Slovenian Biochemical Society in cooperation with Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and European Federation of Biochemical Societies FEBS and Dekon Group as a professional congress organizer, organizes the 45th FEBS Congress from 4th to 9th July 2020 at Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia. More than 1800 participants from 70 countries are expected to attend the congress. At the congress, the latest achievements in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, medicine, immunology and other related sciences will be presented. This is the biggest scientific congress on life sciences organized in the past years in Slovenia and therefore can be regarded as the “Congress of the year 2020”. Ljubljana hosted the FEBS congress already in 1987, therefore to get the opportunity to host the congress in 2020 is an additional confirmation of successful work of Slovenian biochemists and molecular biologists and the promotion of Slovenian science around the world.
The FEBS congress is of great importance for the recognition of Slovenia giving an unique opportunity for presentation of Slovenian scientific achievements and providing a great platform for international scientific exchange and presentation of the latest achievements in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology to broader audiences. Moreover, this congress is a proof that Ljubljana and Slovenia are a suitable place for scientific and technological development. The congress could bring more investments to Slovenia, additional financial resources as well as greater interest of foreign students and scientists for education and research at Slovenian universities and institutes.
The Congress will feature an impressive number of distinguished world-known scientists presenting results in prestigious plenary and five parallel symposium sessions. In addition, the program also includes a range of shorter talks, poster sessions and science-related educational and social topics as well as an exhibition and updates from non-academic partners and industry. The congress will run under the honorary patronage of the president of Slovenia, Mr. Borut Pahor.
Among the plenary speakers it is worth pointing out the plenary speaker, Sir Richard J. Roberts from the USA, Nobel Laureate in Medicine in 1993, who will open the congress. He is the beginner of recombinant DNA technology, which made possible the development of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and consequently unimagined development of biological drugs. Prof. Roberts will present the view of a group of Nobel Prize Laureates, he is leading, on potential and benefits of GMO in biotechnology and medicine and on prejudices that still exists among the general public.
We would also like to expose the closing plenary lecture of prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier from Germany, the author of Crisper/Cas technology, which opened new approaches and horizons in gene therapy. Using this method we can easily and less expensively edit human genome, the discovery was assigned as the most important breakthrough in molecular biology in last two decades. Gene therapy, as being evident in the case of Slovenian young patient Kris, opens unlimited possibilities in treatment of recently incurable diseases.
Slovenian Biochemical Society and Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will also organize a 3-day Young Scientist Forum taking place in Lovran, Croatia before the FEBS congress. Usually, around 100 young scientists are selected to take part in the event, where they can present their research work to an international audience, make contact with others like themselves and exchange ideas in an informal atmosphere.
The specialty of this year’s FEBS congress is the so-called Science on the Street section. The aim of this project is to raise awareness about the importance of science for a society. A special event for the general public on environmental contamination with plastics will take place in English and Slovenian in Ljubljana Old town. More information about the program and participants can be found on dedicated website: https://2020.febscongress.org
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