Laura Bacete Cano (left) and Anna Renström (right) received prizes at the SPPS Conference 2026 in Helsinki. Photo left: Courtesy of Laura Bacete Cano. Photo right: Anne Honsel.
Laura Bacete Cano and Anna Renström from Umeå Plant Science Centre were among the researchers recognised with prizes at this year's conference of the Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society (SPPS) in Helsinki. Laura received the SPPS Early Career Prize, while Anna was one of two recipients of the SPPS PhD Thesis Prize.
Plant scientists from across the Nordic countries and beyond gathered in Helsinki in August for three days of talks, posters and discussions at the SPPS Conference 2026. Several UPSC researchers contributed to the scientific programme, which concluded with the presentation of the SPPS prizes.
Laura Bacete Cano received the SPPS Early Career Prize, which recognises early-career scientists in the Nordic countries for significant independent contributions to plant biology. Her research focuses on how plants sense changes and damage in their cell walls and respond to maintain cell wall integrity. As part of the prize ceremony, Laura took the stage to present her research on the mechanisms regulating plant cell wall homeostasis.
“I’m very grateful to SPPS,” says Laura Bacete Cano. “An award like this always reflects the efforts not only of the awardee, but also of many people around them – my colleagues and current group members in Umeå and Trondheim, those I worked with during my PhD and postdoctoral years in Madrid and Trondheim, and of course my family and friends for their support.”
Anna Renström was one of two recipients of this year's SPPS PhD Thesis Prize. The prize is awarded for recently defended PhD theses from the Nordic countries. In her doctoral research, she showed that nitrate not only stimulates growth in aspen but also affects wood formation, including wood cell size and lignification.
“I’m honoured to receive this prize, and to get acknowledgment for the hard work that I and everyone involved have put into this,” says Anna Renström. “Nitrogen responses, especially responses to nitrate, in relation to wood formation are far from understood, but I’m glad to have contributed at least a little bit!”
Three other UPSC researchers gave talks during the conference. Hannele Tuominen was one of the invited speakers and presented her research on xylem development. Aswin Nair spoke about the control of tree bud break, while PhD student Franziska Brunozzi talked about her work on tracking carbon fluxes in aspen.
The SPPS Conference is held every second year. The next meeting will take place in Stockholm in August 2028.
More information:
Laura Bacete Cano's research
News about Anna Renström's PhD thesis
Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society (SPPS)