ACB2015: Biotechnology and bioeconomy for sustainable future.

Abstract

Asian Congress on Biotechnology (ACB) was first initiated in 1990 and formerly known as APBioChEC (Asia-Pacific Biochemical Engineering Conference) before it was transformed into ACB in 2009 under the umbrella of Asian Federation of Biotechnology (AFOB). The 10th ACB2011 was held in Shanghai, China followed by the 11th ACB2013 in New Delhi, India. The 12thACB2015 was held in Kuala Lumpur, capital city of Malaysia. The congress was mainly organized by AFOB Malaysia Chapter and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), University of Malaya (UM), Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan (Kyutech) and Kyushu University, Japan. The advisory boards were Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI) and Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp). The congress was supported by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) under Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia (MOTOUR). Chaired by Prof. Mohd Ali Hassan and Prof. Suraini Abd-Aziz, ACB2015 has shown a meaningful and remarkable experience for participants who attended the congress. The theme for this congress was ”Biotechnology and Bioeconomy for Sustainable Future“, aimed to provide a platform for scientists, academia and industry to present their current research findings in various biotechnological fields. The congress also served as a platform for networking opportunities and knowledge sharing as it brought together researchers from around the world. The congress covered 12 technical sessions, one special session, two young researcher sessions and three sponsored luncheon talks. The congress attracted more than 500 abstract submissions with a total of 476 final registered participants from over 24 different countries. There were 173 oral presenters, 234 poster presenters and remaining were attended as participant only. The congress invited three plenary speakers, 16 keynote speakers and 35 invited speakers from various countries to deliver a talk of their expertise. The congress was officially launched by YBhg. Professor Dr.-Ing. Ir. Renuganth Varatharajoo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry & Community Relations), UPM on behalf of YBhg. Professor Dato' Dr. Mohd Fauzi Hj Ramlan, Vice Chancellor of UPM. First plenary speaker, Dr. Zulkifli Mohamed Hashim, Deputy Secretary General (Science), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia talked on Malaysian policies and strategies for biotechnology that highlighted on the recent policies provided by the Malaysian government and the achievements of previous biotechnological strategies in various areas in Malaysia. On day 3, second plenary speech delivered by Dato' Dr. Mohd Nazlee Kamal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), Malaysia was on commercialization of bio-based products in Malaysia that focused on recent commercialization activities in Malaysia including bioeconomy and bio-based chemicals. BiotechCorp, an agency under the purview of MOSTI, is the lead development agency for the bio-based industry in Malaysia, governed by the Biotechnology Implementation Council and advised by the Bioeconomy International Advisory Panel. The third plenary speech on Day 4 was delivered by Professor Tai Hyun Park, Professor in Seoul National University, Korea and also a Deputy Secretary General (Publication Committee) of AFOB. He presented on bioelectronic noses for mimicking human nose which attracted audiences to know on how human nose is functioning and how bioelectronic noses can be developed. Photo: ACB2015 participants during opening ceremony on Day 2 The 12 technical sessions are: (i) Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, (ii) Biopharmaceutical and Medical Biotechnology, (ii) Biocatalysis and Protein Engineering, (iv) Environmental Biotechnology, (v) AFOB-EFB Joint Symposium on Systems and Synthetic Biotechnology, (vi) Bioenergy and Biorefinery, (vii) Applied Microbiology, (viii) AFOB-EFB Joint Symposium on Nanobiotechnology, Biosensors and Biochips, (ix) Bioeconomy and Biobusiness, (x) Agricultural and Food Biotechnology, (xi) Bioprocess and Bioseparation Engineering and (xii) Marine Biotechnology. Technical sessions (v) and (viii) were jointly organized with European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB). All 12 technical sessions covered various topics in biotechnological fields and were held for three days (Day 2–Day 4) which intended to share ideas, problems and finding solutions based on their expertise. Young researcher sessions were held to attract new scientists to present their current research findings. Two sessions were: (i) Cell and Molecular Biology and (ii) Bioprocess Technology that had attracted more than 67 young scientists. The presentation by all the presenters was judged to find the best presenter of the session based on the presentation contents, commercialization impact, originality and presentation approaches. The winners for Cell and Molecular Biology Session 1 and 2 were Ms. Tanya Singh and Mr. Soorav Kanti Mukhopadhyay from Indian Institute of Technology, India. The winners for Bioprocess Technology Session 1, 2 and 3 are Mr. Muhamad Hanif Md Nor (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), Ms. Lee Yee-Ying (Universiti Putra Malaysia) and Ms. Atrayee Chattopadhyay (Indian Institute of Technology, India). Despite of young researcher awards, the congress also delivered the best poster presentation awards according to the technical sessions. There are 12 winners that had tackled the judges: Mr. Ahmad Zuhairi Abd Rahman (Malaysia), Mr. Hoe-Suk Lee (Korea), Ms. NurtasbiyahYusof (Malaysia), Ms. Mari Miyazaki (Japan), Mr. Armstrong Ighodalo Omoregie (Australia), Dr. Jikun Du (Korea), Mr. Kiichi Tsunoda (Japan), Ms. Syazaira Arham Yahya (Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Norihan Mohd Salleh (Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Tatsuya Oshima (Japan), Ms. Nurul Hanisah Md Badrul Hisham (Malaysia) and Mr. Sang-Min Lee (Korea). The awards were sponsored by Wiley and Springer. On top of pack schedule, the congress also held an 8th AFOB Board Meeting on November16th 2015 (Day 2). The current status of ABD (Asian Biotechnology Directory) and past 2014–2015 Division Activities were reported. Several announcements on AFOB Board (2014–2018), establishment of India Regional Branch Office (RBO), AFOB newsletter, 7th AFOB Regional Symposium (ARS 2016), 13th Asian Congress on Biotechnology (ACB 2017), 14th Asian Congress on Biotechnology (ACB 2019), 2015–2016 Division Activities, and call for participation in 17th European Congress on Biotechnology (ECB 2016) were also announced. The meeting also discussed on the submissions for BTJ (Biotechnology Journal) AFOB Special Issue that will be published in December 2016, plenary sessions of ACB, decision making process and inviting new members region. The most important agenda was the terms and election process of President and Secretary General. Three AFOB Academic Division Board Meeting, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, Biocatalysis and Protein Engineering and Nanobiotechnology, Biosensors and Biochips were also held during the congress. A special session on SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) was held on Day 3. This special session solely provided to discuss on the current topic related to SATREPS project on Promotion of Green Economy and Palm Oil Industry for Biodiversity Conservation. The project was supported by Japanese government represented by KYUTECH, Kyushu University and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and Malaysian government representing by UPM and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Chaired by Prof. Yoshihito Shirai, the session received about 70 participants involving academicians, industries, government representatives and students from both countries. The congress also encountered three luncheon talks from Day 2–4 which were sponsored by Wiley, Springer and Springer-Asia that had attracted many audiences to listen on how their studies can be published in high impact journals, as well as some technical aspects on searching web information, i.e. Springer protocols. Besides, a warm welcome reception had been held on Day 1 to initiate the free-flow exchange of information and facilitate the professional networking among the participants. Pre-conference workshop on Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) was held on November 12–13 as part of the congress schedule. Social visit to Malacca and technical visit to Palm Oil Mill Labu, Negeri Sembilan and Biorefinery Complex at UPM were also scheduled as part of the congress. The congress was officially closed by Professor Ho Nam Chang, President of AFOB on Day 4 together with the award ceremony that we hope had left fruitful and meaningful memories to all ACB2015 participants. On behalf of all the organizing committee members of ACB2015, the congress gratefully acknowledged support by all the organizers and advisory boards. The congress also acknowledges the hard work by all the heads of AFOB Academic Division and judges of the young researcher and poster presentation session. Bundle of thanks to all the sponsors, media partnership, vendors and Hotel Istana for their great cooperation and to all ACB2015 participants that had made this congress as one of the successful ACB! Congress website: www.acb2015.my