The conference will take place over two full days 7th & 8th Jan 2026 with registration and poster session on Wed 6th Jan 2026 at 4pm. Information on Conference Programme, speakers and public lecture can be found below.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Details of the full conference will be available when the registration closes. However, it will include the following Plenary Speakers, Keynote Talks and session topics:

Plenary Speakers:

For full details on the speakers and their talk abstract, see Plenary Talks Tab.

Professor Michele Stanley, PI in Applied Phycology SAMS

Talk Title: Domesticating Seaweeds

Dr Dan Smale, Senior Research Fellow of the MBA

Kelp forest dynamics in a rapidly warming ocean

Vincent Laizé, Senior Researcher at the CCMAR

Microalgae for circular and sustainable cell-based food production

Keynote Speakers:

For full details on the speakers and their talk abstract, see Special Talks Tab.

OUTREACH INVITED TALK

Kirsty Crawford Marine Conservation Society

Inland Communities to Ocean Citizens: The ‘One Ocean Roadshow’ engagement model to increase ocean literacy

SPECIAL SESSION LOUGH NEAGH INVITED TALK

Dr Neil Reid, Reader at Queen’s University Belfast

Ecological crisis in UK & Ireland’s largest lake: Lough Neagh Harmful Algal Blooms

Sessions topics:

1.    General Phycology

Taxonomy, ecology, physiology, evolution, biodiversity, and algal biology

2.    Applied Phycology

Cultivation, aquaculture, ecosystem services, industry, bioeconomy, food, feed, and environmental applications

3.    Manton prize (Students only)

The Manton Prize is awarded annually by the British Phycological Society (BPS) for the best postgraduate student oral presentation at its annual scientific meeting. Established in 1993, the prize honours Professor Irène Manton, a pioneering British botanist and phycologist renowned for her contributions to algal research and cell ultrastructure.

The competition provides a valuable platform for early-career researchers to showcase their findings, develop scientific communication skills and gain recognition within the phycological community, while celebrating and encouraging the next generation of phycologists.

4.    Marine Heatwaves

Seaweed restoration, biocarbon, impact of climate change on our coastlines

5.    Marine Biotechnology

(Translating marine resources into commercial applications) 

6.    Lough Neagh Special Session