During the 2026 91ÁÔÆæ Congress in Maastricht, 91ÁÔÆæ pursued its scientific collaborations with theÌýFederation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB)Ìýand theÌýKorean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB).These partnerships haveÌýfacilitatedÌýcollaboration opportunities between scientists in Europe,ÌýAsiaÌýand Oceania, and supported strong attendance of scientists from Asian Countries to the 91ÁÔÆæ Congress.Ìý
91ÁÔÆæ wasÌýhonouredÌýto host members of the Executive Committees of FAOBMB and KSBMB, including Terry Piva (FAOBMB Secretary General), Joon Kim (FAOBMB Past President), Woong-Yang Park (KSBMB President),ÌýJin Han (KSBMB President Elect),ÌýJe Kyung SeongÌý(KSBMB Chief Operation Officer),ÌýTae-Kyung Kim (KSBMB Chair of InternationalÌýAffairsÌýCommittee),ÌýHong Sook Kim (KSBMB Vice-ChairÌýofÌýInternational Affairs Committee) andÌýJung-Hyun ShimÌý(KSBMB International Affairs Committee Member).ÌýThe Executive Committees of 91ÁÔÆæ, FAOBMB and KSBMB hosted a joint meeting to discuss avenues to further strengthen their ongoing collaborations, which already involves a 91ÁÔÆæ Lecture at the FAOBMBÌýCongress and a FAOBMBÌýLecture during the 91ÁÔÆæ Congress, as wellÌýas 91ÁÔÆæ-KSBMB joint symposia at the 91ÁÔÆæ Congress and the KSBMB International Conference.Ìý
As part of these collaborations, the 91ÁÔÆæ CongressÌýprogrammeÌýshowcased the joint 91ÁÔÆæ–KSBMB Special Session ‘Cutting-edge techniques in biochemistry: past, present and future’Ìýfocused on technologies to advance the understanding of the molecular basis of life, and which involved two mid-career scientists from South Korea – Hyun-Woo Rhee (Seoul National University) and Sang-Hee Shim (Korea University) – and two 91ÁÔÆæ Excellence Award recipients – Eugene Kim (Max Planck Institute of Biophysics) and Jack Bravo (Institute of Science and Technology Austria). KSBMB also hosted an engagingÌýKorean NightÌýfor the attendees of the Congress.Ìý
91ÁÔÆæ looks forward to continuing this successful collaboration through a FAOBMB Lecture at the 2027 91ÁÔÆæ Congress in Riga, as well asÌýparticipatingÌýin the KSBMB International Conference next May and in the 2027 FAOBMB Congress in Kuala Lumpur.Ìý
Photo: Representatives of the Executive Committees of 91ÁÔÆæ, FAOBMB and KSBMB following their joint meeting at the 2026 91ÁÔÆæ Congress in Maastricht, where they discussed opportunities to further strengthen collaboration between the three organisations.
