UK-Brazil Nitrogen Fixation Centre Start-up meeting November 17th/18th 2016 Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

UBNFC Lead Scientists – Ray Dixon (JIC, Norwich) and Emanuel Souza (UFPR, Brazil). Image courtesy of P. Chaffin.

The first annual meeting of the UBNFC was well attended by members of the network representing all of our Brazilian and UK institutions.

Day one began with an opening ceremony with invited speakers; Russolina Zingalli (Director – Institute of Medical Biochemistry, UFRJ) and Jerson Silver (Scientific Director – FAPERJ), followed by introductory speeches from our Brazilian and UK project leaders, Emanuel De Souza (UFPR) and Ray Dixon (JIC) respectively. All speakers spoke of their huge enthusiasm for this Newton-funded virtual joint centre, their hopes for the success of the research and the challenges that lie ahead.

The rest of the day continued with presentations given by research leads from each institution, setting the scene about where their research fits into the grant. Hearing from each of the project leads gave a real insight into the depth and complexity of the research and really highlighted how the specialities of each research group complement one another.

L-R Euan James (HI), Paulo Ferreira (UFRJ), Fabio Oliveres (UENF), Veronica Massena Reis (Embrapa), Jean Luiz Araujo (Embrapa), Ray Dixon (JIC), Andrew Macrea (UFRJ), Emanuel Souza (UFPR), Adriana Hemerly (UFRJ), Russolina Zingalli (UFRJ), Jerson Silver (FABERJ). Image courtesy of P. Chaffin.

The format of day two was more interactive and was designed to bring the network members together to discuss how best to allocate the workload and to utilise scientific and financial resources more effectively. This was a further opportunity for some of the newer members of the network to understand how this research project will progress over the course of the grant.

Thanks goes to all members of the UBNFC who participated in our first annual meeting. It was agreed by all that it was a very successful event which has provided a catalyst for the research. Appreciation is also shown to Adriana Hemerly and her colleagues for organising the venue and working hard to make this an accomplished event.