By Levi McGarry, College of Arts and Sciences
The Washington State University School of Biological Sciences (SBS) is proud to host this year’s annual Plant Cell Dynamics Meeting in Pullman from June 2-5. A key colloquium within the field of plant cellular biology, the gathering in Pullman is the first time this event has been held in the western United States.
“This conference is different in that it promotes talks and research from early-career researchers, like our undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral staff,” said Cecilia Rodriguez Furlan, assistant professor in SBS and a member of the PCD organizing committee. “It’s a small gathering completely focused on networking and sharing research and building a positive community within the field.”
While the main focus is on early-career researchers, Rodriguez Furlan points out that many leading scientists and researchers also attend to share insights and perspectives with early researchers. A key feature of the conference is a presentation from a National Science Foundation (NSF) funding officer, who briefs attendees on the latest research priorities from NSF and answers questions about the grant application process and receiving feedback from proposal reviews.
“Getting funding support from NSF for these events is not easy, because it is very competitive,” said Rodriguez Furlan. “It’s very valuable for us to receive the funding, which is completely directed towards the attendance costs for those early-career researchers.” Although the NSF provides some funding for the meeting, Rodriguez Furlan and her colleague Andrei Smertenko were able to receive additional support from the WSU Office of Research, SBS, and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Additionally, several private corporations also stepped up with financial assistance for the Plant Cell Dynamics Meeting.
“We gathered a lot of interest from companies, which is unusual for these types of focused conferences,” said Rodriguez Furlan. “But we’re thrilled to welcome the corporate support from Oxford Instruments, VWR, and Cytoskelton, Inc., as well as from journal publishers Elsevier and CellPress.”
Although the meeting focus is on impactful research, there’s also plenty of excitement around the opportunity to showcase the resources and beauty of WSU and the greater Palouse. “We have great laboratories, a beautiful landscape, and an amazing community,” said Rodriguez Furlan. “We want to encourage graduate researchers to consider Washington State University as a destination for their work and careers.”
Registration for the Plant Cell Dynamics Meeting in Pullman, WA, is open through May 15th. For more information, visit the 2026 Plant Cell Dynamics website, which is updated with the Pullman meeting details.