Conference: Plant Cell Dynamics

The Plant Cell Dynamics Meeting is an annual conference run since 2012 that has served as the only North American forum dedicated to advancing fundamental understanding of plant cell function across biological scales, species, and environmental conditions. The 2026 meeting will be held at Washington State University in Pullman, WA, from June 2–5. The program will include keynote lectures, research talks, poster presentations, workshops, and structured discussion sessions. It is carefully designed to address recent advances across diverse areas of plant cell biology and emerging technologies. Special emphasis is placed on professional development of early-career scientists, with opportunities for students, postdoctoral researchers, and recently appointed faculty to present their work and receive critical feedback. Participants will gain training in scientific communication and critical thinking, as well as build the network of professional contacts. These activities will strengthen preparation of workforce with deep expertise in biotechnology and bioinnovations for careers paths in academia, industry, and government. The meeting will also contribute to leveraging fundamental knowledge for the development of technologies that address societal challenges. Discussions on the application of artificial intelligence in cell biology will contribute to aligning the U.S. research community with activities directed at creating an AI-driven economy. The Plant Cell Dynamics 2026 meeting will advance mechanistic understanding of the molecular and cellular processes that govern plant cell architecture, polarity, division, and intracellular trafficking. The central objective is to accelerate the integration of molecular genetics, high-resolution imaging, biophysical approaches, and computational modeling to address fundamental questions in plant cell biology across spatial and temporal scales. The program includes two focused workshops: (i) AI-driven image analysis and quantitative modeling of cellular dynamics, and (ii) advanced genome editing strategies for functional dissection of cellular processes. Together, these components promote rigorous coupling of experimental and computational frameworks, aligning with the core priorities of the NSF. A defining feature of the meeting is the prioritization of early-career researchers as primary speakers and poster presenters, facilitating rapid dissemination of emerging methods and critical evaluation of new conceptual frameworks. Senior investigators will provide integrative perspectives that define key knowledge gaps, theoretical challenges, and opportunities for methodological innovation. Emphasis on AI-enabled quantitative imaging directly addresses current bottlenecks in high-throughput analysis and predictive modeling of cellular behavior. In parallel, discussions of genome editing and targeted perturbation approaches will strengthen experimental rigor and expand the toolkit for functional analysis. Collectively, the meeting will catalyze advances that connect subcellular dynamics to emergent physiological properties and developmental regulatory networks at the whole-plant level. This award is funded by the Cells, Development, and Physiology Section of the Directorate for Biological Sciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2613267 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Andrei Smertenko | Institution: Washington State University, PULLMAN, WA | Award Amount: $15,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2613267 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2613267.html