RNA interference in Agriculture: Basic Science to Applications

Guy Smagghe is a professor at the Ghent University in Belgium. His major research interests are in the areas of insect physiology, biochemistry and (eco)toxicology with a focus on more fundamental topics and also applications impacting on the field of insect pest control. Dr. Smagghe has been the author or coauthor of about 480 research publications and books. His research has been continually supported by grants from the Ghent University, IWT and FWO, and he continues to serve in different national and international committees related to his research interests. He was awarded for his professional work by the prestigious First Prize of the Belgian Royal Academia of Arts, Sciences and Linguistics, and he is an elected fellow of the Society of In Vitro Biology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  
 
Dr. Subba Reddy Palli received his doctorate from the University of Western Ontario and post-doctoral training at the University of Washington. He worked as a research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service’s Great Lakes Forestry Centre and later at Rohm and Hass Company. as the senior research scientist and played a key role in development of Ecdysone Receptor based Gene Switch technology. Dr. Palli joined the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology as an assistant professor in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor and professor in 2005 and 2008, respectively. He became Chairman of the Department of Entomology in 2015. He also serves as the co-director of NSF I/UCRC on Arthropod Management Technologies and Kentucky State Entomologist.  He has received several prestigious awards including a University Research Professorship, the Thomas Poe Cooper Research Award, Bobby Pass Excellence in Grantsmanship Award, High Impact Research/Extension Award and Wethington Award. Dr. Palli is also the recipient of Entomological Society of America (ESA) Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Nan Yao Soo Award for Innovation and Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award. He was selected as a fellow of ESA and AAAS.  Dr. Palli’s research focuses on hormonal regulation of gene expression in insects with a goal to identify proteins that play key roles in signal transduction of ecdysteroids, juvenile hormones and other hormones and use them for developing novel environmentally safe pest management methods. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and co-edited two books.  He holds 25 patents. Recent research from Dr. Palli’s laboratory helped to develop RNA interference technology-based methods for controlling insect pests as well as to fight insecticide resistance in beetles.

Luc Swevers is research director (Insect Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology research group) at the Institute of Bosciences & Applications, National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos", Athens, Greece. His work involved the characterization of the RNAi machinery in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and lepidopteran cell lines, especially with respect to its role in antiviral defense. More recent research relates to the application of virus-like particles as delivery vehicles of dsRNA and the role of piRNAs during baculovirus (B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus) infection.