Plenary speakers
We are delighted to welcome the following plenary speakers to Ento26.
Prof. Corrie S. Moreau, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Photo credit: Roberto Keller-Perez
Ants, Plants, and Bacteria: Symbiosis as a Driver of Evolutionary Diversification
Dr. Corrie S. Moreau is the Moser Endowed Professor of Entomology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University and Director and Head Curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection.
Dr. Moreau earned her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University and for her postdoctoral work was a Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Before this she completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at San Francisco State University.
Dr. Moreau’s work focuses on the evolution of species interactions and features a broad range of taxa including insects, plants, fungi, and microbes, especially those that symbiotically associate with ants. She couples tropical fieldwork with genomic tools to address the origin of species and how symbiotic systems evolve. She has been a leader in the field of insect phylogenetics, comparative genomic analysis of ant-plant interactions, biogeography and trait evolution, and insect-associated microbiomes to better understand broad-scale evolutionary patterns of life. She has published over 130 scientific papers, including 5 book chapters. In addition to her passion for scientific research, Dr. Moreau is also actively engaged with efforts to promote science communication and increase diversity and inclusion in the sciences.
Dr. Moreau has received numerous awards including being elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in 2021, a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in 2020, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018, a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, a National Geographic Explorer in 2014, and highlighted as a Woman of Impact by the National Geographic Society in 2018. In addition, she has one genus and three species named after her!
Prof. Yamni Nigam, Swansea University, Wales
Maggots, microbes, and molecules: The healing toolkit of a blowfly
Yamni is a Professor in Biomedical Sciences at Swansea University and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Here, she teaches anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology to a wide range of health professionals including nurses, healthcare scientists and paramedics.
Yamni graduated from Kings College, London and then undertook a Master’s degree in Applied Parasitology and Medical Entomology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. After successful completion of her doctorate at Swansea University and a post doctorate position at Fundaco Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2001, Yamni established the Swansea University Maggot Research Group, focusing on the medicinal maggot, Lucilia sericata, and the molecules involved in larval therapy. Her team have published widely on the scientific findings on the antimicrobial activity of larval secretions, and on the wound healing properties of maggots and have identified a potent new antimicrobial factor, Seraticin®, from maggot secretions.
Yamni is an author of over 80 peer reviewed articles, book chapters and papers and is an Elected Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and the Royal Society of Biology. She is also currently leading a project investigating public understanding and perception of the clinical use of maggots on wounds. As such, she has established the “Love a maggot!” campaign, a major public engagement movement, which aims to raise awareness and change perception of maggot therapy, for the public, wound practitioners and school children.
Yamni was selected to participate in the elite Welsh Crucible Programme, promoting the development of future Research Leaders in Wales. She is an Athena Swan Champion and a Diabetes Community Champion. She is a trained STEM Ambassador, delivering interactive sessions on microbiology and entomology to pupils at local schools.
In 2018, Yamni was awarded the National WISE Award for Innovation, presented by HRH The Princess Royal, and she was selected as one of the WISE20 women in 2020. She was also voted a finalist for her Women in STEM role for the Welsh Chwarae Teg Womenspire awards. In July 2021, Yamni was awarded a prestigious, student nominated, Swansea University Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award. More recently, she has been invited to work with Welsh Government on the Women in STEM Education sub-group, to better understand and promote gender and ethnic minority equality in STEM education and careers. In 2024, Yamni was shortlisted for a Research and Innovation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Civic Mission.
Yamni has featured in numerous media, radio and TV reports and interviews. In 2018, she acted as a maggot consultant for four episodes of the BBC Medical drama Casualty. In 2022, she worked with BBC Doctors to incorporate maggot therapy into an upcoming episode aired in July 2023. She was interviewed and featured recently for BBC Countryfile (09/03/2023) about her work to change the negative perception of maggot therapy. In 2023, following publication of her research on the perception of Maggot Therapy by nurses, she was interviewed live on BBC Radio 4 Today by Mishal Husain. In November 2025, she was invited to interview by Adrian Masters on his Face-to-Face programme, talking about her life, her scientific contribution to Welsh life, and her love of maggots!
Prof. Seirian Sumner, University College London
Photo credit: Justin Griffiths
Talk title TBC
Seirian’s work sits at the interface of behavioural ecology, biodiversity and conservation. She uses a combination of field ecology and genomic techniques to address a range of questions on the ecology and evolution of insect sociality, life-history and behaviour. She is especially interested in wasps – their diversity and evolution, role in ecosystems and our own relationships with them. She is working hard to raise the profile of these ecologically important insects, among both scientific and lay communities.
As part of these efforts, she co-founded the Big Wasp Survey in 2017 – a citizen science project designed to engage the public with the diversity and importance of social wasps in their back yard; and in 2022, she published a popular science book, “Endless Forms: Why You Should Love Wasps”.
She holds a BSc and PhD from University College London, has worked as a postdoc in Copenhagen, held independent research fellowships from the Smithsonian Institute, RCUK, and the Zoological Society of London. She was Senior Lecturer at University of Bristol form 2012-2016; Reader at University College London from October 2016-Oct 2020; and Professor of Behavioural Ecology at UCL from October 2020 until present. She was awarded a L’Oreal for Women in Science Fellowship Award in 2007.
Seirian is a passionate science communicator and works hard to help tackle inequality in science: she co-founded Soapbox Science in 2011 to help promote the visibility and profile of women in science. This initiative has expanded nationally and internationally to over 25 destinations worldwide involving over 600 female scientists. Through this initiative, she has received several awards, including recognition from the UK Prime Minister (Points of Light Award), a Silver Medal from the Zoological Society of London and the first Equality and Diversity award from the British Ecological Society.
