Hailing from Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, the USA, and Vietnam, the presenters shared details about their work, including biofortification of rice grains through genome editing, improving pennycress seed size and glucosinolate domestication traits, and the production of vanillin from lignin derivatives using the recombinant cell. Below are some of their impressions of the event.

“My training has not considered regulation of agricultural biotechnology at all, so the HLPDAB symposium was an eye-opening experience for me. Although debates about ag-biotech are not new, I left the symposium feeling optimistic about the possibility of future cooperation between APEC economies on ag-biotech regulation.”

“The symposium was such a good experience for me as an early career researcher. I received feedback and advice that will be helpful for my biotechnology career path.”

“As a young scientist from a developing country, I believe GM crops may offer significant improvements to agriculture. This symposium provided a wealth of useful information and clarified the underlying policies for the eventual introduction of GM crops to the market.”

“I had an amazing time attending the HLPDAB symposium, where I gained valuable insights into the current research on agricultural biotechnology. One key takeaway was the importance of a strong enabling environment across APEC economies to ensure that these innovations can make a difference, especially for those who need them the most.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to witness research advancements, recognize the potential global impact of our work, and understand how policy can influence our research direction. The insightful industry perspectives were also truly eye-opening!”

“The symposium was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the biotechnology regulatory framework in the Asia Pacific Economies and share my research aimed at applying CRISPR gene editing to domesticate pennycress. It was a very exciting and fruitful experience.”