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Program Symposium

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

25-Year Anniversary of RNAi for Pest Management: Milestones and Prospects – Foundational Science

Sunday, November 9, 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 251, OCC

Oral Presentation Poster Display

With the Silver Year Anniversary of RNAi Discovery, the symposium highlights the basic science and current state of RNA interference (RNAi) in insects. This symposium will include landmark topics from basic mechanistic aspects of RNAi in arthropods.

Presentations:

  • 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Pacific
    Tools for functional genomics screens in drosophila and other arthropods

    Presenting Author: Norbert Perrimon (he/him/his) – Harvard University

  • 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM Pacific
    Molecular mechanisms underlying RNAi in Western corn rootworm: From dsRNA uptake to systemic spread

    Presenting Author: Ana Velez (she/her/hers) – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-Author: Marija Milosevic – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-Author: Molly Darlington (she/her/hers) – Minnesota Department of Agriculture

    Co-Author: Arnubio Valencia-Jiménez – Universidad De Caldas

    Co-Author: Kristopher Silver (he/him/his) – Kansas State University

    Co-Author: Blair Siegfried – Pennsylvania State University

  • 8:45 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific
    The design of dsRNA sequences for pest control: From choosing the target gene to the optimization of the sequence

    Presenting Author: Gregor Bucher

    Co-Author: Cedden Doga РUniversity of G̦ttingen, Germany

    Co-Author: Ben Büer – Bayer Crop Sciences

    Co-Author: Ralf Nauen – Bayer Crop Science

    Co-Author: Sven Geibel (he/him/his) – Bayer Crop Science

  • 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM Pacific
    A platform for anti-pest nucleic acid engineering based on piRNA-mediated gene silencing.

    Presenting Author: Alex S. Flynt

    Co-Author: Kevin R. Quito (he/him/his) – University of Southern Mississippi

    Co-Author: Santosh Poudel – University of Mississippi

    Co-Author: Amir Raza – University of Arizona

    Co-Author: Burcu Balaban – University of Southern Mississippi

    Co-Author: Tristan Clemons – University of Southern Mississippi

    Co-Author: Judith Brown – University of Arizona

  • 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific
    Innovative RNAi approaches for sustainable management of corn rootworm: Insights from midgut gene targets

    Presenting Author: Amit Sethi – Corteva Agriscience

  • 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM Pacific
    A quarter century in the labyrinths of RNAi: From molecular insight to field application

    Presenting Author: Umut Toprak (he/him/his) – Ankara University

  • 9:45 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific
    RNAi yeast insecticides: A new class of eco-friendly insecticides for effective control of urban and crop pests

    Presenting Author: Molly Duman Duman Scheel (she/her/hers)

    Co-Author: Teresia Njoroge – Indiana University School of Medicine

    Co-Author: Akilah Stewart – Indiana University School of Medicine

    Co-Author: Majidah Hamid-Adiamoh – Indiana University School of Medicine

    Co-Author: Longhua Sun – Indiana University School of Medicine

  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific
    Poster session
  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific
    Advancing RNAi technologies against recalcitrant insect pests

    Presenting Author: Ibrahim A. El-Shesheny (he/him/his) – University of Tennessee

    Co-Author: Cris Oppert – AgroSpheres

    Co-Author: Ameer Shakeel (he/him/his) – AgroSpheres

    Co-Author: Joseph Frank (he/him/his) – AgroSpheres

    Co-Author: Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes – University of Tennessee

  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific
    Inhibition of EV biosynthesis disrupts systemic RNA interference responses in Diabrotica undecimpunctata

    Presenting Author: Festus Ajibefun – Kansas State University

    Co-Author: Xiufeng Zhang – Kansas State University

    Co-Author: Marija Milosevic – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-Author: Kun Yan Zhu – Kansas State University

    Co-Author: Berlin Londono-Renteria – Tulane University

    Co-Author: Yoonseong Park – Kansas State University

    Co-Author: Ana Velez (she/her/hers) – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Co-Author: Kristopher Silver (he/him/his) – Kansas State University

  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific
    Insights into systemic RNAi: The role of extracellular vesicles in Western corn rootworm

    Presenting Author: Ana Velez (she/her/hers) – University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific
    Layered double hydroxide nanosheets for improving RNA interference efficiency in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella

    Presenting Author: Rachel Leigh Johnson (she/her/hers) – Kansas State University

  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific
    Responses of non-target arthropods to the dsRNA bioinsecticide calantha and conventional insecticides targeting Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)

    Presenting Author: Erik Wenninger (he/him/his) – University of Idaho

  • 10:30 AM - 10:45 AM Pacific
    Innovations in nano-delivery of interfering RNA to enhance RNAi efficiency in insects

    Presenting Author: Kun Yan Zhu – Kansas State University

    Co-Author: Rachel Leigh Johnson (she/her/hers) – Kansas State University

  • 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific
    Targeting rickettsial pathogen transmission from ticks

    Presenting Author: Girish Neelakanta, PhD – University of Tennessee

  • 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM Pacific
    Characterization of extracellular vesicles in fall armyworm cells as potential transport of RNA

    Presenting Author: Guy J. Smagghe (he/him/his)

    Co-Author: Dongdong Liu – Guizhou University

    Co-Author: Jialing Liu – Guizhou University

    Co-Author: Yuqian Cheng – Guizhou University

  • 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM Pacific
    RNAi as an antiviral defense mechanism in lepidoptera: Can it be harnessed for pest control?

    Presenting Author: Luc Swevers (he/him/his)

  • 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM Pacific
    Unraveling RNAi for control of mites in agriculture and apiculture

    Presenting Author: Eric R.L Gordon (he/him/his) – GreenLight Biosciences

    Co-Author: Emma De Neef – GreenLight Biosciences

    Co-Author: Vladimir Zhurov – University of Western Ontario

    Co-Author: Vojislava Grbic (she/her/hers)

    Co-Author: Zachary Lamas – USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory

    Co-Author: Jay Evans – USDA-ARS

    Co-Author: Steven Smith – GreenLight Biosciences

    Co-Author: Katie Youngs – GreenLight Biosciences

    Co-Author: Ken Narva, PhD – GreenLight Biosciences, Inc.

  • 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific
    From the two-spotted spider mite genome to RNAi-based acaricide: How fundamental science leads to applied products

    Presenting Author: Vojislava Grbic (she/her/hers)