Ellen graduated from Ghent University and started her career at ILVO in 2000. Over the course of her academic career, she has been involved in different projects on molecular genetics in azalea, including the development and implementation of several molecular marker techniques. She obtained her PhD (Ghent University) in 2010 on the interaction of phenotype, genotype and gene expression for flower colour and other plant quality traits in azalea. During her PhD, she became an expert in RT-qPCR optimization and analysis for gene expression studies. As such, she is responsible for the set-up of all RT-qPCR projects at ILVO-Plant. She is currently a Senior Researcher at ILVO – Plant Sciences Unit – Applied Genetics and Breeding and is involved in projects on molecular genetics and genomics in several field crops and ornamental plants. Currently, Ellen is working on implementation of the CRISPR/Cas technology in the framework of the ILVO research program. Recently, she has also become one of the contact persons for the open innovation platform of Living Lab Plant.

Tosca received her Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Groningen, after which she started her PhD studies in the area of Evolutionary Genetics at the same university. The scope of her project was the genetic mechanism behind hybrid incompatibilities in diverging species complexes. After receiving her PhD in 2012, she launched her career in plant breeding. She started as Project Lead Allium genetics at Hazera Seeds, located in Rilland, The Netherlands. After focusing on projects related to molecular breeding in various Allium crops, Tosca started leading the Breeding Technology teams of Hazera Seeds based in The Netherlands in 2014. Focal point of these Breeding Technology programs were centered around identifying traits, making them accessible to the breeding programs and optimizing the strategy of bringing these traits to the market. In 2016, Tosca started as Research Director at Dümmen Orange, with the assignment of creating and implementing a strategy on Technology Development and Application tailored to the Dümmen Orange ornamental breeding portfolio. To date, the research team of Dümmen Orange spans over 50 team members worldwide, has access to a state-of-the-art Breeding Technology Centre and has a fully functional project pipeline regarding product and process innovation.

Philipp Aerni is Director of the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS). He is an interdisciplinary social scientist with a particular interest in the role of science, technology, and innovation for sustainable development. In this context, he examines public-private partnerships and their potential as driving forces of sustainable change, provided that the institutional environment is conducive to change through innovation. Prior to his position at CCRS, Dr. Aerni worked at Harvard University, ETH Zurich, the University of Berne, as well as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). As CCRS Director, he closely collaborates with the CCRS advisory board as well as the CCRS team in the design and implementation of the Center’s research, teaching, and outreach activities.

Dr. Pere Arús is agricultural engineer (Universitat de València, 1974) and PhD in Genetics (University of California, Davis, 1984). His areas of expertise include population genetics, crop evolution and plant breeding, and he has specialized in the use of molecular markers and other genomics tools in plant genetics and breeding. His current main interests are in four crops: peach, almond, strawberry and melon, where he works on the genetics and genomics of characters related with fruit quality and disease resistance, and in the development of marker-based breeding methods that allow to circumvent some of the limitations of breeding in clonally-reproduced tree crops. Dr. Arús is autor of more than 200 scientific publications and has had various management-related activities at IRTA: director of the Center of Cabrils (2007-2009) and Chief Scientist (2009-2015). He is one of the initiators of the Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) and was its deputy director (2003-2018).

Tjeerd Overdijk

Partner, Vondst Advocaten, the Netherlands

Tjeerd Overdijk studied Law at Leiden University and has been a lawyer since 1984. With over 25 years of experience, he is an all-rounder in the field of Intellectual Property with a special interest in Plant Variety Rights. He was involved in the world’s first court case on the concept of Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs) and he has gained considerable experience on this subject. He also has experience with litigation before the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office in Angers, France. Tjeerd is a member of various professional associations, including CIOPORA, the Netherlands Copyright Association, the AIPPI, INTA, MARQUES and the European Communities Trademarks Association (ECTA).