​Traditional agriculture often falls short when it comes to the sustainable, large-scale production of complex commercial compounds. In this opening-week lecture for the Plant Synthetic Biology Festival, Professor Henrik Toft Simonsen explores how moss synthetic biology provides a powerful, sustainable alternative to classical farming and chemical synthesis.

​Focusing on the model organism Physcomitrium patens, Professor Simonsen will detail how integrating genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics enables precise engineering of moss tissue cultures. Attendees will gain insight into how these green micro-factories bypass agricultural constraints to reliably produce high-value volatile terpenoids used in global perfumes, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

​Speaker Bio

​Professor Henrik Toft Simonsen

​Professor at Jean Monnet University, Member of the Institut Universitaire de France & Co-founder of Tailwind Biotech

​Henrik Toft Simonsen is an internationally recognised expert in plant biochemistry and biotechnology. His research focuses on deciphering and engineering the complex biosynthetic pathways of specialised plant metabolites, particularly high-value volatile terpenoids.

​In addition to his academic leadership at Jean Monnet University and his fellowship with Institut Universitaire de France, Professor Simonsen is the co-founder of Tailwind Biotech, where he applies synthetic biology to solve real-world supply chain and sustainability challenges in the fragrance and pharmaceutical industries.