Session Chair:
Jack Saddler, University of British Columbia, Canada

Keynote Speakers:
Johanna Buchert, President and CEO of Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Kiyo Igarashi, University of Tokyo, Japan
Natacha Mongeau, Manager Business Development, FPInnovations, Canada

Session Chairs:
Maija Tenkanen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Orlando Rojas, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Bioproducts, Scientific Director of the Bioproducts Institute, University of British Columbia, Canada

Speakers:
09:35 Francisco Vilaplana (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden): Enzymatic crosslinking of cereal hemicelluloses for a new generation of bioactive functional materials.
09:55 Keith Gourlay (Performance Biofilaments, Canada): Industrial uses for nanofibrillated cellulose.
10:15 Tomohiro Kuga (University of Tokyo, Japan): Enzymatic synthesis of cellulose in space.
10:30 Renate Weiß (BOKU, Austria): Enzymatic synthesis of lignin-based carriers and coatings for sustainable agriculture.

Session Chairs:
Orlando Rojas, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Bioproducts, Scientific Director of the Bioproducts Institute, University of British Columbia, Canada
Maija Tenkanen, University of Helsinki, Finland

Speakers:
11:15 Marcelo C.S. Muguet (Lignin and Biorefineries Technology Center, Klabin, Brazil): Biorefineries at Klabin – moving towards the future.
11:35 Heloisa Ramires (Suzano, Brazil): Lignin biorefineries: development of lignin processes and applications.
11:55 Carla Vilela (CICECO, University of Aveiro, Portugal): Lignosulfonates & bacterial nanocellulose: a partnership to engineer ion-conducting membranes for fuel cells.
12:15 Grant Allen (University of Toronto, Canada): Lignin-based flocculants for improved biosludge dewaterability.
12:35 Yaman Boluk (University of Alberta, Canada): Electrospinning of lignin suspensions in polymer solutions and their applications.

12:55 General Discussion

Session Chairs:
Kristiina Kruus, Dean - School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland
Harry Brumer, Michael Smith Laboratories and Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Canada

Speakers:
14:05 Alex Michine (MetGen, Finland, presented by Sami-Pekka Rantanen): High-value bio-based solutions from lignin fractions.
14:25 Jean-Guy Berrin (INRAE, France): Fungal copper radical oxidases: bioconversion of long-chain alcohols and biological role in phytopathogens.
14:45 Maria Cleveland (University of British Columbia, Canada): Fungal Copper Radical Oxidases: Exploring native activities and switching carbohydrate regiospecificity.
15:05 Maija Tenkanen (University of Helsinki, Finland): Xylooligosaccharide-acting CAZy AA3 dehydrogenases as specific biocatalysts for upgrading xylan fragments to added-value materials.

15:25 General Discussion

Session Chair:
Emma Master, University of Toronto, Canada & Aalto University, Finland

Presenters:
Victoria Collins (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada): Lignin hydrolysis products as biostimulatory amendments for in-situ bioremediation of hydrocarbon impacted sites.
Sebastian Mayr (BOKU, Austria): Functionalization of technical lignins by distinct laccases.
Anupama Sharan (University of Toronto, Canada): Developing a screening pipeline to uncover robust multicopper oxidase enzyme candidates for surface-activation of industrial lignins.
Jessica Virginia (BOKU, Austria): Bacterial Auxiliary Activities Family 3 and their importance in lignin degradation.
Megan Wolf (University of British Columbia, Canada): A cytochrome P450 O-demethylase for the biocatalytic valorization of lignin.
Katharina Duran (Wageningen University, Netherlands): Oxidation-driven lignin removal during Agaricus bisporus’ mycelial growth.
Jessie Novak (University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA): Galactomannan utilization by Cellvibrio japonicus relies on a single essential α-galactosidase encoded by the aga27A gene.
Lisanne Hameleers (University of Groningen, Netherlands): Exploiting polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) for the discovery of novel carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes).

Session Chair:
Chris Walton, CEO of the Centre of Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy, CRIBE, Canada

Panelists:
Ludo Diels (VITO, Belgium)
Florian Graichen (Scion, New Zealand)
Andrew Kee (Woodbridge Group, Canada)
Matyas Kosa (West Fraser, Canada)
Megan McCormick (AFRY, USA)
Mojgan Nejad (Michigan State University, USA)

Session Chairs:
Harry Brumer, Michael Smith Laboratories and Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Canada
Kristiina Kruus, Dean - School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland

Speakers:
10:30 Anne Meyer (Technical University of Denmark, DTU, Denmark): Lignin polishing with enzymes.
10:50 Miriam Kellock (VTT, Finland): High thermal stability and surface glycosylation protects a GH11 xylanase from lignin-derived inhibition.
11:10 Jinguang Hu (University of Calgary, Canada): Photo-bio catalysis for biomass valorization.
11:30 Claire Dumon (Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, France): Two different aspects of natural multi-modular diversity within a xylan utilization locus to investigate catalytic synergism.
11:50 Birte Svensson (Technical University of Denmark, DTU, Denmark): Making efficient transglycosylases using a sequence-based rational enzyme design.

12:10 General Discussion

Session Chair:
Emma Master, University of Toronto, Canada & Aalto University, Finland

Presenters:
Sora Yamaguchi (University of Tokyo, Japan): Effects of charged residues at active site on catalysis of GH6 cellobiohydrolase.
Louison Dumond (INSA Toulouse, France): Assessing the potential of aerobic and anaerobic microbial consortia derived from termite gut microbiome for lignin bioconversion.
Shilva Shrestha (JBEI, USA): Growth of Achromobacter isolates on lignolysates from sorghum and poplar.
Fantahun Bitew (University of Alberta, Canada): Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by Pseudomonas putida KT2440 from lignin and glycerol.
Conor Scott (University of York, UK): Fungus to fuel the future: understanding the variable lignocellulose degrading secretome of Parascedosporium putredinis NO1.

Session Chairs:
Lindsay Eltis, Canada Research Chair in Microbial Catabolism and Biocatalysis, University of British Columbia, Canada
Guillermina Hernandez-Raquet, Research Director INRAE, Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, France

Speakers:
14:05 Davinia Salvachua (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA): Conversion of lignin-derived aromatic compounds by white-rot fungi.
14:25 Yoichi Honda (Kyoto University, Japan): CRISPR/Cas9 and functional analysis of lignin modifying enzyme genes in white-rot fungus, Pleurotus ostreatus.
14:45 Ronald de Vries (Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Netherlands): Conversion of lignocellulose components to high value compounds using fungal cell factories.

Session Chairs:
Guillermina Hernandez-Raquet, Research Director INRAE, Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, France
Lindsay Eltis, Canada Research Chair in Microbial Catabolism and Biocatalysis, University of British Columbia, Canada

Speakers:
16:05 Tim Donohue (University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA): Mining bacterial genomes to generate products from lignin aromatics.
16:25 Majid Haddad Momeni (Aalto University, Finland): Functional diversity of microbial expansin-related proteins for lignocellulose processing.
16:45 Laura Navas (University of British Columbia, Canada): Acetovanillone catabolism and the biocatalytic valorization of lignin.

17:05-17:15 General Discussion

Session Chairs:
Seema Singh, Director of Biomass Pretreatment and Process Development & Deputy VP of Deconstruction Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute and Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories, USA
Warren Mabee, Canada Research Chair in Renewable Energy Development and Implementation & Director of the Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, Queen’s University, Canada

Speakers:
08:40 Lisbeth Olsson (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden): Microbial robustness and its role in lignocellulosic yeast bioconversion.
09:00 Steve Singer (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA): Phosphoketolase alters sugar and aromatic metabolism in Pseudomonas putida.
09:20 Johann Gorgens (Stellenbosch University, South Africa, presented by Somayeh Farzad): Technoeconomic benchmarking and ranking of bio-based products, such as fuels and chemicals.
09:40 Dagem Haddis (University of Alberta, Canada): Enzymatic co-production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and fermentable sugars.
10:00 Blake Simmons (Joint BioEnergy Institute, USA): Flying the future: sustainable aviation fuels at the Joint BioEnergy Institute.

10:20 General Discussion

Session Chair:
Emma Master, University of Toronto, Canada & Aalto University, Finland

Panelists:
Merja Penttilä (VTT, Finland)
Greg Rampley (Natural Resources Canada, Canada)
Orlando Rojas (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Blake Simmons (Joint BioEnergy Institute, USA)