NoCaSS 2025: Fostering collaboration among early career researchers in plant and microbial sciences

by Gaia Galiberti (John Innes Centre)

The Norwich-Cambridge Student Symposium (NoCaSS) marked another successful year in 2025, bringing together early career researchers (ECRs) from across Norwich Research Park and the University of Cambridge for scientific exchange, collaboration, and professional development.

Held on 4–5 September 2025 at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge University, the symposium highlighted the strong ties between two of the UK’s leading centres for plant and microbial science. Supported by generous sponsors, including the Centre for Microbial Interactions, NoCaSS 2025 attracted over 100 participants for an engaging programme of talks, posters, workshops, and networking activities.

A decade of connecting research communities

NoCaSS was founded in 2013 by two PhD students at the John Innes Centre and alumni of the University of Cambridge. Recognising the geographical proximity and shared research strengths of Norwich and Cambridge, they envisioned a student-led event that would bridge the two communities.

What began as a one-day exchange of ideas, has since evolved into a two-day meeting eagerly anticipated by researchers across the region. Over more than a decade, NoCaSS has remained an ECR-focused initiative that champions open discussion, collaboration, and innovation in a friendly and supportive environment.

A vibrant scientific programme

This year’s symposium offered a diverse and stimulating programme, reflecting the breadth of research undertaken across both campuses. Sessions were organised around key themes including Metabolism, Immunity & Pathogens, Symbiosis & the Microbiome, Genome & Epigenome, and Photosynthesis. Talks and poster presentations showcased the latest advances in plant and microbial biology, spanning a wide array of disciplines.

The keynote lecture was delivered by Dr Saima Shahid, Lecturer in the School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield. Using the parasitic plant Cuscuta as a model, her landmark study provided evidence on how small RNAs can regulate gene expression across species boundaries (Shahid et al., 2018, Nature). Ultimately, her work could inform future RNA-based crop protection strategies.

Exploring careers, policy, and entrepreneurship

Dr Shahid also shared her career trajectory through a panel discussion, which brought together professionals from diverse backgrounds to share their experiences and advice to the NoCaSS ECR audience. The panellists’ insights into career paths spanning academia, industry, policy, and communication encouraged lively discussion and inspired attendees to explore new directions in their own professional journeys.

Complementing this session, industry representatives from New England Biolabs and Novogene gave short talks, providing valuable insight into how academic discoveries translate into commercial innovation. New for 2025, NoCaSS hosted a dedicated session on Research in Policy and Entrepreneurship, highlighting opportunities for researchers to engage with the innovation ecosystem. Presentations from Nucleate and the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) offered valuable perspectives on how science, policy, and enterprise intersect to drive real-world impact. These talks encouraged participants to think creatively about translating research into products, startups, and societal benefit.

Looking ahead

Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees praising both the scientific and professional development value of the sessions, as well as the friendly and inclusive atmosphere that fostered meaningful networking.

“NoCass 2025 was a fantastic conference with an impressive array of high-level research. The programme was very well thought out, with many opportunities for science discussion and networking, as well as a particularly good careers panel session. The organisation was stellar, with great communication, accommodation and catering throughout; I would especially like to highlight the team’s responsiveness to accessibility requests. I will be recommending this conference to my colleagues.” – NoCaSS 2025 Attendee

Growing every year, NoCaSS continues to strengthen collaboration across the Norwich-Cambridge research ecosystem, empowering the next generation of scientists to share knowledge, explore innovation, and grow together as a community.

If you would like to know how to get involved with the organisation of NoCaSS 2026, please email JIC.NoCaSS@jic.ac.uk.