About the Union

The Mission of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) is to foster and support the growth and advancement of biochemistry and molecular biology as the foundation from which the biomolecular sciences derive their basic ideas and techniques in the service of mankind. Union initiatives include:

• Organizing scientific congresses and conferences
• Sponsoring symposia and special lectures
• Engaging younger scientists through regional advanced training schools, Wood-Whelan research fellowships, and dedicated Young Scientist programs at scientific meetings
• Publishing journals, books, and news
• Maintaining research infrastructure such as Standards for the Ph.D. Degree in the Molecular Biosciences and the IUBMB-IUPAC Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature
• Promoting the voice of the biological sciences within ICSU, the International Council for Science

  Learn more about the IUBMB.

About the USNC

The U.S. National Committees (USNCs) represent the United States scientific community in the international structure of the unions, work to promote positive international engagement and collaboration, and serve as bridges between the National Academies, the many disciplinary societies, scientific funding agencies, and individual American scientists.

The U.S. committee to IUBMB supports the growth of biology by:

• Serving as a neutral venue where representatives of U.S. professional societies, government agencies, and other important stakeholders can meet to discuss trends in their disciplines
• Acting as a communication bridge between the U.S. and international scientific communities
• Initiating and facilitating activities on important disciplinary and trans-disciplinary issues
• Collaborating with other national and international organizations interested in the advancement of the biological sciences

Activities & Events

Dr. Bradshaw; His Excellency, Dr. Maurice Tchuente, Minister of Higher Education; and Dr. Vincent Titanji, President of the FASBMB at the 2003 IUBMB Congress in Cameroon

 Representing the U.S. in the International Network of the Union
The U.S. National Committee nominates scientists for leadership positions in the union, votes on union business matters, and sends a delegation of scientists to represent the U.S. in the triennial IUBMB Congresses.

The most recent IUBMB Congress was the 20th IUBMB International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and 11th FAOBMB Congress, held in Kyoto, Japan in June 2006. The U.S. was represented at the meeting by Jack Kirsch, University of California-Berkeley and Chair (2003-2006) of the U.S. National Committee to IUBMB. The next Congress will be the 21st IUBMB International Congress and 12th FAOBMB Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to be held in Shanghai, China in August 2009. 

 Supporting Education and Opportunities for Younger Scientists

YOUNG SCIENTIST PROGRAM (YSP)

The principal scientific meeting of the union, the IUBMB International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is held every three years around the world, usually in partnership with local and regional organizations for biochemistry and molecular biology.  Since 2000, the union has organized a dedicated Young Scientists Program (YSP) at the beginning of each of its international congresses and conferences.  Approximately 100 YSP fellows (graduate students or postdocs within three years of receiving their degrees) are competitively selected by the organizing committee to receive travel fellowships to participate in both the main Congress and the special YSP sessions.  Through the program, the YSP fellows have opportunities to meet international colleagues, discuss their research, and enjoy social and cultural activities.  Further information about these programs is available from the IUBMB website.

As a complement to the union program, the U.S. National Committee to IUBMB has also supported additional travel fellowships to encourage the participation of U.S. scientists in the meetings. With funding from the National Science Foundation Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, the U.S. Committee to IUBMB supported 10 competitively selected graduate students and young scientists and 15 established women and minority speakers to attend the combined 30th FEBS Congress and 9th IUBMB Conference held in Budapest, Hungary in July 2005.

ADVANCED TRAINING SCHOOLS

IUBMB has established a regional Advanced Training Schools program to broaden worldwide capacity in biochemistry and molecular biology.  The goal of the Advanced Schools program is to offer younger researchers from the region the opportunity to participate in courses that can contribute to sustained scientific development.  At the same time, the training courses are designed to draw a mix of participants worldwide in order to foster exchanges and collaboration. 

In 2008, the union launched a biennial Advanced Training School in Africa.  The first school, a “Training Course on the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Infection” was held March 1-9, 2008 in South Africa under the auspices of IUBMB, the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  Faculty for the intensive week-long program came from the U.S., Africa, Europe, and Asia; while the participants were competitively selected younger scientists from around the world.  The next Advanced School in Africa will be held in 2010.  The IUBMB has now established an Advanced Training School in Asia.  The first offering will be an Advanced Summer School in India on the topic of “Biotechnology,” which will be held at the end of 2009.  The union hopes to further expand the Advanced Training Schools program in the future to include a school in Latin America.

 
 Fostering Responsible Conduct of Biology

IUBMB CODE OF ETHICS
The IUBMB has adopted a code of ethics.  This code encourages researchers to consider aspects of ethical and responsible conduct in conducting their research, and lays these out under the major headings obligations to the public, obligations other investigators, and obligations to trainees.  The IUBMB code was approved by the Executive Committee in 2005.

SECOND INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON BIOSECURITY
March 30 – April 2, 2008
Budapest, Hungary
More than 80 people from 31 countries participated in the Forum and discussed challenges and opportunities for the scientific community in fostering policies that promote both scientific progress and security.

 
 Developing Disciplinary and Multidisciplinary Scientific Programs

DISCUSSING THEMES IN EVOLUTION
The 2006 Public Affairs Forum at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting and Centennial Celebration focused on “Teaching the Science of Evolution under the Threat of Alternative Views.” Michael Cox, Vice-Chair of the U.S. National Committee for IUBMB, helped to organize the forum and also chaired a complementary session on "Current Themes in Molecular Evolution." The IUBMB also supported dissemination of CDs of the presentations to high school science teachers.
  

Figure 1 from the workshop report Defining the Mandate of Proteomics in the Post-Genomics Era, The National Academies Press, 2002.

ADDRESSING PROTEOMICS RESEARCH
The USNC/IUBMB and the Academies’ Board on Life Sciences convened a 2002 symposium on the future of proteomics research to foster international communication and cooperation in biosciences research. A National Research Council workshop report from the symposium, entitled Defining the Mandate of Proteomics in the Post-Genomics Era, has been published and is available for download from the National Academies Press website. The report was also published in Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (MCP), a journal of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The U.S. Committee to IUBMB also joined with the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the American Chemical Society Division of Biological Chemistry to support a lecture on proteomics research by Ralph Bradshaw of the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Bradshaw delivered the lecture as part of his participation in the 2003 Congress of the Federation of African Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (FASBMB) in Cameroon. The Congress featured both fundamental topics in biochemistry and molecular biology as well as applied topics of interest to Africa such as infectious disease, food, and nutrition.

current membership

The National Academies currently convenes five U.S. National Committees in the biological sciences, one committee for each union to which it adheres.  Members of the committees are scientists from academe, government and industry who represent the U.S. research community and who have a strong interest in international science.  Members generally serve for 3-year terms and are eligible for re-appointment to a second 3-year term.  Members of the Executive Boards of the biology unions who reside in the U.S. serve as ex-officio members and are also invited to be actively involved with the committees.  Nominations for new members are sought from a variety of sources, including the members and other Boards within the National Academies, scientific societies, and the scientific community at large.

Sponsor

Support for the five U.S. National Committees in the biological sciences is provided by the Directorate for Biological Sciences
of the National Science Foundation.

To comment on this Web page or report an error, please send feedback to BISO Site Manager.