BISMiS Conference 2027

Dates: Tuesday 29 June - Friday 2 July 2027

Location: Northumbria University Business and Law School (CCE1), Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1XA, United Kingdom 

Venue Access: The main entrance to the building is step-free with automatic doors and there is lift access to all floors. A cloakroom, nursing room, quiet room and prayer space will be provided. More information on building access can be found on our AccessAble pages. 

Registration fees: To be confirmed 

Key Dates: To be confirmed 

The full conference programme will be available here once it has been finalised. 

Key Timings

Some key timings for the conference to help you plan your visit are as follows: 

Tuesday 29 June

• Optional excursions
• Street Food Mixer and opening keynote/early career researcher forum 

Wednesday 30 June 

• Conference Day 1
• Pub Quiz 

Thursday 1 July 

• Conference Day 2
• Gala Dinner 

Friday 2 July 

• Conference Day 3
• Buffet/choice of restaurants in town 

Saturday 3 July 

• Optional excursions 

Conference Sessions

Session 1: Early Career Researcher Forum

Chair: TBC

Keynote: Goodfellow-BISMiS Prize Lecture

This opening session provides a platform for PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scientists to present their work to the BISMiS community. Talks will be selected from submitted abstracts and will span the full breadth of microbial systematics, from computational approaches and novel species descriptions to ecological and applied studies. Prizes will be awarded for the best presentations.

Session 2: Beyond Species — Measuring Microdiversity and Its Implications for Microbial Ecology

Chair: Professor Ramon Rosselló-Móra, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Spain

Keynote Speaker: Professor Martin Polz, University of Vienna, Austria

Prokaryotic species harbour extensive genomic and phenotypic variation that current taxonomic frameworks are only beginning to capture. This session explores approaches to measuring intraspecies microdiversity — including strain-resolved metagenomics, population genomics, and pangenome characterisation — and examines how variation below the species level shapes ecological adaptation, niche partitioning, and community dynamics.

Session 3: New Approaches for Delineating Prokaryotic Taxa

Chair: Professor Fanus Venter, University of Pretoria, South Africa

How do we draw the boundaries between prokaryotic species and higher taxa? This session explores emerging computational, genomic, and AI-driven methods for delineating prokaryotic taxa, moving beyond traditional thresholds such as ANI and dDDH. Contributions are welcomed on machine learning approaches, pangenome-based classification, and novel metrics that challenge or refine current species concepts.

Session 4: Microbial Dark Matter — Candidate Phyla and Deep-Branching Lineages

Chair: Professor Brian P. Hedlund, University of Nevada Las Vegas, USA

The vast majority of prokaryotic diversity remains uncultivated and poorly classified. This session focuses on the taxonomy and biology of candidate phyla, ultra-small bacteria, and deep-branching archaeal and bacterial lineages known primarily from environmental sequences. Talks will address how we name, classify, and place these organisms on the tree of life, and what their discovery means for our understanding of microbial evolution.

Session 5: Harnessing Plant Microbiomes — Prokaryotic Systematics Driving Sustainable Solutions

Chair: Professor Martha E. Trujillo, University of Salamanca, Spain

This session bridges systematic discovery and agricultural application, exploring how the classification and characterisation of plant-associated prokaryotes informs strategies for crop health, nutrient cycling, and climate resilience. Talks will address the taxonomy and functional genomics of key plant-associated lineages — including endophytic actinobacteria, rhizobia, and rhizosphere communities — and how microbiome modulation can be translated into sustainable agricultural practice.

Session 6: Impact of Prokaryotic Systematics in Biotechnology

Chair: Professor Wen-Jun Li, Sun Yat-sen University, China

The session makes the case that taxonomy is not just a cataloguing exercise but a gateway to innovation. From bioprospecting for novel enzymes and biosynthetic gene clusters to industrial strain selection and antimicrobial discovery, this session showcases how rigorous prokaryotic systematics underpins and accelerates biotechnological applications across industry, health, and the environment.

Session 7: ICNP, SeqCode, and Beyond

Chair: Professor Iain Sutcliffe, Northumbria University, UK

The rules that govern how we name prokaryotic life are fundamental to everything that follows. This session examines the evolving landscape of prokaryotic nomenclature, including the coexistence of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) and the recently established SeqCode. Talks will assess real-world uptake, interoperability between the two codes, and the governance challenges of naming organisms in an era of sequence-based discovery.

Professor Martin Polz, University of Vienna, Austria

Speaker bio to follow. 

*

Information about keynote speakers will be added here as they confirm. 

Exhibitor and Sponsorship Opportunities

BISMiS 2027 will provide the opportunity to meet with a wide range of professionals and academics from across the UK and around the world, working in the fields of prokaryotic systematics, microbial evolution, ecology and biotechnology. The BISMiS conference in Guangzhou was attended by over 800 delegates from 32 different countries.

There are many different partnership packages and benefit opportunities available at the conference, and we welcome the opportunity to discuss custom partnership packages that best suit your needs.

Download our Sponsorship Opportunities Brochure

International Organising Committee

Vartul Sangal (Conference Chair)

Faye Harland (Conference Manager)

Ramon Rosselló-Móra, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Spain

Fanus Venter, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Brian P. Hedlund, University of Nevada Las Vegas, USA

Martha E. Trujillo, University of Salamanca, Spain

Wen-Jun Li, Sun Yat-sen University, China

Iain Sutcliffe, Northumbria University, UK

Wee Fei Aaron Teo, University of Malaya, Malaysia

BISMiS Executive Board

Wen-Jun Li (President), Sun Yat-Sen University, China

Stephanus Venter (President-Elect), University of Pretoria, South Africa

Wee Fei Aaron Teo (Secretary), University of Malaya, Malaysia

William Barny Whitman (Treasurer), University of Georgia, USA

Martha E. Trujillo (Chair of Bergey’s Manual Trust), Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

Elena Ivanova (Member-at-large), RMIT University, Australia

Iftikhar Ahmed (Member-at-large), National Culture Collection of Pakistan

Lorena Carro (Member-at-large), University of Salamanca, Spain

Kamlesh Jangid (Service Member), Agharkar Research Institute, India

Luis A. Maldonado (BISMiS Representative to ICSP), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico 

Getting here

Newcastle upon Tyne is home to an international airport and is easily accessible by air, rail and road. 

Delegates travelling by train to the workshop are eligible for a 20% discount on LNER trains - to be sent the discount code, please get in touch.

For more information about getting here, please click the image below. 

Special Conference Hotel Rates 

Please check back here shortly for a range of hotels at special rates close by to the conference venue. 

Conference Venue 

The conference will be held in Northumbria University's Business and Law School, the City Campus East 1 (CCE1) Building. 

Accessibility information about the venue can be found here. A cloakroom, nursing room, quiet room and prayer space will be provided. 

Click the image below for a virtual tour of the building. 

Dining 

More information about catering throughout the conference will be posted here. All allergies and dietary requirements will be catered for. 

For any enquiries about the conference, please contact bismisconf@northumbria.ac.uk