Steven Penfield	University of York, UK	Environmental control of seed germination and growth
58	17 Jul 2009	Prof Paul van Gardingen	University of Edinburgh, International Development Centre, UK	Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Poverty Alleviation: Is conservation the answer?
57	15 Jul 2009	Dr Stephen Elliott	Forest Restoration Research Unit, Chiang Mai University, Thailand	Research for restoring tropical forests – building new partnerships
56	3 Jun 2009	Prof Neil Baker and Prof Phil Mullineaux	University of Essex, UK	Physiological and genetic responses of plants to high light
55	19 May 2009	Ada Linkies	University of Freiburg, Germany	Dormancy and germination of the endospermic seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana and Lepidium sativum (garden cress)
54	6 May 2009	Dr Wanda Waterworth	University of Leeds, UK	A pivotal role for peptide transporters in barley seed germination
53	7 Apr 2009	Kate Hardwick	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Linking ex-situ and in-situ conservation through ecological restoration
52	18 Mar 2009	Phil Seaton	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	The future of orchids in a warming world
51	5 Feb 2009	Lindsay Robb	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Sudbury, Ontario: A history of the world's largest ecological restoration project
50	14 Jan 2009	Dr Andreas Börner	Leibnitz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben	The German ex situ gene bank in Gatersleben – conservation and research
49	10 Dec 2008	Diana Pound BSc MSc MIEEM (IUCN Commissioner)	Diana Pound and Associates	An introduction to the Ecosystem Approach
48	10 Oct 2008	Prof Steve Adkins	University of Queensland, Australia	The biology and management of Parthenium weed: A pan tropic invasive weed now affecting the native and agro-ecosystems of Australia, Pakistan and Ethiopia
47	17 Sep 2008	Dr Alan Tunnacliffe	University of Cambridge, UJ	Eighty million years without sex: the dry life of the bdelloid rotifer
46	24 Jun 2008	Dr Craig McGill	Massey University, New Zealand	Seed storage of New Zealand’s endemic flora
45	19 Jun 2008	Renee Tuckett	University of Western Australia, Western Australia	Seed germination and storage behaviours of Western Australian vernal pool species are not typical for the South Western Australian Botanical Provenance
44	19 Jun 2008	Dr David Coates	Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia	Western Australia’s flora: origins, rarity, threat and recovery
43	19 May 2008	Kerstin Mϋller	University of Freiburg, Germany	The significance of cell-wall-loosening during germination of Lepidium sativum (cress) seeds
42	29 Apr 2008	Prof Olivier Leprince	University of Angers / INH / INRA, France	Analysis of desiccation tolerance in Medicago trunculata seeds
41	6 Mar 2008	Dr Enrique Jurado Ybarra	University de Nuevo León, Mexico	North-eastern Mexico: seeds, environment and people
40	24 Jan 2008	Dr Louise Colville	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	The role of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in plants
39	6 Dec 2007	Dr Oscar Lorenzo-Sanchez	University of Salamanca, Spain	Hormonal regulation of seed dormancy and germination: From beechnuts to Arabidopsis seeds
38	5 Oct 2007	Prof Sir Gordon Conway	Department for International Development and Imperial College, London, UK	Ecology and hunger
37	3 Oct 2007	Prof Ani Nkang	University of Calabar, Nigeria	Antioxidant enzyme systems in stored seeds of some tropical Australian species and research priorities for sustainable development in the Cross River National Park, Nigeria
36	25 Jul 2007	Zhitao Liang	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Identification and Quality Evaluation of Herbal Medicines in China - A Case Study of Oldenlandia diffusa (Rubiaceae)
35	4 Jul 2007	Prof Steve Adkins	University of Queensland	Coconut: Conservation and Utilization of the 'Tree of Life’
34	20 Jun 2007	Prof Francoise Corbineau	Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France	Storage of seeds: Basic and applied aspects
33	18 May 2007	Dr Steven Franks	University of California, Irvine, USA	Resurrecting stored seeds to capture evolution in action
32	18 Apr 2007	Bob Dixon	Kings Park and Botanic Gardens, Perth, Western Australia	Translocating declared rare flora back into the wild
31	11 Apr 2007	Prof Georg Grabherr	University of Vienna, Austria	Observing climate change in alpine environments
30	22 Mar 2007	Dr Anil K Goel	National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow, India	The Botanic Garden at the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (India)
29	22 Mar 2007	Dr L B Chaudhary	National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow, India	Taxonomic revision of Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) of India
28	13 Mar 2007	Dr Anara Umralina	Kyrgyz National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyzstan	Seed banking in Kyrgyzstan
27	23 Feb 2007	Oliver Whaley	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Returning the shade to Peru's southern coastal desert
26	14 Feb 2007	Dr Pam Berry	University of Oxford Centre for the Environment, UK	Climate change: sowing the seeds of uncertainty
25	17 Jan 2007	Dr Daisy Dent	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Using native tree species to restore forest in Panama
24	13 Dec 2006	Dr Elizabeth G King	Princeton University, USA	Ecological restoration in a Kenyan pastoralist community: innovations and obstacles?
23	13 Dec 2006	Dr Sarah Ashmore	Griffith University, Nathan Queensland, Australia	The Queensland tropical flora: seed conservation challenges and progress
22	23 Nov 2006	Dr Pietro Iannetta	The Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee	Intraspecific functional-variation in wild plants: is it ecologically significant?
21	8 Nov 2006	Dr Gerhard Leubner-Metzger	University of Freiburg, Germany	Seed diversity and mechanisms that control germination
20	4 Oct 2006	Ann Chapman	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Encounter with the mountain
19	8 Sep 2006	Prof Diethart Matthies	University of Marburg, Germany	Genetic and demographic consequences of habitat fragmentation and alteration for plants
18	21 Jun 2006	Prof Christine Foyer	Rothamsted Research, UK	New perspectives on the acclimation of C4 plants to CO₂ enrichment: implications for climate change
17	3 May 2006	Dr Sandra Knapp	The Natural History Museum London, UK	Solanaceae: genomics meets biodiversity
16	26 Apr 2006	Prof Christophe Bailly	Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France	Seed metabolism in the dry state – ageing and dormancy alleviation
15	22 Mar 2006	Susanne Claessens	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK and University of Wageningen, The Netherlands	ESR-spin probe study of dormancy cycling in seeds of Sisymbrium officinale
14	22 Mar 2006	Elly Vaes	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Morphological solutions to seed germination problems in the Rubiaceae
13	8 Mar 2006	Patrick Mulvany	Practical Action, UK	Agricultural biodiversity - the basis of life and livelihoods
12	8 Feb 2006	Kit Strange	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Collecting in Kananaskis Country
11	8 Feb 2006	Richard Wilford	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Propagation for Conservation in Chile
10	11 Jan 2006	Keith Manger	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Seed banks, big and small
9	7 Dec 2005	Prof Timothy Flowers	University of Sussex, UK	Salinity: have we got the plants to deal with it?
8	28 Nov 2005	Anderson Cleiton José	Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brazil	Restoration of riparian forest in Minas Gerais, South-East Brazil
7	28 Nov 2005	Sibidou Sina	University of Wageningen, The Netherlands and CNSF, Burkina Faso	Reproductive biology and genetic Diversity of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) G. Don in Africa
6	15 Nov 2005	Richard Scott	Landlife / National Wildflower Centre, UK	Landlife, Creative Conservation, and the National Wildflower Centre
5	11 Nov 2005	Jie Cai	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Latest news on the Millennium Seed Bank Project China programme
4	11 Nov 2005	Janice Golding	University of Oxford, UK	Seed behaviour as an example of life history predictions in statistical and artificial intelligence models
3	4 Aug 2005	Stephanie Miles	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Madagascar – the QMM littoral forest restoration project
2	4 Aug 2005	Sharon Laws	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK	Sleeping with the enemy?
1	4 Aug 2005	Dr Pedro Leon	Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Chile	Ex situ Conservation of the endemic and threatened species of the desert and Mediterranean regions of Chile