Plenary Lectures – IHC2026-International Horticultural Congress

Tetsuya Higashiyama

Tetsuya Higashiyama began his pioneering work on live-cell analysis of plant reproduction at The University of Tokyo, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1999. After serving as an assistant professor in the same department for several years, he joined Nagoya University as a full professor in 2007. During his time at Nagoya, he and his colleagues established the interdisciplinary Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), which brought together biologists and synthetic chemists to advance research on key cell-to-cell signaling molecules in plant reproduction. In 2022, after holding joint appointments at both Nagoya University and The University of Tokyo for three years, Professor Higashiyama fully returned to The University of Tokyo. He currently leads the International Leading Research Program, “Key-Molecule Network in Plant Reproduction (KEPLR),” which involves collaboration with nine principal investigators in Japan and over 20 principal investigators in Europe.

Recent Representative Awards:
2017, Kihara Memorial Foundation Academic Award
2018, Inoue Prize for Science
2018, Chunichi Cultural Prize
2018, Botanical Society of Japan Academic Prize
2020, The Asahi Prize
2024, The Japanese Society of Plant Morphology Award

RGF Richard Visser

Prof. Dr. Richard G.F. Visser is a leading authority in plant breeding and currently serves as a Professor of Plant Breeding at Wageningen University. His research focuses on (i) breeding crops for controlled environmental agriculture and (ii) improving the efficiency and efficacy of breeding programs by deploying new technologies such as genomic information, gene editing techniques, and artificial intelligence. With over 650 publications, 46,600 citations, an H-index of 110, 25 patents, and the supervision of 170 PhD theses, Prof. Visser has made transformative contributions to plant and agricultural Science.

Since 1998, Prof. Visser has held pivotal academic roles, including Chair and Head of Plant Breeding at Wageningen University & Research (2005–2024), Honorary Professor at the Industrial Crop Research Institute of Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China (2016–2024), and Dean of Research at Wageningen University (2016–2018). He has also served as an editor for leading journals, including Euphytica (2002–present), Theoretical and Applied Genetics (2008–present), and Horticultural Plant Journal (2015–present), furthering the dissemination of innovative research in plant breeding.

As shown below, Prof. Visser has served or is currently serving on the membership of numerous organizations: member of the Singapore Food Agency’s Scientific Advisory Panel (2023-2025), Honorary board member and advisor of Shouguang Vegetable Industry Holding Group (China/The Netherlands (2019-2024), elected member of Koninklijke Hollandse Maatschappij der Wetenschappen (2015 for life), board member (2012- present), President (2016-2020) and past President (2020-2024) of EUCARPIA, member of the Academic Board of Wageningen University (2010-2018), and board member and vice chair of the Board for Variety Protection in the Netherlands (2002-2021).

Yves Desjardens

Yves Desjardins was full professor at Laval University, affiliated with the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods. As the Symrise-NSERC Chair on the prebiotic effects of fruits and vegetables, his research primarily centered on the impact of polyphenols in promoting gut microbial homeostasis, supporting gut barrier integrity, and maintaining overall health. He was PI on numerous preclinical and clinical studies focused on type-2 diabetes, cognitive decline, low-grade inflammation, urinary tract infections, and cancer. He published more than 160 articles in peer reviewed journals cited more than 5500 times in the last 5 years (h-index 56).

Dr. Desjardins has been an active ISHS member since 1986. He organized the first International Symposium on Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables in Québec City (FAVHEALTH 2005) under the auspices of ISHS, which led to the creation of the ISHS FAVHEALTH division shortly after. He chaired the IHC-2010 OECD Symposium – “Emerging Topics in Health Effects Fruit and Vegetables”, organized the ISHS International Strawberry Symposium in 2016 and the International Congress on Polyphenols and Health in 2017. He was ISHS Board Member responsible for publications from 2010 to 2018. He received honorary memberships from the Italian Society for Horticulture Science (2013) and ISHS (2018) for is outstanding service to the Society.

Toshihiro Hasegawa

Dr. Hasegawa is an executive researcher at the Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO, Tsukuba, Japan. After graduating from Kyoto University, he worked as an assistant professor at Kyushu Tokai University and an associate professor at Hokkaido University before joining NARO in 2016.

He is a crop physiologist and specializes in environmental crop responses. He recently served as a Coordinating Lead Author of the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.