27 August 2025
BGE Connects to take place next September 30th and October 1st in Brussels
Biodiversity Genomics Connects (Brussels, 30 Sept – 1 Oct, 2025) will be a two-day, two-part gathering to bring together researchers, innovators, policymakers, and stakeholders from across Europe to reflect on the state of the art and the path ahead for biodiversity genomics both in technical and policy-related terms.
1. SYMPOSIUM
Unlocking the power of genomic science for nature and the bioeconomy in Europe (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 30 Sept. – 1 Oct.)
The symposium is the distinctly scientific half of BGE Connects. It is focused on use of DNA methods and genomic science to support biomonitoring, conservation and utilisation of biodiversity – with a special emphasis on what is needed to facilitate mainstreaming and operationalisation of genomic methods for biodiversity across Europe. The meeting will consist of presentations on the state-of-the-art, and the practicalities of deployment, and then lead to discussion sessions aimed at prioritizing actions to guide future progress. Throughout the symposium, we aim to facilitate discussion between researchers, practitioners, policy leads, business, and civil society actors and the meeting also includes a networking reception.
SYMPOSIUM PROGRAMME
All talks in the symposium will be streamed live for the community, with the possibility of sending questions via chat.
Featured Speakers
Claire Carvell
“DNA barcoding for large-scale insect community biomonitoring” (with Mara Lawniczak)
Dr Claire Carvell is an internationally renowned expert on pollinator ecology with over twenty years’ research and project management experience in the Biodiversity and Land Use science area at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. She uses a combination of field observations, experiments, molecular genetics, analyses of long-term datasets, community science and modelling approaches, interacting with a range of stakeholders to improve environmental policy and practice. Claire leads the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme [ukpoms.org.uk] (PoMS) a national citizen-led scheme conducting annual insect surveys since 2017. PoMS has collaborated with the Wellcome Sanger Institute using DNA barcoding to generate DNA-based metrics of insect community change over space and time, and improve reference databases for UK species.
Mara Lawniczak
“DNA barcoding for large-scale insect community biomonitoring” (with Claire Carvell)
Dr Mara Lawniczak is an evolutionary geneticist and senior group leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. She leads the BIOSCAN UK project, she is a co-Investigator on the Darwin Tree of Life project, and she chairs the Earth BioGenome Project Sample Collection and Processing subcommittee. All areas of her research are aimed at gaining an evolutionary perspective on important organisms like pollinators and disease vectors while simultaneously creating valuable data resources for wider communities in conservation and in malaria control.
Leif Andersson
“How population genomics can promote sustainable use of natural populations”
Leif Andersson and his group have made ground-breaking studies on the relationship between genetic and phenotypic variation. He has been working on comparative genomics using domestic animals as models for phenotypic evolution. This has resulted in discoveries of genotype-phenotype relationships such as mutations affecting pigmentation, gaits in horses, comb morphology in chickens and muscle growth in pigs. He has also studied the genetic basis for domestication in rabbits, chickens and pigs. The research program has been expanded to natural populations as exemplified by studies of the evolution of Darwin’s finches and their beaks, a supergene controlling male mating strategies in the ruff and the genetic basis of ecological adaptation in Atlantic herring and other fish species. Leif Andersson is professor in Functional Genomics at Uppsala University and in Animal Genomics at Texas A&M University.
Christina Hvilsom
“From Genomes to Governance: Genetic Diversity Indicators for Biodiversity Policy and Practice”
Christina Hvilsom is a conservation geneticist working at the intersection of genomics, biodiversity, and policy. She has led pioneering initiatives in conservation genetics, developing innovative approaches that connect genomic science with species management and global biodiversity strategies. As coordinator of the EU Biodiversa+ project GINAMO and a member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group, she contributes to advancing genetic indicators for the Convention on Biological Diversity. She also founded the EAZA Biobank, building a genetic resource infrastructure serving more than 450 zoos and aquaria. Her work focuses on ensuring that genetic diversity and genomic knowledge are central to conservation action and policy in Europe and beyond.
Kristine Westergaard
“Monitoring unintentional alien introductions through DNA-based methods”
Kristine Bakke Westergaard is an Associate Professor of Botany at the NTNU University Museum (Norway), working in the intersection of systematics, genomics, and ecology. She is a former PI (now Scientific Advisor) at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, where she led a national monitoring program focused on detecting alien contaminants and hitchhiker species introduced through imported horticultural plants to Norway. With the rapid advancement of DNA-based methods for species and biodiversity monitoring over the past decade, the project tested several approaches to enhance both the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of species identification—especially as traditional taxonomic expertise declines and morphological identification becomes increasingly difficult for some groups. Combining conventional morphological techniques with DNA metabarcoding and barcoding, the program has so far identified over 500 taxa of live invertebrates and approximately 250 taxa of germinated vascular plants as soil contaminants.
Alice Valentini
“Environmental DNA for Business: From Scientific Innovation to Market Practice”
Alice Valentini is co-founder and Head of the Research Division at SPYGEN, a company based in France that develops tools for biodiversity monitoring using environmental DNA (eDNA). She has a PhD in molecular ecology, and her work focuses on the development and implementation of molecular methods to detect species in various environments. She has contributed to research on both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity monitoring and has co-authored numerous scientific publications on eDNA-based approaches. She has also participated in national and international projects aimed at improving the reliability and standardization of eDNA tools for conservation and ecological assessment. She coordinates SPYGEN’s research activities and contributes to partnerships with academic institutions and public agencies.
Tiina Laamanen
“Roadmap for implementing environmental DNA (eDNA) and other molecular monitoring methods in Finland”
Tiina Laamanen works as a Senior Researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute Syke, specializing in the development and implementation of eDNA and other molecular methods for environmental monitoring. She is Syke’s project manager and task leader in the Horizon Europe-funded eDNAqua-Plan project and serves as an eDNA expert in several national and international initiatives. Tiina leads the eDNA task group within the European Metrology Network for Pollution Monitoring (EMN Polmo) and coordinates Finland’s national eDNA network, which brings together over 130 researchers, experts, and industry representatives. She is also actively involved in the standardization of eDNA methodologies through the Finnish mirror group for environmental standardization.
Kristian Meissner
“ Implementation and standardization of molecular monitoring methods”
Kristian has over 20 years of experience in environmental science and management, including 20 years in Finland’s environmental administration. His work focuses on improving aquatic biomonitoring for implementation of water legislation, novel methods like machine learning and eDNA, and strategic policy advice. He led Finland’s environmental monitoring strategy renewal at the request of the Ministry for the Environment and currently manages water management project portfolio funded by the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry. With over 10 years of experience in standardization, he chairs two working groups on eDNA and DNA methods under CEN and ISO, and is a chair in iESTF, an inclusive international platform for molecular method standard seed document development.
2. ROUNDTABLE
Biodiversity innovation: Enabling technology for nature and green growth (Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU (Brussels), 1 Oct.)
Right after the technical sessions, Biodiversity Genomics Connects ‘s roundtable will explore policy-related questions such as: What are the most promising biodiversity genomic innovations for enhancing ecosystem resilience and climate adaptation? What infrastructure is needed to avoid bottlenecks, ensure continuity, interoperability, application, and open access to biodiversity genomic data? How can biodiversity genomic technologies accelerate green growth? Can Europe become a driving force for international collaboration to tackle systemic biodiversity challenges? Addressing these topics across the policy and scientific community will enable us to explore how Europe can better capitalise on the potential of biodiversity genomic innovations for nature and green growth. BGE will organise the policy roundtable in collaboration with Science Business.
The roundtable is a closed meeting. A report summarising the main conclusions of the discussion will be made available after the event.
This event will take place under the patronage of the European Parliament.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Costas Kadis
European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans
Nicolas Gonzalez
Member of the European Parliament for Spain
Pernille Weiss-Ehler
Member of Cabinet for Environment, Water Resilience and Competitive Circular Economy, European Commission
Gilles Doignon
Team Leader Biodiversity & Nature-Based Solutions, DG RTD, European Commission
Eva Mayerhofer
Head of Environment Policy Unit Lead Biodiversity Specialist, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Richard Cronin
Water, Biodiversity and Housing Counsellor, Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU
Paul Hebert
Chief Executive Officer, International Barcode of Life (iBOL)
Ivan Davor Kulis
Head of Unit, Nature Conservation and Observations, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Robert-Jan Smits
President Emeritus Eindhoven University of Technology. Former Director-General for Research and Innovation (RTD) at the European Commission
Faiza Ouhlasen
Associate Director Sustainability, KPMG
Gert Verreet
Chair of Working Group Environment, European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI)
Dimitris Koureas
Chief Information Officer and Managing Director, Digital Strategy and Innovation, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Amber Hartman Scholz
Head of Science Policy and Internationalisation, Leibniz Institut DSMZ
Pete Hollingsworth
Director of Science and Deputy Keeper, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Ana Casino
Executive Director, Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities
David Castle
Researcher in Residence. Office of the Chief Science Advisor, Government of Canada
Camila Mazzoni
Research Group Lead. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research
Andrew Nisbet
Deputy Director Monitoring, Chief Scientist’s Directorate, Nature England
Magda Bou Dagher
Principal Scientist. Mediterranean Facility, European Forest Institute (EFI)
Henri Delanghe
Head of Unit, Research and Innovation, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Marcel Beukeboom
General Director, Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Netherlands)
Pieter Hemels
Director, Futureproof
