The 2026 CAST Annual Meeting & Student Innovation Conference opened Monday, Oct. 26, at Grant’s Farm in St. Louis, hosted by Bayer.
The evening began with the Student Innovation Conference poster session. Thirteen graduate and undergraduate students from six universities presented their research to members of CAST’s Board of Directors, Strategic Advisory Council and workgroups. The topics ranged from cell-cultured fishmeal for aquaculture and AI tools that monitor sow body condition to photosynthesis in African soybean and consumer perceptions of plant-based yogurt.
A panel of judges scored each poster using CAST’s competition rubric. The top three received cash awards:
- First place ($1,000): Rabia Ahuja, University of Missouri, for research on multiplex prime editing with expanded targeting in rice
- Second place ($500): Jacie Legois, Iowa State University, for research on bell pepper production in a Midwestern agrivoltaic system
- Third place ($250): Rashid Sulleiman, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, for research on how pennycress affects the life cycle of soybean cyst nematode
After dinner, Giles Oldroyd, president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, gave the keynote address. Courtney Knupp, CEO of the United Soybean Board, joined a featured conversation.
CAST also presented Suraksha Baral, a Ph.D. student at The Ohio State University, with her CAST Science Communication Scholarship trophy.
The meeting continues Tuesday with CAST’s joint business meeting and listening session at the Bayer Chesterfield Campus, followed by a campus tour, lunch hosted by Bayer, and visits to the St. Louis Zoo and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. On Wednesday, the Board of Directors and Strategic Advisory Council meet to plan for 2027.
CAST thanks Bayer for hosting the meeting, and BASF, Corteva, Syngenta and Vylor for supporting the conference.
See the full program: cast-science.org/2026-cast-annual-meeting
