The Society for Biotechnology, Japan/ News

JBB Cover Contest Deadline for entries has been postponed! As of 2009 the Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering will change the design of its cover. The cover image will change per volume. For the first new covers, to be published during 2009, we are now soliciting images.　Click here for a contest flyer (pdf). Please send us your best and most beautiful scientific images for inclusion in the cover image contest. The editors of the Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering will decide on the images chosen for the 2009 covers. The winner will receive a free 2009 print subscription to the Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering as well as an Amazon.com gift voucher of US$250. Images should be either in .tif, .gif or .jpeg format Resolution should be at least 300 dpi Size should be 15 cm x 20 cm Deadline for entries is October 1, 2008 Please send entries to sbbj@bio.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp with “Cover contest” in the subject line and your full address and a short description of the image. Images that are published in one of the 2007 or 2008 issues of the Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering will be entered automatically into the cover contest.

Young Asian Biotechnologist Prize 2008 Prize Winner Dr. Dong-Myung Kim (Chungnam National University, Korea) has been selected as the winner of the 2008 Young Asian Biotechnologist Prize in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the field of biotechnology. Dr. Kim was honored at the Award Ceremony on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 during 60th SBJ Annual Meeting in Sendai, Japan. Dr. Kim earned his PhD from Seoul National University in 1996. His PhD work was dedicated to the development of efficient cell-free protein synthesis systems. From 1993 to 1994, he worked in Prof. Shigeyuki Yokoyama’s lab (University of Tokyo) as a visiting scholar. During his tenure as a post-doc of Prof. Jim Swartz, Stanford University from 1998 to 2000, he developed a novel system that efficiently provides ATP for cell-free protein synthesis at a remarkably reduced reagent cost. The results of his work have been licensed to Roche Diagnostics, where he worked as a Principal Scientist and a Research Director for three years. Dr. Kim joined Chungnam National University in 2003 and has been serving as an Associate Professor. <Acceptance Message> I am honored to receive the 2008 Young Asian Biotechnologist Prize of the Society for Biotechnology, Japan. I understand that the purposes of this prize include promoting scientific interactions between Japan and other Asian countries. In that point, I am especially pleased because my works for the prize were initiated in Japan through the collaboration with Prof. Shigeyuki Yokoyama. As a biotechnologist working on protein synthesis, I am always marveled at the power of ‘combination’. Just like simple amino acids can drive all the great things through their combinations into protein molecules, I wish all the excellent expertise owned by the regional scientists can be shared and exchanged for greater achievements.

IBS2008 The International Biotechnology Symposium (IBS) is organized under the auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The first IBS was held in 1960 in Rome under the name "International Fermentation Symposium". The name "International Biotechnology Symposium" was first adopted in 1984 in New Delhi, India. Since its inception, IBS has been successfully convened in 10 different countries. Today, it is recognized as the largest international conference in the rapidly growing field of biotechnology. The upcoming IBS is the first to be held in Dalian, China. Deadline of the abstract submission: November 30, 2007. << more Previous IBS series 12th Santiago, Chile 2004 11th Berlin, Germany 2000 10th Sydney, Australia 1996 9th Crystal City, USA 1992 8th Paris, France 1988 7th Delhi, India 1984 6th London, Ontario, Canada 1980 5th Berlin, Germany 1976 4th Kyoto, Japan 1972 3rd Rutgers, New Jersey, USA 1968 2nd London, U.K. 1964 1st Rome, Italy 1960