27th FAOBMB & 44th MSBMB Conference

Front row, from left: Prof Andrew Wang, Assoc Prof Anthony Ho, Delon Lee, Prof Chang, Prof Lim and Prof Augustine Ong

The 27th FAOBMB Conference and the 44th MSBMB Conference, organised by Malaysian Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (MSBMB), were held in conjunction with IUBMB Special Symposium at Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from 19 to 22 August 2019. The theme of the conference was ‘Biomolecules: Networks & Systems’, with a focus on ‘Mosquito-Borne Illnesses’.

The four-day event featured named lectures and plenary lectures as well as presentations by winners of Mahathir Science Award, FEBS Lecture, FAOBMB Research Excellence Award, FAOBMB Education Award and MSBMB President - Tan Sri Dato’ Kong Hon Kong Award. It served as a platform for scientists and researchers to share their significant research findings and exchange knowledge in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology.

During the launch ceremony

The launch ceremony was officiated by President of Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemist and Molecular Biologist (FAOBMB) Prof Chang Zengyi, President of MSBMB and Organising Chairperson of the conference Prof Lim Yang Mooi, President of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) Prof Andrew H.J. Wang, Senior Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia Academician Tan Sri Emeritus Prof Dr Augustine Ong Soon Hock, Conference Secretariat Assoc Prof Dr Anthony Ho Siong Hock, and Asia Pacific Head of Customer Engagement for Research Solutions Sales for Elsevier Delon Lee.

Prof Lim thanking everyone for the support given

Delivering her welcome speech at the conference, Prof Lim said that the conference was a remarkable achievement for the MSBMB, FAOBMB and IUBMB in their devoted efforts to promote research and education in biochemistry and molecular biology worldwide. “Science recognises no borders and connects people through global scientific meetings, hence this conference can catalyse more research collaborations by leveraging on the research outputs from this region,” she said.

She added, “Through this meeting, it is our hope to highlight more interesting scientific breakthrough and major milestone achievements to spark more collaborative research work and ultimately to instigate novel ideas in each respective research areas. This is crucial to search for more innovative solutions to solve medical problems and reduce disease burden.” She also expressed her gratitude to the international advisory committee, international scientific advisory board, national advisory board, conference organising committee, all partners and participants.

Prof Chang explaining the role of the conference in promoting research and education

Prof Chang, on the other hand, briefly talked about the background of FAOBMB, explaining that the FAOBMB meeting was held for the second time in Kuala Lumpur. According to him, the 28th Conference will be held in June 2020 in Colombo, Sri Lanka; the 16th FAOBMB Congress will be held in 2021 in Christchurch, New Zealand and the 29th Conference will be held in 2022 in Shenzhen, China. In addition, the 26th IUBMB - 17th FAOBMB Congress will take place in Melbourne, Australia in 2024. He highlighted that each of the scientific conferences or congresses is important to promote research and education in biochemistry and molecular biology in the Asia and Oceania area.

Prof Andrew Wang sharing the important mission of IUBMB in supporting various conferences

Also delivering his speech at the conference was Prof Andrew Wang. In his remarks, he said, “To celebrate MSBMS to become an Adhering Body Member of IUBMB, IUBMB provided additional funding support to this conference for a special symposium on recent advances of mosquito-borne diseases.” He explained that mosquito-borne illnesses are an important area to discuss because the incidence of dengue fever has dramatically grown in countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippine. “Biochemistry can do a good job in helping to cure this kind of disease, not only just for dengue but other mosquito diseases as well,” he said.