On Oct 24, at the invitation of the Soil–Plant Interaction Team of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Professor David Jackson from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), USA, visited the institute for an academic exchange. He delivered a lecture titled "Discovery of new factors controlling maize ear development and stress". The session was chaired by Professor Wu Qingyu, and attended by researchers and graduate students from IARRP, the Institute of Crop Sciences, and the Biotechnology Research Institute.

Professor Jackson is a renowned scientist in the field of maize developmental biology. In his presentation, he highlighted the latest advances made by his research group in understanding the regulatory mechanisms of maize inflorescence meristem development and yield-related traits using single-cell sequencing technology. He also shared updates on their ongoing research on heat tolerance in maize.

Following the lecture, Professor Jackson engaged in a dynamic discussion with participants, exchanging insights on frontier topics in plant development and stress biology. His visit further deepened academic collaboration and provided valuable inspiration for ongoing research at IARRP.