IUBMB President’s 2011 report Representation and scientific meetings: Jan 27-29 in Paris Opening Year of Chemistry Feb 6-9 Miami Winter Symposium Award of the IUBMB Medal to Emma Whitelaw (Queensland Institute for

Medical Research, Australia) March 9-17 Basra (Iraq) promoted an agreement for Research and Training Cooperation between the Jean

Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (HNRCA) and The Medical College, Basrah (Iraq)

May 2, in Philadelphia Participation in the Memorial Meeting commemorating Britton Chance May24-28.Seville Participation in the “Transatlantic Meeting” in preparation of the Seville Congress in 2012John

Mattick, Institute for Molecular Bioscience The University of Queensland Brisbane, Australia Aug 2-5 organization of a scientific symposium in S. Juan Puerto Rico as part of collaboration with the IUPAC Sept 6-9Participation in an International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Mashhad, Iran and

presented the IUBMB Activities. Sept 23-30, Participation in the Rome ICSU General Assembly as a candidate (non elected) to the post of vice

president for foreign relations and for the meeting of the ICSU Bio-Cluster Dec 7 Meeting in Shanghai with Jian-Jiang Zhong at the Joatong University to discuss the position of Editor-in-

Chief of BAB . Discussed on the telephone and in Conferences Calls with Gianfranco Gilardi (co-editor in chief) and Wiley).

Dec 8 Participation in the Human Viriome Project meeting and spoken about potential partnership with the

IUBMB Dec 16 London Participation in the Biochemical Society Centenary Celebrations and meeting with Andrew

Sutherland on the IUBMB archives. Other activities IUBMB Inc: the tax return, and yearly registration of the society, Incorporated in the United States as a charity

have been made In collaboration with the President-elect, Cathie Bailey (BISO) and Barbara Gordon (ASBMB) the transfer of the

IUBMB Adhering Body from the National Academy to ASBMB has been realized. Merida: discussions have been held and contributions to the organization and program of the IUBMB conference

in Marrakesh (2013) have been given Organization of the IUBMB booth with the help of Haidi Yin and participation in the IUBMB Executive Committee

meeting in Merida Participation in the organization of the program of the South African Advanced School (2012) and of the China

Advanced School 2012 Haidi Yin and the “Friends of the IUBMB”: with the addition of the list of participants in the Merida conference the

number of the e-mail addresses has reached 2500 and monthly letters have been sent.

Contacts have been maintained with the Honorary Advisory Board and Robert Huber has been newly acquired. Mid-Career fellowships in collaboration with the officer for symposia have been created to permit to scientists, in

the middle of their scientific carrier, to visit from developing countries foreign laboratories. ICSU Bio-Unions-Cluster: in the meeting in Rome several the proposals have been drafted on cooperation

among the biological unions. In particular the participation of a IUBMB be delegate at the meeting in Brazil of the IUFoS on biochemical aspects of obesity has been realized as well as the participation in the physiology Congress in 2013 in a symposium on "Systems Biology".

Committee on the Standards of Graduate and Undergraduate Curricula in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Manuel João Costa, Braga, Portugal, has accepted to chair the subcommittee “Undergraduate Standards”. In collaboration with the Publications Officer and Jeffryes, Justin (Wiley-Blackwell) new contributions to the Book Series had been made (Malaria, Glycogen, Nanoparticles)

Annual Report for 2011

Efstathios S. Gonos, Member for Congresses and Conferences

The 13th

IUBMB Conference, Merida, Mexico, October 22nd

- 27th

, 2011. They

were regular contacts throughout the year with the organizers regarding several issues

including the hotels of choice, the selection of the invited speakers, the construction

of the Conference’s web page and the organization of the Conference by a PCO.

The 21st IUBMB & the 37

th FEBS Congress, Seville, Spain, September 2

nd – 9

th,

2012. The dates of the Congress will be as follows: The Young Scientist Program:

Sunday September 2nd

– Tuesday September 4th

. Congress: Tuesday September 4th

–

Sunday September 9th

. The title of the Congress will be: “From Single Molecules to

Systems Biology”. There were regular contacts with the Local Organizers. A major

issue was the intention of EMBO organizing a Conference in Spain during the same

period. Following extensive discussions, mainly by the IUBMB President and the

FEBS Secretary General, EMBO has decided moving its Conference to Nice, France.

A “Letter of Agreement” setting out the commitments made and obligations accepted

by the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IUBMB and FEBS

has been signed by the involved parties. Moreover, a “Trans-Atlantic Meeting on

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology” was organized in Seville, Spain, on May 24th

-

26th, 2011. The Presidents of the national Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular

Biology of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Morocco and Spain as well as

outstanding young group leaders from these countries were invited to participate in

seven symposia, mainly aimed at providing a general overview of the state-of-the-art

in their respective countries. The meeting was well organized and successful. Finally,

I have visited the new, under construction, Conference Centre that will host the 2012

Congress. The Centre is impressed and should be ready by the end of 2011.

The IUBMB 2013 Conference, Marrakech, Morocco April 8th

– 13th

, 2013. The

title of the Conference will be: “Biomolecules and Signaling: From Microorganisms

to Plants to Man”. The organizers, in collaboration with the PCO (INCON; see

below), have provided some preliminary information including a list of sessions and a

tentative budget that forecasts a net profit for IUBMB.

The IUBMB 2014 Conference. We have launched a call for applications to host the

IUBMB 16th Conference and we have received two applications from China, Taipei

and Ireland. Representatives from both Adhering Bodies have presented their bids at

the last Executive Committee meeting in Merida, Mexico. It was decided China,

Tapei hosting the Conference. The dates of the Conference will be: October 20th -

25th, 2014.

IUBMB 2018 Congress. We have launched a call for applications to host the IUBMB

24th Congress in 2018. The applications deadline is: April 30

th, 2012. Two Adhering

Bodies, namely the Czech Republic and South Korea, have contacted me with the

intention of submitting applications.

Appointment of an IUBMB PCO. Following extensive discussions and regular

contacts with two PCOs during the previous year, INCON has been selected for the

management of the IUBMB Congresses, Conferences and Meetings. The PCO has

prepared a file regarding the organization of the IUBMB 15th

Conference in 2013 in

Morocco in collaboration with the Local Organizing Committee. The relevant

contract has been sent to and signed by the IUBMB President.

IUBMB Advanced Schools. Following a decision made during the 2010 IUBMB

Executive Committee meeting in Melbourne, Australia, I have prepared and launched

the “Guidelines for organizing IUBMB Advanced Schools” as well as the relevant

“Application” and “Final report” forms. An application form China has been received

and its revised version has been approved. The title of the Advanced School is

“Toward cutting-edge: 2011 Advanced Summer School in Biochemistry and

Molecular Cell Biology: Functional Analysis of Disease Models”. The Advanced

School was organized by Prof X. Ding in Sheshan Forest Hotel, Songjiang County,

Shanghai on July 25th

– 30th, 2011. A report has been delivered and approved.

Regarding 2012 IUBMB has decided to support three different Advanced Schools,

namely: A) Hermanus, Cape Town, South Africa, March 24th

- 31st, 2012 on

“Nutrition and Disease: Biochemical and Molecular Insights”. B) Shanghai, China,

July 2nd

– 7th

, 2012 on “Toward cutting-edge: IFCC Advanced Summer School in

Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology. Metabolism and Metabolic Diseases”. C)

Spetses island, Greece, September 23rd

– 29th

, 2012 on “Dietary factors and redox

signalling”. Finally, the IUBMB President and I have exploited the possibility of

using the facilities in Spetses Island, Greece for future Advanced Schools as well as

other IUBMB activities. To this end there are ongoing advanced negotiations

regarding a long term contract with the Spetses hotel. Moreover, the former IUBMB

President, Prof Brian Clark, is willing to make a personal donation towards this aim.

It is expected signing the agreement in Spetses on September 30th, 2012. Selected

IUBMB Advisory Board members have been invited to attend the event.

Participation to the FEBS Executive Committee and Council meetings. I have

represented IUBMB as an “Observer” to the FEBS Executive Committee meetings in

Athens, Greece (April, 2011) and in London, U.K. (November, 2011). Reports from

both meetings have been submitted to the members of the IUBMB Executive

Committee.

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

Membership of Education Committee The current membership of the Education Committee is as follows:

Name Country Term

Susan Hamilton (Chair) Australia (FAOBMB) 2006 – 2012

Trevor Anderson South Africa (FASBMB) 1998-2004, 2005-2008,

2009 - 2012

Ellis Bell USA (PABMB) 2005 – 2011

Steve Dahms USA (PABMB) 2005 – 2011

Manuel Costa Portugal (FEBS) 2007 – 2010, 2011 - 2014

Koh Siok Im Singapore (FAOBMB) 2011 – 2014

Leila Beltramini

Eduardo Galambeck

Gul Guner

Brazil (PABMB)

Brazil (PABMB)

Turkey (FEBS)

2009 – 2012

2009 – 2012

2009 - 2012

Judith Voet USA (ex officio)

Donald Voet USA (ex officio)

While the three year term was due to end for several members of the committee at the end of 2011, it was agreed at the EC meeting in Merida October 2011 that the makeup of the committee should not be changed until a new chair was appointed in 2012. This would give the new person some degree of discretion in the makeup of the committee at the outset of their tenure. Education activities 2011

The educational activities supported in 2011 are summarised below. Total sponsorship by IUBMB was US42,990. 1. IUBMB Workshop on Medical Biochemistry Education “Student - Centered Learning,

Evaluation and Assessment” May 20-21, 2011 Split, Croatia On the 20th-21st of May 2011, the School of Medicine of the University of Split, Croatia, welcomed the event “Student - Centered Learning, Evaluation and Assessment”, jointly co-sponsored by the IUBMB and University of Split, and University of Split School of Medicine. The workshop was facilitated by Prof. Manuel Joao Costa (School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga,Portugal), Prof. Mary Fleming, EdD (College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Ireland) and Prof. Gül Güner-Akdoğan (Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey). The facilitators have expertise in Educational Development in what concerns teaching staff of biochemistry and/or other subjects, and originate from medical schools with different teaching and learning approaches. Professors Irena Drmić Hofman (Organizer of the Workshop), Ivica Grković and Snjezana Tomić from University of Split School of Medicine has participated with their presentations. The goals for the workshop were to investigate the following questions :

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

-How do students learn and teachers teach biochemistry, and how can we change this process in the direction of student centered learning? -How can a medical biochemistry course be planned with the aim of achieving efficient integration within the subject and with other preclinical and clinical subjects? -What improvements can be specifically introduced in lectures, seminars and practical laboratory classes? -What should faculty and students expect from computer-assisted learning? -How to design an assessment program that reflects the curriculum and is rigorous and fair? There were 43 participants (28 professors and 15 assistants), from 4 countries. The facilities for the workshop were the main auditorium and adjacent computer rooms, with 25 computers each, connected to the internet of the University of Split School of Medicine. A workshop binder was prepared and given to the participants at start of the workshop. The binder included the following materials:

1) Visual organizer and all lectures handouts (ppt presentations)

2) CD with workshop materials

The workshop was successful in fulfilling the pre-announced program with minor adaptations in terms of time allocated to each session. The detailed program is included below. Friday, 20 May, 2011

08:00-08:45 Registration, delivery of course materials 08:45-09:00 Official opening and preview of the workshop

PLENARY SESSION 09:00-09:45 Teaching Biochemistry at Medical Schools in Croatia (Zagreb, Rijeka, Osijek and Split) 09:45-10:00 Teaching Biochemistry at Schools of Dental Medicine (Croatia) 10:00-10:45 Teaching Biochemistry at Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia) 10:45-11:15 Coffee break SESSION 1 11:15-13:00 Workshop: Design learning objectives with intended levels of complexity 13:00-14:15 Lunch SESSION 2 14:15-15:45 Workshop: Student centred learning (SCL) 15:45-16:15 Coffee break 16:15-17:45 Workshop: Computer assisted learning (CAL): increase effectiveness in the classroom and laboratory 17:45-18:15 Round table discussion Saturday, 21 May, 2011 SESSION 3 09:00-10:30 Workshop: Assessment and Evaluation I 10:30-11:00 Coffee break 11:00-12:30 Workshop: Assessment and Evaluation II 12:30-13:00 Take home message and workshop evaluation

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

13:00 Workshop closure At the last session of the workshop, participants were asked to rate the event, according to the IUBMB rating form. The results are presented below (N=38 participants; 88.37% of all participants). The great majority of the participants has confirmed the workshop fulfilled their expectations (30/38; 78.94%). The participants liked the interaction among facilitators and participants (15/38), exchange of the experience and new ideas (13/38). Session 3, evaluation and assessment, was pointed as most interesting part - deserved to be repeated in the close future (65.79%). Participants also suggested more time for the sessions (36.84%), and less condensed schedule. The overall evaluation of the course was 4.61 (out of 5). The initial stimulus for the present event was a local need for alternative teaching strategies in courses of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology offered by medical Schools in Croatia, coupled with a general awareness that there are student centered approaches being used around the world that could be used as examples. The workshop captured the interest of participants. The participation of colleagues from 14 institutions, representing 4 countries illustrates the interest raised by the initiative. The evaluations filled out by participants demonstrate that at the workshop met the expectations o the vast majority. An important consequence of the workshop was bringing together to reflect and discuss colleagues who teach biochemistry in a different intuitions to realize that the difficulties are common between places and that a collaborative effort anchored in research based teaching approaches is the best option to start with. The organizers feel that the goals have been achieved and are thankful for the support of IUBMB for making this event possible.

2. Enhancing the practical skills in biochemistry and molecular biology for teachers and students of education universities in northern Vietnam July 20th – 24th 2011, Faculty of Biology, Hanoi

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

National University of Education (HNUE) and the Department of Enzyme-Protein technology, IMBT, Ha noi, Viet nam

Local presenters: Dr. Truong Quoc Phong, Dr. Tran Van Khanh, Dr. Le. Thi Phuong Hoa, Dr. Dao Van Tan, Dr. Nguyen Huynh Minh Quyen, and Dr. Nguyen Quynh Uyen International Presenters representing UQ and IUBMB: Dr Susan Rowland and Dr Jack Wang

The workshop was hosted by Professor Prof. Pham thi Tran Chau, Vice President and Secretary-General, Vietnam Association of Biochemistry (VAB). Excellent organizational support was provided by Dr. Le. Thi Phuong Hoa and Dr. Dao Van Tan.

The workshop material presented by Drs Susan Rowland and Jack Wang was part of a training course in enhancing practical skills in biochemistry and molecular biology, which was hosted by the Faculty of Biology in Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The general aim of the course was to improve the biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory skills of the attendees. The workshop presented by Jack Wang and Susan Rowland aimed to provide an up-to-date perspective on biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory techniques, as well as the novel strategies used to teach this content. Some freely-available bioinformatics sites were also used in the exercises presented by Drs Rowland and Wang. 52 registered participants were in attendance in a group which was comprised of Vietnamese teachers in science and medicine, high school students, recent HNUE graduates, and HNUE masters and PhD students.

Program

Date and Time

Topic Presenter

July 20th

8.30 – 8.35 8.35 – 8.45 8.45 – 9.15 9.15 – 10.00 10.00 – 10.45

Introduction to workshop Welcoming address Opening Address Proteomics Molecular pathology -

Assoc. Dr. Mai Sy Tuan Prof. Pham Thi Tran Chau Dr. Truong Quoc Phong Dr. Tran Van Khanh

13.30 – 17.00 Lesson 1: Using centrifugal and electrophoresis techniques for isolating protein and DNA

Dr. Truong Quoc Phong

July 21st

7.30 –17.00 Lesson 2: Amplifying DNA using PCR Dr. Truong Quoc Phong

July 22nd

7.30 – 11.00 Lesson 3: Quantity of reducing sugar and protein content using spectrometer

Dr. Le. Thi Phuong Hoa Dr. Dao Van Tan

13.30 – 17.00

Lesson 4: Purifying Bromeline from pineapple using Gel filtration chromatography technique

Dr. Nguyen Huynh Minh Quyen, Dr. Nguyen Quynh Uyen

July 23rd

8.45 - 9.00 Welcome, introductions Vietnamese hosts

9.00 – 10:00 A discussion of active learning, including movies and available resources

Susan Rowland

10:00 – 11:00 Exercise 1: Building molecules with clay and toothpicks Susan Rowland

11:00–12:00 Exercise 2: Using bioinformatics resources and PCR primer design Susan Rowland

14:00 – 16.00 Exercise 3: Problem-based learning in medical teaching – group exercise in diagnostic microbiology

Jack Wang

16:00 – 17:30 Exercise 4: Application of molecular biology in diagnostic medicine: Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) case study

Jack Wang

17:30 – 18:00 Speeches and concluding remarks Vietnamese hosts

18:00 – 18:30 Presentation of certificates to registered participants Susan Rowland, Jack Wang, together with Vietnamese hosts

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

July 24th

8:00 –16:00 Visiting Key Experimental labs in VNU

Close of meeting

The participants were very active in their involvement within all aspects of the workshop, engaging in active learning right from the start despite the existing language barriers. The HUE academics hosting the event were incredibly helpful in providing skilful on-the-spot translation, written translations of the presentation materials, and the necessary audio-visual equipment for the workshop. At the conclusion of the workshop, we were also invited to present the participants with a certificate recognising their achievements.

3. Biochemistry Education Workshops in Iran (Mashhad, September 6, Tehran, Sept 10 2011) Theme: Interactive learning strategies in biochemistry and molecular biology Presenters: Professor Susan Hamilton, Chair IUBMB Education Committee Professor Gul Guner, Chair FEBS Education Committee The workshop in Mashhad provided an opportunity for biochemistry and molecular biology educators to meet and discuss a range of strategies for improving student learning outcomes, using interactive techniques. The workshop was tailored to teachers of students in science, medicine and related fields where biochemistry forms a core part of the curriculum. The workshop in Tehran focussed specifically on medical education. Topics covered included:

Exploring interactive teaching in lectures, labs and workshops

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

Using assessment to enhance learning

Giving students feedback on learning

Using problem-based learning in the medical curriculum

A range of accompanying resources were provided on CD to those attending the workshop for use or adaptation for their teaching. A draft program for the workshop shown below was modified at each location according to time and interests.

Time Topic Presenter

8.00 - 8.45 Registration, collect program and resources

8.45 - 9.00 Welcome, introductions Iranian host

9.00 - 9.30 Teaching biochemistry in a science degree: challenges Susan Hamilton

9.45 - 10.15 Teaching biochemistry in a medical program: challenges Gul Guner

10.00 - 10.30 Interactive student centred learning Gul Guner and Susan Hamilton

10.30 - 10.45 Categorising learning activities Group activity

10.45 - 11.00 Break for morning tea

11.00 - 11.30 Problem based learning: an introduction Gul Guner

11.30 - 12.30 Problem-based learning: practice Group activity

12.30 – 1.00 Break for lunch

1.00 - 1.15 Interactive lectures Susan Hamilton

1.15 - 1.30 Undergraduate research experiences Susan Hamilton

1.30 - 1.45 Giving students feedback on learning Gul Guner and Susan Hamilton

1.45 - 2.00 General discussion Group activity

Ask participants to complete feedback survey

Close

Workshop attendance

The Mashhad workshop was held in the morning prior to the opening of the 12th Iranian Congress of Biochemistry & 4th International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Approximately 1200 were registered at the Congress. The Education Workshop was attended by invitation only, and there were approximately 50 participants from Biochemistry Departments throughout Iran. The workshop in Tehran was held at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences and was hosted by Assoc Professor Abolfazl Golestani, Faculty of Medicine and Dr Azim Mirzazadeh, Director of Education Development Office in the School of Medicine. There were 15 attendees. The workshop focussed on assisting the University in transitioning its medical curriculum to an integrated program, with greater emphasis given to contextual learning of the basic sciences in the preclinical years of the degree.

Feedback from both workshops was very positive. More than 95% of participants rated each session in the program between 4 and 5 where 5 was “excellent”. There was also useful qualitative comment:

It was very useful and hope we can use some points of this workshop in our lecture for medical students.

Just a little disipline- request participants to either turn off or ‘’silent’’ mode their mobile phones.

Excellent : I need this

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

Divide to shorter time (1 hr) then break.The gain will be more

Please continue again for more information about new program.

It would be better to hold such workshops in 2 days

Thank you very much

Thank you very much for the excellent and beneficial workshop. It was absolutely one of the best workshops that I have been to.

Susan and Gul outside the conference venue in Mashhad Workshop participants in Mashhad

Workshop in Tehran: Drs Mitra Nourbakhsh, Gul Guner, Entrance to Tehran University of Medical Sciences Susan Hamilton, Abolfazl Golestani

E. MAİL MESSAGE FROM ONE OF THE HOSTS AFTER THE TEHRAN WORKSHOP: “Thank you very much for your email and your kindness in sending the teaching case. Yesterday I had my first class of the new semester about bioenergetics. I tried to include what I learned in your workshop and it was pure success. The class was interactive and the students were interested until the end of the class although bioenergetics is a boring subject for most of them. I always wanted to improve my teaching method and I attended some workshops but I couldn't make much difference, but this time it was totally different and I owe this to you and your kindness in transferring your valuable knowledge to us. I am really grateful and I will never forget this experience. Please accept my compliment and appreciation for your effort in improving the quality of education all around the world. I hope I get the chance to meet you again in the near future”.

4. Bangladesh Workshop ‘Designing biochemistry courses: online, face-to-face and practical programs’

Dhaka December 18 – 19 2011

The report below was provided by the workshop organisers Associate Professor Liz Johnson (La Trobe University), Associate Professor Susan Howitt (Australian National University) and Ms Emma Yench (La Trobe University, who were supported by both FAOBMB and IUBMB.

“We were fortunate to visit Dhaka Bangladesh, to meet and work with biochemistry and molecular biology academics and educators. The Bangladesh workshop on biochemical education titled ‘Designing

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

biochemistry courses: online, face-to-face and practical programs’ was held at the University of Dhaka on 18–19 December 2011. The purpose of the workshop was to explore s student-centred teaching principles and methods and to discuss practical applications of current thinking in science education. It was a lively, productive and thoroughly enjoyable meeting. Organisation of the workshop was led by Professor Syed Saleheen Qadri with the active support of the Bangladesh Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BSBMB) and financial support from the lnternational Union of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and the Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists & Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB). The workshop was very well attended, attracting 31 delegates representing all of the government-funded universities as well as some private institutions. We were grateful to participants who travelled long distances to join us. Our hosts from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Dhaka had provided an excellent informal working space for the sessions, which allowed us to practice some of the interactive teaching activities under discussion. On Day 1, we explored key ideas about student learning including the importance of active learning, the implications of student approaches to learning (deep vs surface learning) and alignment of objectives, teaching and assessment in subject and course design. On Day 2, Emma Yench led a hands-on session using the Moodle learning management system where participants were able to enrol as students in a Moodle subject website and experience some of the possibilities. This was followed by practical examples of active learning strategies, peer instruction and inquiry laboratory teaching. Participants were also given a resource kit of key references and sources of information for science teaching and learning. All participants were active contributors to sessions with lots of important experiences and good ideas shared amongst the group. At the end of the workshop, participants were presented with certificates of participation by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dhaka, Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique.

In between the hard work, we and the workshop participants were treated to splendid dinner in the grounds of the Vice-Chancellor’s residence, at the kind invitation of the Vice-Chancellor. It was particularly pleasing to see the support offered by the Vice-Chancellor to this educational initiative. It is clear that there is a strong desire to improve student learning in biochemistry and molecular biology in Bangladesh and lots of energy to put into this. Members of BSBMB will play a leading role in developing biochemistry and molecular biology education in Bangladesh. We wish all the workshop participants and organisers a very productive and satisfying 2012”.

L to R: University of Dhaka; Education workshop in progress; Presentation of certificates by Professor

Arefin Siddique (right) introduced by Professor Syed Salaheen Qadri (left).

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

5. 22nd FAOBMB Conference Education Symposium “Educating the Next Generation”

The conference was held at Matrix, Biopolis Singapore from 5 to 7 October 2011. In conjunction with the

conference, three Education activities were organised: a special track on Education Symposium, a pre-

conference workshop and a concurrent session for National University of Singapore Biochemistry Postgraduate Student Satellite Symposium.

(a) The education symposium on Friday 7 October at the Main theatrette (Breakthrough and Discovery)

at Matrix, Biopolis attended by about ~100 participants. (b) A pre-conference Workshop on 4 October held at School of Chemical & Life Sciences, Singapore

Polytechnic was attended by a small number of early career scientists. Total: 11 participants and 8 of them were students from other countries: Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

(c) National University of Singapore Biochemistry Postgraduate Student Satellite Symposium – attended by approx. 100 participants.

The theme for the Education Symposium was Educating the Next Generation. Educating the Next Generation is a key area of concern for education experts, teachers, principals, bureaucrats, parents, and concerned citizens. In the Education Symposium, five prominent scientist-cum-educators spoke on how they inspire and mentor the next generation of scientists, and help them become critical thinkers. The use of various teaching and learning approaches such as problem based learning and blended learning to enhance the learning of Biochemistry were discussed.

The symposium started with the presentation from Prof Sir David Lane from A*Star Institute.

His captivating lecture citing examples from Alan Lightman’s book “the Discoveries” have indeed inspired the audience. He stressed the importance of learning by doing which allowed learners to discover the joys and value of learning. Prof Graham Parslow (Australia) presented two papers addressing how technology could be incorporated to support teaching. He shares his experience on combination of virtual support and lectures that work for his teaching at his University of Melbourne. His second paper about PBL in teaching was drawn upon his experience of designing and implementing a medical PBL course, and its modification to a form of Case Supported Learning (CSL) at Melbourne University.

Associate Professor Marie-Veronique Clement from National University of Singapore was unable

to come due to her work commitment at the last minute. Another speaker from Monash University, Dr Janet Macaulay, talked about how to “Engaging Students in the Learning Process” in higher education. She talked about the use of a blended range of diverse learning modalities at the Department of Biochemistry, Monash University to promote active and student-centred learning. She also touched upon the assessments that should be designed not only to drive learning for grades but also promote student engagement and instil lifelong learning. Professor James Whisstock also from Monash University shared his experience in mentoring Honours, PhD and postdoctoral fellows. He explored various strategies for effective mentoring, focusing on the importance of project design and the development of independent research directions for early career researchers to achieve success in research fellowship and grant schemes. He also discussed about how career development in science must be accompanied by a realistic assessment of long-term career goals and the likelihood of success.

Associate Professor Chew Fook Tim of National University of Singapore talked about Critical Thinking in Teaching and Learning. Critical thinking skills are necessary to survive in our rapidly changing, information and technology oriented world. Research has shown that these skills are teachable and learnable. We should focus on imparting the techniques and strategies of critical thinking, cultivating the dispositions, and constructing the knowledge and expertise in our students.

IUBMB Education Committee Report 2011 March 2012

6. Laboratory workshop on yeast systems biology, Institut Pasteur Montevideo Report not yet received.

7. Education workshop in Myanmar December 2011. This workshop has again been rescheduled for 2012 as a result of difficulties associated with organising and resourcing the activity.

Report on the IUBMB Internet Sites (Peter Ott)

The website of IUBMB is used to spread the information on all the aspects of the IUBMB and its activities. Following the retirement of Peter Ott in 2008 the physical location of the site has been moved from the University of Bern to a commercial provider (the company Frappant in Berne, Switzerland) in March 2011. Hosting and technical maintenance is taken care of by the company while the full responsibility for the structure and the content of the site remains with IUBMB. Concomitantly, the method of usage analysis has changed and the numeric data are no longer directly comparable with the data presented in previous reports.

In 2011 the most frequently requested pages, besides the “Homepage” have been those with information about the IUBMB (including the list of the members of the Executive Committee and the list of the Adherning Bodies and Associate Adhering Bodies), about the Publications of the IUBMB (including in particular the pages on Biochemical Nomenclature, IUBMB Life, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, IUBMB Life and BioFactors), about Young Scientists Support (in particular the Wood-Whelan fellowships), and about IUBMB Congresses, Conferences, Symposia and Education events.

The highest number of request in 2011 (“top ten”) have come from the USA, Spain, Mexico, India, Brazil, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, China and Canada.

Besides this regular website the IUBMB maintains an archive site with access restricted to the members of the Executive Committee and the Archive Committee. This archive has been installed at the end of 2010 and by now contains the “historic” files scanned from the archived documents of previous IUBMB officers (up to 1995). It currently comprises a total 8854 files with a volume of 12GB. Full text search over the entire archive is possible and is an important feature to permit efficient retrieval of documents.

C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\Desktop\IUBMB Symposia Report on activities for 2012.doc

IUBMB COMMITTEE ON SYMPOSIA

REPORT ON COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES FOR 2012 A total of 22 applications for meetings to be held in 2012 were received by the 1st September 2011 deadline. Fourteen applications were approved for funding while five applications were received too late after the application deadline and three applications were unsuccessful. These approved symposia are to be held in Turkey (1), India (1), Italy (3), Greece (1), UK (1), Germany (1), Spain (1), Slovenia (1), South Africa (1), USA (1), Cuba (1), and Argentina (1). The number of applications for symposia to be held in the year 2012 was 6 less than in 2011 and 4 less than 2010. The selection criteria for the last two years have resulted in fewer successful applications but with a higher level of funding, as it was possible to allow a meaningful increase the size of the awards to the successful applicants. FAOBMB 1 PAMBMB 3 FASBMB 1 FEBS 9 As usual there was a very low number of applications from the FASBMB (1) and FAOBMB (1) regions. There were 2 applications from the PABMB region. Nine applications came from the FEBS region. We have not received any applications from countries other than South Africa in the FASBMB region. Total value of awards allocated for Symposia in 2012: US$ 105,000 The complete list of Symposia funded in 2012 is attached as Annexure 1, while the unsuccessful and late applications are shown as annexure 2 and 3 respectively. The following members of the committee will reach the end of their tenure at the next IUBMB Congress in Seville, Spain; Judith Bond (USA), Chetan Chitnis (India), Guy Dirheimer, (France), Sergio Ferreira (Brazil), Bill Lennarz, (USA), Avadhesha Surolia (India), Vincent Titanji (Cameroon). M. Iqbal Parker Chairman of the Committee on Symposia May, 2012

IUBMB Symposium 2012 – Successful

Applicant Number

Name of Organiser

Address Title Place Date

S1/2012 Hasan H. Otu Istanbul Bilgi University, Santral Campus, Department of Bioengineering 34060 Eyup, Istanbul, Turkey +90 (212) 311 7724 Hasan.otu@bilgi.edu.tr

Bioinformatic Approaches for Analysis of High-Throughput Biological Data

Istanbul Bilgi University, Santral Campus 34060 Eyup, Istanbul, Turkey

02 – 08 September 2012

S2/2012 Dr. Subir Kumar Das

Dept of Biochemistry, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal India 741235 +91 33 242 02945 drsubirkdas@gmail.com

Free Radicals, Antioxidants and Neutraceuticals in Health, Disease

West Bengal, India

12 - 14 January 2012

S3/2012 Randy Read Wellcome Trust/MRC Building Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0XY U.K +39 049 827 5275 Rjr27@cam.ac.uk

Present and Future Methods for Biomolecular Crystallography

Centro di Cultura Scientifica E. Majorana, Erice, Italy

31 May – 10 June 2012

S4/2012 Dr. Jan Frank University of Hohenheim Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition Garbenstr. 30 70599 Stuttgart Germany +49 711 459 24459 Jan.frank@nutrition-research.de

Dietary factors and redox signalling 2012 Summer School of the Society for Free Radical Research - Europe

Spetses Hotel, Greece

23 – 29 September 2012

IUBMB Symposium 2012 – Successful

S5/2012 Prof. Tony Magee

Imperial College London Molecular Medicine Section, NHLI, South Kensington London SW7 2AZ United Kingdom +44 (0) 20 7594 3015 t.magee@imperial.ac.uk

Regulation of Protein Trafficking and Function by Palmitoylation

St. Anne’s College, Oxford, UK

23-25 August 2012

S6/2012 Kai Tittmann Gottingen Centre for Molecular Biosciences Gottingen University Justus-von-Liebig Weg 11 37077 Gottingen Germany +49 551 39 14430 ktittma@gwdg.de

Trends in Enzymology 2012

Gottingen, Germany

03-06 June 2012

S7/2012 Giovanni Marsicano

Neurocentre Magendie U862 INSERM Universite Bordeaux 2, AVENIR Group, 146 rue Leo Saigant 33077 Bordeaux France +33 557 573 756 Giovanni.marsicano@inserm.fr

Neurons and mitochondria: no thoughts without energy

Barcelone, Spain

16 July 2012

S8/2012 Dr. M. Catia Sorgato

Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Viale G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova (Italy) +39 049 827 6136 Catia.sorgato@unipd.it

International Symposium on “Biology and Translational Aspects of Neurodegeneration”

Venezia, Italy 14-16 March 2012

IUBMB Symposium 2012 – Successful

S9/2012 Prof Boris Turk Department of Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology, . Stefan Institute SI-1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 1 477 3772 Boris.turk@ijs.si

XIIIth Symposium on Proteases, Inhibitors and Biological Control

Slovenia 22-25 September 2012

S10/2012 Silvia Onesti Strada Statale 12, km,163, 5 in AREA Science Park 34149 Basovizza Trieste Italy + 39 040 375 8451 Silvia.onesti@elettra.trieste.it

From genes to atomic structures: an introduction to synchrotron-based structural biology.

Trieste, Italy 23-27 April 2012

S11/2012 Dr. Luiz Zerbini ICGEB Wernher & Beit South Building Anzio Road Observatory, 7925 Cape Town + 27 21 650 7627 Luiz.Zerbini@icgeb.org

Non-Communicable Diseases in Developing Countries

Cape Town, South Africa

15-19 October 2012

S12/2012 Daniel T. O’Connor

Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla CA 92093-0838 USA +858 534 0661 doconnor@ucsd.edu

10th International Catecholamine Symposium (XICS)

Asilomar, CA 09-13 September 2012

IUBMB Symposium 2012 – Successful

S13/2012 Prof Carlos Alvarez

Center for Protein Studies Biology Faculty University of Havana Calle 25 # 455 e/ J e I Vedado , Ciudad Habana Cuba +537 832 4830 calvarez@fbio.uh.cu

V International Symposium on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Melia-Habana Hotel Havana City Cuba

11 – 14 October 2012

S14/2012 Dr Luis S. Mayorga

IHEM, School of Medicine, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina lmayorga@fcm.uncu.edu.ar

Membrane fusion: from molecular mechanisms to cellular interactions XLVIII Annual Meeting of the Argentine Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Mendoza, Argentina

12-15 November 2012

Wood-Whelan Research Fellowships

Report on Activities for 2011/2012

The Fellowship Committee consisted of Iqbal Parker (IUBMB Executive Committee member as Chair), Avadhesha Surolia (India), Irene Díaz Moreno (Spain), Carla Ribeira Polycarpo (Brazil).

Since there is no application deadline for the Wood/Whelan Fellowships, the awards are made throughout the year and the list for 2012 is thus not final. The awards listed in the appendix are thus those awarded in 2011. During this period the Fellowship Committee received 18 applications and awarded 11 fellowships.

In 2011 we committed US$ 28,586 of the US$ 120,000 allocation for the triennium 2010 – 2012. However, since some fellowships are paid in Euros, the amount actually spent by the Treasurer might be slightly different due to the Euro/US$ exchange rate variation during the year. Also some of the awards, especially those made at the end of the year, are only paid during the following year.

Two of the fellowships were subsequently declined by the fellows since they were awarded the more lucrative EMBO Travel Fellowship (Euro 8,000 in both cases). The following statistics are worth noting: The overall success rate was 61 %. The average age of the awardees was 27 years. The average length of the stay in the receiving laboratory was approximately 2.6

months. The average amount awarded per fellowship was US$ 2,600. In 2011 the EC (in

Merida) amended the maximum award from US$ 3,000 to US$ 4,000. Countries of the sending laboratory: Argentina, Bangalore, Cameroon, China,

Cuba, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Countries for the receiving laboratory were mainly: Germany, Sweden, UK and

USA

The Fellowships awarded throughout the year are indicated in Annexure 1.

Avadhesha Surolia and Carla Ribeira Polycarpo indicated their intentions to step down from the committee at the 2012 IUBMB Congress in Seville. They will therefore have to be replaced at the 2012 Congress.

M. Iqbal Parker

Chair: IUBMB Wood/Whelan Fellowship Committee

May, 2012

[Type text] [Type text] Annexure 1

Wood-Whelan Fellowships awarded in 2011

Structural characterization of the C-terminal RRM domains (RRM2 and RRM3) of T-cell intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1) protein and its RNA-DNA binding properties

3 months

Aroca Aguilar (US$ 3000) CSIC Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis Avda. Americo Vespucio 49.41092-Seville, Spain E-mail: angeles.aroca@ibvf.csic.es

Dr. Goran Karlsson The Swedish NMR Centre Medicinaregatan 5 C P.O Box 465, SE 405 30 Goteborg, Sweden

*Fellowship declined in favour of EMBO Fellowship

Solution structure of the N-terminal domain of enzyme I of the Streptomyces coelicolor phospjoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system

3 months

Rosa M. Domenech Mata (US$ 3,000) Miguel Hernandez University Molecular and Cellular Biology Institute Advda. Del Ferrocarril S/N – 03202 Elche (Alicante), Spain rdomenech@umh.es

Prof Steve Matthews NMR Department Imperial College London London, SW7 2AZ United Kingdom p.freemont@imperial.ac.uk

*Declined in favour of EMBO Fellowship

Vivo Cardiac Physiology 2 months

Elisa Lucas Fernandez (US$ 3000) Nicolas Cabrera, 1 28049 Madrid Spain E-mail: elucas@cbm.uam.es

Walter J. Koch Director, Center for Translational Medicine Department of Medicine 1025 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA Walter.koch@jefferson.edu

Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 1 month

Silvia Ramundo (US$ 2750) Laboratory of Jean-David Rochaix Department of Molecular Biology University of Geneva 30 Quai Ernest-Ansermet 1204 Geneva, Switzerland E-mail: silvia.ramundo@unige.ch

Sabeeha Merchant UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics & Proteomics 201 Paul Boyer Hall 611 Charles E. Young Drive East Los Angeles , CA 90095-1570, USA Sabeeha@mbi.ucla.edu

[Type text] [Type text] Annexure 1

Label-Free Interaction Analysis of Cytochrome c and Novel Protein Partners during PCD in Real-time Using Surface Plasmon Resonance

1 month

Katiuska Gonzalez Arzola (US$ 2400) Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis Av. Americo Vespucio Seville, Spain Katiuska.gonzalez@ibvf.csic.es

Prof. Dr. Rita Bernhardt Campus, Geb. B2.2 D-66123 Saarbrucken Germany ritabern@mx.uni-saarland.de

Functional study of RNA-packaging into exosomes and delivery to cells 6 months

Luisa Statello (US$ 2500) University of Catania Italy luisastatello@gmail.com

Hadi Valadi University of Gothenburg Dept of Rheumatology & Inflammation research Box 480, S-413 46 Gothenburg Sweden Hadi.valadi@gu.se

Lipoteichoic acid synthesis and modifications during osmotic stress in Lactobacillus casei 3 months

Maria Mercedes Palomino (US$ 1536) Departamento de Quimica Biologica 4to piso , Pabellon II Ciudad Universitaria Capital Federal (1428) Buenos Aires, Argentina troperoso@hotmail.com

Dr. Angelika Grundling Imperial College London Department of Microbiology Flowers Building London SW7 2AZ a.grundling@imperial.ac.uk

The role of DNA Methyltransferase1 in regulating the Human Papilloma virus life cycle in the differentiating epithelium

3 months

Chitra Pattabiraman (US$ 3000) National Centre for Biological Sciences GKVK, Bellary Road Bangalore – 560065 pchitra@ncbs.res.in

Laimonis A. Laimins Guy and Ann Youmans Professor and Chair Department of Micorbiology-Immunology Chicago, IL 60611, USA l-laimins@northwestern.edu

[Type text] [Type text] Annexure 1

Somatic Embryos maturation of Theobroma cacao (L.) and Metabolism of storage compounds 2 months

Noah Mboene Alexandre (US$ 3000) Laboratory of Plant Physiology Department of Biological Science Higher Teachers Training College PO Box 47 Yaounde-Cameroon noahmbalr@yahoo.fr

Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Braun Institute for Plant Genetics of Hanover University 30419 Hannover Germany braun@genetik.uni-hannover.de

Eczema, traffic related pollution and genetic variations in xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes 3 months

Miaozhi Li (US$ 2900) Institute for Nutritional Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences 294 Taiyuan Road Shanghai, China mzli@sibs.ac.cn

Prod Dr. Jean Krutmann IUF gGmbh Auf’m Hennekamp 50 D-40225 Dusseldorf Germany Monika.Brinkmann@uni-duesseldorf.de

Studies on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of anti-tumor antibodies elicited by a novel cancer vaccine that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor

3 months

Yasser Almeida Hernandez (US$ 1500) Centre of Molecular Immunology 216st. and 15th Ave Atabey, Playa P.O. Box 16040 Havana, Cuba almeida@cim.sld.cu

Prof Inger Helene Madshus Institute of Pathology Oslo University Hospital Norway

Report on the Publications Portfolio, year 2011 (Willy Stalmans)

Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry (BAB)

The Wiley era

As explained in detail in the previous publications report, Portland Press decided in May 2010

that they would cease publication of BAB, for economic reasons. Wiley Blackwell has taken

over as publisher from 2011 onwards, with a new format and cover. Thus, all four IUBMB-

owned journals are now published by Wiley. One new associate editor (Mike Modo,

University of Pittsburgh, USA) has been appointed. In order to promote contact among the

members of the editorial board, Wiley organizes a quarterly phone conference.

Two new editors-in-chief

Parviz Shamlou had announced that he was going to retire from his position at Eli Lilly, and

that he wished to step down simultaneously as editor-in-chief by the end of 2011. We decided

to appoint a team of two academic editors-in-chief residing in different parts of the world:

Gianfranco Gilardi, full professor at the University of Torino, Italy, and Jian-Jiang Zhong, who

holds a “Distinguished Professorship” at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. They took

office on January 1, 2012.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education (BAMBEd)

PubMed had ceased coverage of our educational journal in 2000, following its transformation

from Biochemical Education into Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education. Indeed,

PubMed limits its coverage to journals that upon evaluation by the Literature Selection

Technical Review Committee (LSTRC) of the National Library of Medicine receive a score of

at least 3.75 on a scale of 0-5. A re-evaluation in June 2004 produced a rating of 2.0, and in

October 2007 a score of 3.0 (both for quality and for importance).

We took care to identify and cure some weak points before submitting a request for re-

evaluation at the end of 2010. This time we were successful, and in the course of 2011

BAMBED became again listed in PubMed.

BioFactors

The takeover by Wiley from IOS Press in 2009, and the simultaneous appointment of Yesim

Negis as recruiter of invited reviews under supervision by Angelo Azzi, have drastically

affected the journal’s impact factor, as shown below. It has to be noted that the IF released in

2011 reflects the citations in 2010 of papers published in 2009 and 2008, and therefore a

further increase of the IF can be expected in 2012 (the latter might be around 5.8 according to

a citations analysis by A. Azzi).

IUBMB Life

Since 2008 this journal is published by Wiley and supplemented with reviews solicited by the

editorial assistant, Yesim Negis (Istanbul). This has resulted in a sharp two-step increase in the

impact factor: first in 2010 (citations in 2009 of papers published in 2008 + 2007), and again

in 2011 (citations of papers published in 2009 + 2008). The current IF of 4.251 clearly

exceeds those of FEBS Letters (3.601) and of BBRC (2.595).

Year of IF release 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Impact Factor 2.793 0.912 1.23 1.451 1.095 1.162 1.273 1.852 1.815

Year of IF release 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Impact Factor 4.251 3.578 2.364 2.857 2.316 2.116 1.774 2.348 1.792

Molecular Aspects of Medicine (MAM)

This journal, owned by Elsevier, publishes only invited reviews of the long type. After having

been suspended for some years by Thomson Scientific for reasons of irregular publication, it

came back in 2008 under the editorship of Angelo Azzi with a very strong impact factor,

oscillating for 3 years around 7. In 2011 the IF jumped to 10.5 (and a citations analysis by A.

Azzi predicts a 2012 IF around 14).

Trends in Biochemical Sciences (TiBS)

The impact factor of this well-known review journal had been oscillating in a remarkably

stable way around 14 (see 2004-2008), but in 2010 it fell to 11.5, and in 2011 it decreased

again by more than 1 unit. The reason is being investigated.

Year of IF release 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004

Impact Factor 10.364 11.572 14.101 14.994 13.863 13.343 14.112 14.273

TiBS has experienced an unstable period. Jonathan Tyzack, the former in-house editor,

remained in London although the TiBS management had moved to the USA after the merger

with Cell Press. He left Elsevier in August 2009, and was succeeded by his former assistant,

Sara Cullinan. However, Sara did not return after a maternity leave in the summer of 2011. At

the end of 2011 a successor had not yet been appointed.

The Wiley-IUBMB book series on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

This program aims at publishing books on timely topics in the molecular life sciences,

preferably with medical implications. The first volume, on “Plant Phenolics and Human

Health”, edited by César Fraga (U.C. at Davis, CA, USA), was published in the autumn of

2009. Further books, however, did not come forth because of a total lack of follow-up at

Wiley by their newly appointed series editor, Anita Lekhwani. At the end of 2010 Wiley finally

appointed a new series editor, Justin Jeffryes, who managed to rescue a few projects. In the

meantime, however, several additional volumes have been proposed by members of the

editorial board.

Year of IF release 2011 2010 2009 2008

Impact Factor 10.552 6.492 7.320 7.386

Report of the General Secretary for 2011

Michael P. Walsh

1. Acquisition of new Associate Adhering Bodies. Applications from the Armenian

Association of Biochemists and the Myanmar Biochemical Society were approved

unanimously by the Executive Committee, and no objections were raised by any of the

Adhering Bodies. They have been listed as Associate Adhering Bodies on the IUBMB

website pending official final approval at the General Assembly in Seville, Spain in

September, 2012.

2. Changes to existing memberships. (i) The Nepal Molecular Biology Society applied for

admission to IUBMB as an Associate Adhering Body, which was unanimously approved

by the Executive Committee, and no objections were raised by any of the Adhering

Bodies. During the process, however, it came to my attention that the Royal Nepal

Academy of Science and Technology was already registered as an Associate Adhering

Body of IUBMB. Numerous attempts to contact the Academy failed and it was finally

decided simply to replace the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology with the

Nepal Molecular Biology Society as the Associate Adhering Body for Nepal since Nepal

had already been officially admitted to the IUBMB at the 2003 IUBMB General

Assembly. (ii) The U.S. has requested transfer of IUBMB responsibilities from the

National Academy of Sciences to the American Society for Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology. Approval of these changes will be requested at the General

Assembly in Seville in September, 2012.

3. Nominations to the Executive Committee. The process of nomination to vacancies on

the Executive Committee was initiated in August 2011. The following vacancies need to

be filled at the General Assembly in Seville in 2012: President-Elect, Treasurer, and

Members for Symposia, Publications and Education. The Call for Nominations for the

vacant positions was sent to Adhering Bodies in September 2011, followed by a reminder

in January, 2012.

4. Bids for IUBMB Conference 2014. Bids to host the IUBMB Conference in 2014 were

received from China (Taipei) and Dublin, Ireland. Arrangements were made for

presentations of these bids to be made to the Executive Committee at the IUBMB

Conference in Mérida, México in October, 2011. China (Taipei) was awarded the

IUBMB Conference for 2014.

5. Vision and Mission for IUBMB. In consultation with the Executive Committee,

finalized the changes to the Vision and Mission for IUBMB and arranged with Peter Ott

for this information to be updated on the website.

6. Standards for Doctoral Degrees in the Molecular Biosciences. This document was

finalized, proofread and 500 copies printed for distribution at future Conferences and

Congresses. The Standards were also posted as a pdf on the website by Peter Ott.

7. IUBMB brochure. Prepared an updated version of the IUBMB brochure with input from

EC members. After final approval and proofreading, copies of the brochure were

produced for distribution at future Conferences and Congresses. Copies were distributed

at the 43rd

IUPAC World Chemistry Congress held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in August,

2011, at the ICSU General Assembly in Rome in September, 2011, and at the IUBMB

CSN2011 Conference in Mérida, México in October, 2011.

8. IUBMB poster. Prepared a poster describing IUBMB’s mission and activities for

presentation at future Conferences and Congresses. This poster was presented at the

ICSU General Assembly in Rome in September, 2011, and at the IUBMB CSN2011

Conference in Mérida, México in October, 2011.

9. Participation in Conferences and Meetings on behalf of IUBMB. Presented a talk

entitled “The importance of calcium sensitization in the myogenic response of cerebral

arteries” at the Symposium “From Protein Structure to Cell Regulation” organized by

Angelo Azzi for the 43rd

IUPAC World Chemistry Congress, San Juan, Puerto Rico,

August 3, 2011. Also co-chaired the second session of this symposium, which was well

attended and provided good exposure for IUBMB at a large international Congress.

10. Young Scientists Program 2012. Served as a member of the Advisory Committee and of

the Evaluation Committee for YSP2012 in conjunction with the Seville IUBMB/FEBS

Congress 2012.

11. IUBMB Life. Joined the Editorial Board of IUBMB Life in September 2010.

12. Support for Mérida Conference 2011. Secured the sponsorship of a symposium at the

IUBMB CSN2011 Conference in Mérida, México by the Canadian Society of

Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology.

13. Nomination. Nominated Angelo Azzi for membership on the ICSU Committee for

Research and Planning, and encouraged the other BioUnions to submit nominations to

this committee and the Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in Science.

14. Recruitment of new members. Continued to work with Joan Guinovart, Stathis Gonos

and Angelo Azzi to identify countries to be targeted as new Associate and Adhering

Bodies and to be upgraded from Associate to Adhering Bodies.

15. COSPAR representative. Arranged the appointment of an IUBMB representative, Dr.

Günther Reitz, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Köln, Germany, to COSPAR (the ICSU

Committee on Space Research).

16. Day-to-day business. Much of the General Secretary’s time is taken up with the day-to-

day business of the Union, which includes: (i) correspondence with members of the

Executive Committee, individuals with specific queries about the Union, ICSU as the

umbrella organization for scientific unions, various organizations that publish

information about international scientific communities, etc.; (ii) preparations for the

Executive Committee meetings; (iii) correspondence with the organizers and PCO staff

regarding preparations for upcoming IUBMB Conferences and Congresses, including the

Morocco Conference 2013 and the Seville Congress 2012.