We are excited to announce the upcoming workshop to be held in Clermont-Ferrand on June 2, 2025!
This event will bring together experts and participants from various fields of rumen microbiota to explore cutting-edge topics and share knowledge in a collaborative environment. With a focus on hands-on learning and interactive discussions, the workshop promises to provide valuable insights and foster connections among professionals.

This workshop is being held alongside the 14th International Gut Microbiology Symposium – 3-5 June 2025.

---

Meet our keynote speakers:

Dr Nikola Palevich, Senior Scientist, AgResearch, New Zealand
Dr Nikola Palevich is a Senior Scientist within the Rumen Microbiology team at AgResearch Ltd. in New Zealand. He holds a PhD in Microbiology from Massey University and currently supervises two Ph.D. candidates from the University of Otago and Massey University. In the past five years, Dr Palevich has obtained and led 13 research projects totalling over €3.4M and is an expert in rumen microbial ecology, genomics, anaerobic fermentation and molecular biology. The main threads of his research are aimed at understanding diverse microbial ecosystems to identify strategies for enhancing plant, soil and animal health coupled with a reduced environmental footprint. His current research focuses on harnessing rumen microbial fermentation and enzyme systems for development of innovative waste-to-energy biotechnology solutions beyond the animal.

Dr Palevich has received multiple honours, including the Science NZ Early Career Researcher Award, KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Award, but also both the AgResearch Ltd. Impact and Outstanding Science Awards. He is currently on numerous commissions of trust and domestic governance roles such as the Impact and eResearch Champion roles at AgResearch Ltd., while serving as an Editor for the Frontiers in Microbiology and BMC Genomics journals. He has authored a book chapter with two pending invention patents, and has hosted visiting scholars from the University of Galway, Teagasc and Universidad Austral de Chile. As an early-career researcher, he has published 47 peer-reviewed SCI articles mostly as first, senior or corresponding author in internationally renowned publications such as Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Cells, Trends in Parasitology and Nature Biotechnology.

Dr. Robert (Rob) Gruninger, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre for Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada
Dr. Robert (Rob) Gruninger was born and raised in Lethbridge Alberta, a small city in Southern Alberta in the heart of cattle country and a short drive to the Rocky Mountains. Dr. Gruninger has been working at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre for Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada since 2012 and currently holds the position of Research Scientist. His research program employs: animal science, “-omics” based techniques, and classical microbiology and biochemistry methods to understand how the rumen microbiome influences feed efficiency, animal health, and enteric methane emissions in beef cattle.

Dr. Yanfen Cheng, Nanjing Agricultural University | College of Animal Science and Technology
Dr. Yanfen Cheng is a professor at Nanjing Agricultural University in China. She obtained her PhD from Nanjing Agricultural University and studied at several universities in UK and US as a visiting scholar. She has been working on ruminal microbiology, especially rumen fungi, for more than 20 years. Her research interest focuses on the regulation of rumen to improve the fiber degradation and reduce the methane emission. She has obtained and led more than 10 research projects and also has funding to support visiting scholars to work at her lab.

---

Registrations are now open at : https://gutmicrobiology-2025.symposium.inrae.fr/forms/registration

More information and programme available below.