December 19, 2025 | This article appears in Volume 61, Issue 3
On behalf of the organizing committee, it is my pleasure to share the highlights from the 2025 ASP Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan! The theme of the meeting was “A Grand Natural Products Adventure/Pharmacognosy Infused Health and Wellness Solutions.” I would like to thank our sponsors including Amway, Waters, Camag, Verdure Sciences, United States Pharmacopeia, Proctor and Gamble (Younger Members Committee), American Chemical Society and the Brady Fund. I would also like to thank the organizing and scientific committees, workshop presenters and session chairs, and, of course, Laura Stoll for helping to make this a successful event.
Our scientific committee brought together a diverse and exceptional group of plenary and invited speakers featuring experts in metabolomics, botanicals, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements, chemical ecology and pharmacology, emerging technologies and methods in structure elucidation, natural products discovery, natural products and pain, and marine/aquatic natural products. Approximately 48% of the speakers in the program were women, including several Audrey S. Bingel Fellows. The program included three well attended Saturday workshops, 32 contributed talks, 16 invited speakers, ten plenary presentations, and 177 posters. Attendees commented on the excellent research presented by the Summer Research Fellows and members of the new ASP Student Organizations. We also included special sessions spotlighting opportunities in industry, government issues, changes to the Journal of Natural Products, our younger members and the untimely passing of Dr. Jason Biggs.
Members attended a special session/townhall addressing the challenges of “Supporting Science During Unscientific Times” in the science community. Members of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee led parallel discussions addressing difficult wording in science when preparing grants and methods for outreach and support efforts by the society and individuals in the scientific community. The American Chemical Society sponsored a session entitled “ACS on Campus: Tips for Scholarly Publishing” with Editor-in-Chief Bradley S. Moore, PhD, Executive Editor Cedric Pearce, PhD, and the associate editors of the Journal of Natural Products and moderated by Senior Associate Publisher Sonja Krane, PhD, American Chemical Society, Publications Division. Drs. Louis Barrows and Valerie Paul joined me in hosting a memorial session, “Chemical Ecology and Pharmacology,” in honor of Dr. Jason Biggs. This session featured Biggs’s collaborators from all stages of his career celebrating his scientific achievements and the friendships he forged along the way. Finally, the “Younger Members Symposium” and “Science in Action” sessions highlighted the research of students and the opportunities in industry for natural products scientists, respectively.
Our awards talks were nothing short of excellent.
Our awards talks were nothing short of excellent. Congratulations to Dr. Amy Wright (Florida Atlantic University) who received the distinguished Farnsworth Award 2025 for her extraordinary career (Exploring the Rich Natural Products Chemistry of Deep-Water Marine Habitats) and Dr. Robin Marles (Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch) who received the distinguished Tyler Prize 2025 for his excellent career (Fitting Pharmacognosy into Regulatory Frameworks—Some Assembly Required).
Congratulations are also due to Dr. Phillip Crews (University of California, Santa Cruz) who received the inaugural Phillip Crews Mentoring Award 2025. A well-deserved award that will continue to celebrate his distinguished contributions as a mentor to young scientists in years to come. Congratulations to the 2024 and 2025 Suffness Awardees, Dr. Vinayak Agarwal and Dr. Neha Garg, respectively, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. These up-and-coming ASP members have made significant contributions to science in the early years of their careers, bringing new innovations to the study of natural products.
Grand Rapids was an excellent host city for ASP 2025. Members enjoyed the many amenities within walking distance of our exquisite hotel. We thank the attendees, organizers and sponsors for making this an exceptional meeting this year! We look forward to a fantastic meeting in Denver in 2026. 