Trailblazer Lecture 
The Trailblazer Lecture celebrates a scientist whose work has advanced beyond early-career recognition. It shines a light on a rising leader whose trajectory points unmistakably toward lasting impact and excellence at the highest level:
MARKITA DEL CARPIO LANDRY, UC Berkeley
Associate Professor Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Neuroscience
The Landry Lab’s work develops synthetic bio-mimetic nanocomposites to impart control over nanomaterial interactions with biological systems for two applications:
- to exploit the intrinsic nanomaterial infrared fluorescence for molecular imaging, and
- to exploit the highly tunable chemical and physical properties of nanomaterials for targeted delivery of biological cargoes.
Markita earned her bachelor’s degrees at the University of North Carolina, where she majored in both chemistry and physics. She moved to the University of Illinois for doctoral studies and earned a Ph.D. in chemical physics. Markita was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral scholar at MIT and performed research at both the Technical University of Munich and Osaka University.
In 2016, she was appointed to the faculty at Berkeley. She heads the Landry Lab on Optical Nanomaterials & Single-Molecule Research Group.
HANS CLEVERS, Basel/Utrecht
Head of pharma Research and Early Development at Roche & Professor in Molecular Genetics at University Utrecht
Prof. Hans Clevers has been the Head of Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), since 2022. In this role, he is responsible for the strategy, development and management of all aspects of early research and discovery at pRED. He also serves as a member of the expanded Corporate Executive Committee for Roche.
He holds a professorship in Molecular Genetics from the University Utrecht. Hans Clevers is also currently an advisor/guest researcher at the Hubrecht Institute, where he was group leader from 2002 until 2022. He remains engaged with his former lab, now the Organoid group.
He is world-renowned for his work in the fields of cell biology, molecular signaling and stem cells. His research groups’ discoveries include the detailed characterization of the molecular effectors and integrators of the “Wnt” pathway, which play crucial roles in health and disease. His group provided important insights into the roles of the LGR5 protein in stem cell regeneration. The Clevers’s group pioneered organoids with their seminal work.
He is the recipient of multiple international scientific awards, including the Breakthrough Prize in Life Science. Hans Clevers is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (NL), the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the Royal Society (UK) and the Academie des Sciences (France). He is also Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, among many other international accolades.
Basic Timeline
- 30 Sep. 2025 | Opening Abstract Submission
- End of October | Opening of Registration
- 18 Nov. | Deadline Abstract Submission
- 5 Jan. 2026 | Notification to Presenters
- 21 Jan. | Early Bird Registration Deadline