The project “PlantaSYST“ – for the establishment of a Center for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology (CSPB) in Plovdiv – is among the five finalists in the prestigious European Commission competition REGIOSTARS 2025 in the category “Competitive and Intelligent Europe“.
A record 266 applications were submitted in this year's edition of the competition. The winners in each category, as well as the winner of the audience award, will be announced during a ceremony on October 15, 2025.
Through the project “PlantaSYST“ was established in Plovdiv. The scientific space has become a modern research unit for plant development, their adaptation to stress, the selection of resistant vegetables and the development of plant compounds for medicine. In parallel, it actively trains doctoral students, connects academia with industry and has contributed to the qualification of over 300 scientists through international mobility.
To date, the center has published over 410 articles in journals such as Cell, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Plants, Molecular Plant and Trends in Plant Science and has participated in 30 national and international projects. It employs over 50 scientists, of whom 12 are doctoral students and 7 are young researchers.
The project is implemented under the Horizon 2020 program and is co-financed with 30 million leva under the Operational Program “Science and Education for Smart Growth“. For the new programming period, its funding amounts to over 13 million. leva under the Research, Innovation and Digitalisation Programme for Smart Transformation.
The European Commission will open the vote for citizens on September 2 at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/projects/regio-stars-awards_en#inline-nav-3