Agenda

Day 1 | Tuesday 10 March 2026

10.00 - 10.50 Morning Plenary

Welcome from IBioIC and BBIA: Mark Bustard, CEO, IBioIC, Jen Vanderhoven, CEO, BBIA

Keynote address: Hannah Boardman, Director for Technologies, Growth & Security, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Mark Maslin, Pro-Vice Provost, UCL Climate Crisis Grand Challenge: ‘How biotech can help save our planet’

10.50 - 11.50 Session 1 Rebuilding tomorrow's world with biology

This session will explore how we can make everyday items - from cosmetics to concrete - using biology rather than fossil resources.

Chair: Fiona Mischel, Associate Director of Strategic Development, Holiferm

Speakers:

  • Russ Tucker, CEO, Twig Bio: ‘Making Biotech in Beauty a reality - AI-powered design to deliver the next big ingredients’

  • Alex Neves, CEO, Clean Food Group: ‘Function-specific, sustainable oils and fats, from food waste’

  • Jonathan Edmunds, Sustainability Director, Woodly: ‘Scaling cellulose; a sustainable and high-performance alternative to fossil-based plastic’

  • James MacDonald, CEO, Solena Materials: ‘Next generation sustainable fibres for market-leading apparel’

11.45 - 12.10 Fireside Chat

Getting novel bio-based products to market.

12.10 - 12.35 Tomorrow’s World Showcase Pitches

  • Tim Corcoran, Co-founder & CEO, Deep Blue Biotech: ‘Photosynthetic manufacturing to regenerate the planet’

  • Katherine Manshreck, Senior Sustainability Strategist, Shellworks: ‘Collaborating with nature at scale.’

  • Mark Dorris, Founder & CEO, Mercel Ltd: ‘Bioplastic Polymers for Personal Care Products’

12.35 - 14.00 Networking lunch and poster observation

14.00 - 15.00 Session 2 Feeding the future with biotechnology

This session will look at the factors influencing the adoption of alternative protein.

Chair: Imran Afzal, CEO, National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC)

Speakers:

  • Dr Sonja Billerbeck, Associate Professor, Bioengineering Department, Imperial College London: ‘The promise of alternative proteins’

Panel - Overcoming public perception; regulation; competition for land, formulation:

Chair: Imran Afzal, CEO, NAPIC

  • Dr Sonja Billerbeck, Associate Professor, Bioengineering Department, Imperial College London

  • Derek Stewart, Director, Advanced Plant Growth Centre, Co-Director, NAPIC, The James Hutton Institute

  • Will Milligan, Founder and CEO, Extracellular

  • Evangelos Katsoulis, Senior Policy Advisor for Cell-Cultivated Product Sandbox, Food Standards Scotland

Tomorrow’s World Showcase:

15.00 - 15.30 Session 3 Levelling Up with Biotech: Launchpads Driving Regional Transformation

This session will take a look at the impact of the UKRI Innovate UK Launchpad programme and the Net Zero projects it has supported.

Chair: Alex Blackshaw, Innovation & Growth Specialist, Scottish Enterprise

Speakers:

15.30 - 16.00 Coffee break

16.00 - 16.55 Session 4 Tomorrow’s healthy planet

Who's in the loop? - Water is the lifeblood of the circular economy and this session will focus on how it sits in a continuous renewal with waste, soil and ecosystems. 

Chair: Professor Frederic Coulon, Director, EBIC

Speakers:

  • Elise Cartmell, Chief Scientist, Scottish Water: ‘Water as the Mirror of System health’

  • Pete Vale, Carbon & Circular Economy Architect, Severn Trent: ‘Full Circle: Bio-solids back to Land’

  • Cindy Smith, Professor of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology, University of Glasgow: ‘Sediments, Microbiomes & Coastal Regeneration’

  • Andrew Sullivan, Principal Policy Officer, SEPA: ‘Regulating for Circularity: enabling innovation while protecting Scotland’s environment’

16.55 - 17.10 MSc award presentations and poster winner prize giving

17.10 - 17.15 Day 1 Wrap Up

18.00 - 20.00 Evening Reception at the City Chambers

Day 2 | Wednesday 11 March 2026

10.00 - 10.45 Morning Plenary

Scott Winston, Managing Director and Chief Science and Sustainability Officer, Pulpex, ‘From Concept to Consumer: Reimagining Packaging — The Pulpex Way’

Holly Reeve, CEO & Co-founder, HydRegen, ‘From Breakthrough to Scale-Up: The HydRegen Story’

11.00 - 12.30 Session 5 Workshops

Select from an exciting range of workshops and get useful know-how, insights, and engage and contribute to the discussion.

(Workshop places are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and are open to registered conference delegates only.)

12.30 - 13.45 Networking lunch

13.45 - 14.30 Session 6 The Bio Factor

Channel your inner Simon Cowell and rate our line up of exciting start up pitches.

Chair: Nathan Barnett, Innovation Growth Specialist, Scottish Enterprise

Speakers:

14.30 - 15.00 Coffee break

15.00 - 15.40 Session 7 What’s next for tomorrow’s world?

We have come a long way with biotechnology, but there's so much more out there. From the ocean depths to distant stars, where will biology take us next?

Chair: Nick Challoner, CEO, Ingenza Ltd

Speakers:

  • Natasha Nicolson, CEO, Space Scotland

  • Reuben Carr, Technology Commercialisation Manager, NCIMB

  • Jessica Fox, Film Director, Author, Art & Science Innovator, Co-Founder, Light Dark Light CIC

  • Jen Vanderhoven, CEO, BBIA

15.40 - 15.50 Conference wrap up and close