The 47th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan The 47th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan

JAPANESE

Greetings

President Hiroshi Kimura President of MBSJ2024
Hiroshi Kimura
(Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology)

Thanks to the hard work of President Shigeo Hayashi and the Organizing Committee, the 46th Annual Meeting was successfully concluded in the end of last year. The 46th Annual Meeting was held as online symposia followed by local events at Kobe, due to the uncertain state of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of planning. The symposia, poster presentations, and corporate exhibitions held locally seemed to regain the activity seen before the pandemic. Additionally, timely plans such as the ‘Generative AI and Scientific Research’ forum and seminars on paper publication and open science provided information on recent trends in science and society. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Hayashi san.

As for the 47th Annual Meeting, it will be held in Fukuoka as a hybrid event, combining both in-person and online formats. We hope to create an environment where as many members as possible can participate and engage in lively discussions. As I felt again in Kobe, the opportunity to discuss face-to-face is wonderful. I hope you will join us in Fukuoka. However, I understand that many will not be able to attend in person due to various circumstances. We would like to request that oral presentations be delivered on-site in principle, but viewing will be available in a hybrid format with both on-site and live online streaming, allowing participation from anywhere, both domestically and internationally. Additionally, for poster presentations, it is possible to choose a slot for online presentation on the day before the on-site event (November 26th). The application period for open symposia has ended, but we plan to start recruiting for forums from late February. As usual, plans organized by the Career Development Committee and the Ethics Committee will also be held. We are currently considering unique plans for the annual meeting. While we are not planning anything too extravagant, we hope to create timely and unique events characteristic of the MBSJ, and we hope you look forward to them.

I believe the MBSJ Meeting is a valuable opportunity where deep discussions can be held in each specialized field, while also exposing participants to research in other fields. We hope many of you will participate and present your latest research findings.

February 2024

I am Hiroshi Kimura, the president of the 47th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan. In the challenging circumstances following COVID-19, the 43rd to 46th annual meetings were held innovatively through online or hybrid formats, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the past president. Based on these experiences and the current social situation, we have decided to hold the 47th annual meeting in a hybrid format, both in-person and online. While in-person discussions are most effective for research, online participation offers the advantage of accessibility from anywhere. If possible, I hope you will join us in Fukuoka for lively face-to-face discussions. However, if it is difficult to attend in Fukuoka due to family circumstances, institutional duties, or financial reasons, I believe online participation can be a convenient alternative.

For the 47th annual meeting, we have not set a specific catchphrase, but we are focusing on ‘diverse forms of participation’ and ‘new encounters’. Regarding ‘diverse forms of participation’, we will take advantage of the benefits of hybrid meetings. The day before the on-site meeting in Fukuoka (November 26th), we will have online poster presentations. To accommodate presenters from different time zones, we plan to allow selection of session times in the morning, afternoon, and evening. All symposia will be hybrid, so you can participate either at the symposium venue or online. Even if you are at the conference site, you can participate online without entering a specific symposium venue and surf through multiple symposia. From this perspective, and to encourage the presentation of the latest data as much as possible, we have decided not to offer on-demand streaming. There will also be no online streaming for on-site posters. We hope you will plan ahead and listen to the presentations efficiently.

Regarding ‘new encounters’, we are actively seeking proposals for mini-symposia from small study groups and related societies. One advantage of large conferences is the promotion of interdisciplinary fusion, as researchers from a wide range of fields participate. New academic fields are often developed based on small study groups or meetings by core related researchers. Sharing such activity would stimulate the fields. We would like to encourage members of the Molecular Biology Society to propose mini-symposium plans, also as a way to widely introduce the activities of the society. Also, unlike the past few years, we will not continue the practice of allowing multiple presentations per person; instead, we will limit it to one presentation per person. If there are overlapping scheduled speakers for a symposium, please consider giving the opportunity to present to young co-researchers.

By the way, holding the annual meeting in Fukuoka is the first time in five years since the 42nd meeting (chaired by Hiroyuki Sasaki). The past Fukuoka meetings were four days long due to poster venue constraints, but with the establishment of the 'Marine Messe Fukuoka B Hall' in 2021, the 2024 on-site meeting will be three days long, similar to other venues, making it easier for busy people to participate. I look forward to meeting you all.

December 2023