Congresses
HDBMB2019 Congress Crossroads in Life Sciences, Lovran, September 25 – 28 2019
The Congress was organised under the auspices of the Croatian Parliament, the Primorsko-Goranska County, the University of Rijeka, the University of Split, the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek and the University of Zagreb.
Scientific Committee: Tihomir Balog (President), Zrinka Kovarik, Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac, Jasmina Rokov Plavec and Maja Herak-Bosnar.
Organising Committee: Damjan Franjević (President), Maja Katalinić (Secretary), Jerka Dumić, Hrvoje Fulgosi, Ivana Novak Nakir, Antonija Jurak Begonja, Morana Dulić, Nino Sinčić and Igor Stuparević.
The Congress gathered 151 participants, 130 from Croatia and 21 from abroad. They presented scientific achievements through 4 plenary lectures, 14 invited lectures, 15 short invited lectures and 8 short presentations selected from 72 poster presentations. Nineteen companies from the economic sector related to this area of research were presented at the Congress.
The Plenary Opening Lecture was given by Dr Sven Gould (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany), as FEBS National Lecture. Other plenary lectures were given by Prof Siemus Martin (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland), Editor-in-Chief of the FEBS Journal, Prof Robert Harris (Karolinska Institute, Sweden) and Prof Iva Marija Tolić (Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb).
Before and after the Congress, the Education Workshop Better Skills for Better Jobs: Education and Training for Successful Research Careers was organised with the support of the FEBS.
In addition to the Scientific Programme, the participants had the opportunity for informal socialising with colleagues during the Welcome Party, Gala Dinner and a visit to the distillery Aura Ltd in Buzet and the Karlić Truffles in Paladini.
Selected scientific papers of the Congress participants were published in two issues of the journal Periodicum biologorum, 2020 121-122(1-2) and 121-122(3-4), and the guest editors of these issues were Tihomir Balog, Maja Katalinić and Zrinka Kovarik.
FEBS3+ Meeting From molecules to living systems, Siofok, Hungary, September 2 – 5, 2018
The Congress was organised by the Hungarian Biochemical Society in cooperation with the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Slovenian Biochemical Society and the Serbian Biochemical Society.
Scientific Committee: László Buday, President (Hungary), Tihomir Balog, Vice-President (Croatia), Janko Kos, Vice-President (Slovenia), Marija Gavrović-Jankulović, Vice-President (Serbia), Gregor Anderluh (Slovenia), Péter Bay (Hungary), Mihály Kovács (Hungary), Zrinka Kovarik (Croatia), Brigita Lenarčič (Slovenia), Đorđe Miljković (Serbia), Jasmina Rokov Plavec (Croatia), and Mihajlo B. Spasić (Serbia).
Organising Committee: Dávid Szüts, President (Hungary), Péter Bay (Hungary), Aleš Berlec (Slovenia), Jerka Dumić (Croatia), Damjan Franjević (Croatia), Suzana Jovanović-Šanta (Serbia), Milan Nikolić (Serbia), and Nataša Poklar Ulrih (Slovenia).
Plenary lectures were given by Prof Péter Bai (University of Debrecen, Hungary), Prof Sergej Đuranović (Washington University, St. Louis, USA), Prof Jernej Ule (University College London & The Francis Crick Institute, UK) and Prof Sanja Sever (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA). The Congress was attended by 245 scientists from several countries, who presented 24 invited lectures, 35 short lectures and 144 poster presentations. With the financial support of FEBS, the organizers awarded 30 scholarships for young scientists (10 each country except Hungary) which covered the costs of accommodation and registration fees. The Organizer awarded three best poster presentations.
The social life included a Welcome Dinner, a Congress Dinner and a boat trip on Lake Balaton, while informal gatherings along its shores were also unforgettable.
HDBMB2016 Congress on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Society, Split, June 1 – 4, 2016
The Congress celebrated the 40th Anniversary of its founding (HDBMB2016). It was organised under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and the Split-Dalmatia County, the City of Split, the University of Split, the University of Rijeka, the University J. J. Strossmayer in Osijek and the University of Zagreb.
Scientific Committee: Zrinka Kovarik (President), Jerka Dumić, Damjan Franjević, Hrvoje Fulgosi, Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac, Maja Herak-Bosnar, Maja Pavela-Vrančić, Jasmina Rokov Plavec and Jadranka Varljen.
Organising Committee: Irena Drmić Hofman (President), Maja Katalinić (Secretary), Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac (Treasurer), Tihomir Balog, Viljemka Bučević-Popović, Vedrana Čikeš-Čulić, Anita Markotić, Angela Mastelić, Ivana Novak Nakir, Stjepan Orhanović, Mila Radan, and Nikolina Režić-Mužinić.
The Congress was attended by 122 participants, 98 from Croatia and 24 from abroad, who presented 35 lectures and 48 poster presentations. Short (3 min) poster presentations (speed-talks) were organised with the aim of more active discussion of the results.
A special success of this Congress was the participation of four top world scientists, who presented their achievements through plenary lectures; Prof Susan S. Taylor (University of California at San Diego, San Diego, USA), who was awarded the IUBMB Ed Wood Lecturer Award, Dr Ivan Matić (Universite Paris Decartes, Paris, France) (FEBS National Lecture), Prof Palmer Taylor (University of California at San Diego, San Diego, USA), a HDBMB Honorary Member of and Prof Miroslav Radman (MedILS, Split). The special guests of the Congress were Prof Israel Pecht (The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel), FEBS Secretary General and representatives of collaborating societies, Prof Janko Kos (Slovenian Biochemical Society), Prof Marija Gavrović-Jankulović (Serbian Biochemical Society) and Prof Beáta Vértessy (Hungarian Biochemical Society). Along with guests from abroad, the Congress was magnified by the doyens of Croatian biochemistry, Academician Željko Kućan and Dr Ljubinka Vitale.
The Symposium – the 40th Anniversary of HDBMB, celebrated 40 active and fruitful years of the HDBMB. Dr Zrinka Kovarik, HDBMB President, presented the activities of the Society during its 40 years of existence, with special reference to the last 10 years. Due to the exceptional support to our Society and the promotion of its activities, Prof Israel Pecht was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and was presented with a plaque.
The social program (Welcome evening, Gala Dinner at the Kadena restaurant and guided tour of Split) provided participants with opportunity for socialising in an informal environment.
Selected scientific papers of the Congress participants were published in two issues of the journal Periodicum biologorum 118(4), and the guest editor of this issue was Zrinka Kovarik.
FEBS3+ Meeting Molecules of Life, Portorož, Slovenia, September 16 – 19, 2015
FEBS3 + Meeting Molecules of Life was organized by the Slovenian Biochemical Society in cooperation with the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Hungarian Biochemical Society and the Serbian Biochemical Society. The purpose of the Congress was to bring together biochemists and molecular biologists from the participating countries, but also from other European countries with the aim of better networking. The Scientific Programme covered the most modern topics of molecular life sciences, especially biochemistry and molecular biology, with special emphasis on those topics that the participating countries highlighted as the most interesting to their members.
Scientific Committee: Janko Kos, President (Slovenia), László Fésüs, Vice-President (Hungary), Zrinka Kovarik, Vice-President (Croatia), Mihajlo Spasić, Vice-President (Serbia), Tihomir Balog (Croatia), Karmela Barišić (Croatia), Imre Boros (Hungary), Peter Csermely (Hungary), Tanja Cirkovic-Veličković (Serbia), Hrvoje Fulgosi (Croatia), Roman Jerala (Slovenia), Ivanka Karađić (Serbia), Olgica Nedić (Serbia), Damjana Rozman (Slovenia), Boris Turk (Slovenia) and Beáta Vértessy (Hungary).
Organising Committee: Nataša Poklar Ulrih, President (Slovenia), Jerka Dumić, Vice-President (Croatia), Karmen Stankov, Vice-President (Serbia), Mária Szücs, Vice-President (Hungary), Marko Goličnik, Secretary (Slovenia), Aleš Berlec, Treasurer (Slovenia), Marija Gavrović-Jankulović (Serbia), Maja Katalinić (Croatia) and László Nyitray (Hungary).
Local Organising Committee: Nataša Poklar Ulrih (President), Brigita Lenarčič (Vice-President), Gregor Anderluh, Sabina Berne, Matej Butala, Blaž Cigić, Marko Dolinar, Miha Pavšič, Kristina Sepčić and Mihaela Skrt.
Plenary lectures were given by Prof Andrej Šali (University of California, San Francisco, USA), Prof Andras Nagy (Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada), Prof Yosef Yarden (The Wiezmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel), as FEBS National Lecture, proposed by HDBMB and Prof Đorđe Miljković (Siniša Stanković Institute for Biological Research, Belgrade, Serbia). In addition, 317 scientists from 12 countries presented 28 invited lectures, 39 short lectures and 5 commercial lectures, and 159 poster presentations. With the financial support of FEBS, the organizers awarded 30 scholarships for young scientists from Croatia, Hungary and Serbia to cover accommodation and registration costs, and the Hungarian Biochemical Society and the Slovenian Biochemical Society awarded 10 more scholarships to young scientists from their countries. The organizers awarded three prizes for the best poster presentations.
Social life was extremely rich and enabled direct contact of participants, both at the Welcome Dinner and during a trip to the Škocjan Caves, which ended with a Congress Dinner organized at the noble estate Zemono (Vipava) in the restaurant Pri Lojzetu.
HDBMB2014 Congress The Interplay of Biomolecules, Zadar, September 24 – 27, 2014
HDBMB2014 Congress The Interplay of Biomolecules was organised under the auspices of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture of the Croatian Parliament, University of Zadar, University of Rijeka, University of Split, University Josip Juraj Stossmayer in Osijek, University of Zagreb, Zadar County and the City of Zadar.
Scientific Committee: Zrinka Kovarik (President), Tihomir Balog, Damjan Franjević, Hrvoje Fulgosi, Maja Herak-Bosnar, Vladimir Mrša, Sonja Levanat, Ivan Sabolić, and Janoš Terzić.
Organising Committee: Tihomir Balog (President), Maja Katalinić (Secretary), Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac (Treasurer), Jerka Dumić, Damjan Franjević, Hrvoje Fulgosi, Maja Herak-Bosnar, Zrinka Kovarik, Marijana Matek Sarić, Jasmina Rokov Plavec, and Jadranka Varljen.
The Congress was attended by 148 scientists from Croatia and abroad (France, Israel, Hungary, Germany, USA, Slovenia and Sweden) who presented 7 plenary lectures, 16 invited lectures and 11 short presentations were held, and 68 poster presentations. The scientific program of the Congress was opened by Prof Hermona Soreq (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel), the FEBS National Lecture. Plenary lectures were given by Prof Israel Pecht (Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel), Prof Mathias Sprinzl (University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany), Prof Enrico Schleiff (Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany), Prof William F. Martin (Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany), Prof Ivan Mijaković (Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden) and Prof Sanja Sever (Research Institute of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA). The Congress was attended by scientists from various Croatian institutions, and it is important to emphasize the participation of a large number of young researchers, 12 students, 28 doctoral students and 22 postdoctoral students with the representation of all Croatian universities.
After nomination by the HDBMB, the Croatian Natural History Society awarded the Spiridion Brusina Medal to Prof Enrico Schleiff; before his Spiridion Brusina Memorial Lecture, a solemn award ceremony was held.
As part of the Congress, a Mini-symposium dedicated to the 50th anniversary of FEBS was organised, with the participation of Prof Israel Pecht, FEBS Secretary General, who presented the activities of FEBS, while an overview of the activities of HDBMB that were realised in cooperation or on behalf of FEBS was presented by Jerka Dumić.
Social life, in addition to the Welcome Party and the Gala Dinner, included a guided tour of Zadar and a visit to the Museum of Ancient Glass.
FEBS3+ Meeting From molecules to life and back, Opatija, June 13 – 16, 2012
FEBS3+ Meeting From molecules to life and back was the result of two years of intensive cooperation of the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with the Hungarian Biochemical Society (HBS) and the Slovenian Biochemical Society (SBS). It was organized within a frame of the FEBS3+ Meeting Program of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, as a scientific meeting, with the aim of connecting scientists from these countries, establishing scientific cooperation and establishing contacts for successful joint application of international projects.
Scientific Committee: Jerka Dumić, President (Croatia), Marinka Drobnič-Košorok, Vice-President (Slovenia), László Fésüs, Vice-President (Hungary), Hrvoje Fulgosi (Croatia), Roman Jerala (Slovenia), Radovan Komel (Slovenia), Sonja Levanat (Croatia), Vladimir Mrša (Croatia), Balázs Sarkadi (Hungary), Vito Turk (Slovenia), Beáta Vértessy (Hungary), László Vígh (Hungary).
Organising Committee Zrinka Kovarik, President (Croatia), Gregor Anderluh, Vice-President (Slovenia), Beáta Vértessy, Vice-President (Hungary), Tihomir Balog, Treasurer (Croatia), Ales Berlec (Slovenia), Jerka Dumić (Croatia), Lajos Haracska ), Jadranka Varljen (Croatia).
Local Organising Committee: headed by Jadranka Varljen (President), Tihomir Balog, Sunčica Buljević, Dijana Detel, Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac, Damir Klepac, Zrinka Kovarik, Irena Landeka Jurčević, Čedomila Milin and Marin Tota.
In addition to prominent scientists from Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, scientists from other European countries, the USA and Israel participated in the work of the Congress (283 participants). The Plenary Opening Lecture was given by Prof Ada Yonath (The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel), the Nobel Prize Awardee in Chemistry, in 2009. Plenary lectures were delivered by Prof Kai Simons (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany), Prof Joszef Jiricny (Institute of Molecular Cancer Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland) and Dr Sandra Oršulić (Cancer Institute of Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, USA). In the Science and Society section, lectures were given by Prof Gottfried Jeff Schatz (University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland), a doyen of Biomolecular Sciences of Europe and Prof Jacques-Henry Weil (University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France), Chair of the FEBS Science and Society Committee. The Congress also hosted a distinguished guest, Prof Israel Pecht, the FEBS Secretary General.
The scientific program consisted of 9 symposia, 5 workshops, 2 Science and Society sessions and 3 poster sessions. Around 300 participants presented 35 invited lectures, 45 short lectures and 150 posters.
A large number (96) of young scientists, especially doctoral students, also participated at the Congress. With the financial support of FEBS, 36 scholarships were awarded for the participation of young scientists from Hungary and Slovenia to cover accommodation and registration costs. Fifteen scholarships for participants from Croatia to cover the registration fee were awarded by HDBMB.
In addition to the scientific program, social program included Welcome Party and a half-day trip around Istria, during which participants had the opportunity to be acquainted with Croatian heritage and Glagolitic, as well as gastronomic offer at Kabola winery and at the Congress Dinner at Paladnjaki, Žminj.
HDBMB2010 Congress The secret life of biomolecules, Opatija, September 15 – 18, 2010
HDBMB2010 Congress The secret life of biomolecules was held as the tenth jubilee Congress of the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with international participation.
Scientific Committee: Jerka Dumić (President), Tihomir Balog, Karmela Barišić, Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac, Zrinka Kovarik, Irena Landeka Jurčević, Sonja Levanat, Vladimir Mrša, and Jadranka Varljen.
Organising Committee: Jadranka Varljen (President), Zrinka Kovarik (Secretary), Tihomir Balog (Treasurer), Lara Batičić, Dalibor Broznić, Dijana Detel, Jerka Dumić, Jelena Marinić, Čedomila Milin, Sunčica Ostojić, Orjen Petković, and Marin Tota.
The Congress was organised under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Prof Ivo Josipović and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, the University of Rijeka, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, the City of Opatija and the City of Rijeka.
The HDBMB2010 Congress was attended by 163 scientists from 16 different countries. Plenary lectures were given by Prof Israel Pecht (The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel), Prof Karl Kuchler (Medical University, Vienna, Austria), Prof Markus Aebi (Department of Biology, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland) and Prof Siniša Volarević (Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka). The participant presented 13 invited lectures, 11 short oral presentations and 84 poster presentations.
On the first day of the Congress, a Symposium in honour of Prof Mirna Flögel Mršić, doyen of the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, long-time president of the Society, who significantly contributed to the reputation of the Society. As part of the Symposium, Jerka Dumić and Academician Željko Kućan presented Prof Mirna Flögel’s life opus, her scientific and professional activities, while her students and scientific successors gave short lectures (Gordan Lauc, Sanja Dabelić, Gordana Maravić Vlahoviček).
The exciting social program, along with the Welcome Party, included a trip to the Baredine Cave, a geomorphological natural monument and the first speleological site in Istria arranged for tourist purposes, followed by a Congress Dinner in an interesting rural household Konoba Bani (Zarečje, Pazin).
After the Congress, on June 18 and 19, in cooperation with the FEBS Education Committee, the Workshop on Education in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology was organised. The Workshop was coordinated by Prof Gül Güner Akdoğan, Chair of the FEBS Education Committee, with a great help of Prof Karmela Barišić, member of the Committee. It was attended by almost 50 participants. The impressions of both the participants and lecturers were extraordinary.
Selected scientific papers of the Congress participants were published in the journal Croatica Chemica Acta 2012 85(2), and the guest editor of that issue was Jerka Dumić.
HDBMB2008 Congress, Osijek, September 17 – 20, 2008
The HDBMB2008 Congress brought together 170 scientists from Croatia and abroad (Austria, France, Germany, Iran, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States). It was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts – Department of Natural Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County and the City of Osijek.
Scientific Committee: Jadranka Varljen (President), Tihomir Balog, Karmela Barišić, Jerka Dumić, Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac, Zrinka Kovarik, Sonja Levanat, Irena Landeka Jurčević, and Vladimir Mrša.
Organising Committee: Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac (President), Elizabeta Has-Schön (Vice-President), Ivica Strelec (Secretary), Tihomir Balog, Treasurer, Drago Bešlo, Marija Heffer-Lauc, Zorica Jurković, Hrvoje Lepeduš, Saška Marczi and Mirjana Suver.
The plenary lecture was given by Prof Palmer Taylor (University of California, San Diego, USA), while the scientific achievements of the participants were presented through 21 lectures, 14 short lectures and 83 poster presentations. Almost a hundred young scientists from almost all academic and scientific institutions in the Republic of Croatia dealing with biochemistry and molecular biology participated in the work of the Congress.
On the first day of the Congress, in cooperation with the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Medicine, Zagreb, a Symposium in honour of Dr Else Reiner was organised at the Croatian National Theatre. Dr Reiner was the doyen of Croatian biochemistry, the first president of the Society and a world-renowned scientist in the field of cholinesterases. Scientific and professional opus, as well as personal views of Dr Reiner were presented by her long-time associates, Academician Željko Kućan, Prof Palmer Taylor, Prof Zoran Radić (University of California, San Diego, USA), Prof Marcello Lotti (Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy), and Dr Blanka Krauthacker (Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Medicine, Zagreb).
An exciting social programme included a Welcome Party and Gala Dinner, included a trip to Vukovar and Ilok.
Selected scientific papers of the Congress participants were published in the journal Food Technology and Biotechnology 2009 47(3), and the guest editor of that issue was Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac. An overview of the Society’s activities since 1957, 50th Anniversary of the first professional organisation of biochemists in Croatia was published in the journal Periodicum biologorum 2008 110(1).
HDBMB2006 Congress on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Society, Vodice, October 3 – 7, 2006.
The Congress was organised under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić and the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts – University of Zagreb, University of Rijeka, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek and the University in Split, Šibenik-Knin County and the City of Vodice.
Scientific and Organizing Committee: Jadranka Varljen (President), Jerka Dumić (Vice-President), Zrinka Kovarik (Secretary of the Congress), Roberto Antolović, Tihomir Balog, Karmela Barišić, Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac, Irena Landeka, Sonja Levanat, Vladimir Mrša, Maja Čalić, Sanja Dabelić, Gordana Maravić and Goran Šinko.
Plenary lecture delivered by Prof Vito Turk (Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia), a long-time Secretary General of FEBS and honorary member of HDBMB, was held under the auspices of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). The Congress brought together more than 120 participants from all Croatian universities and scientific institutes dealing with life sciences, but also about twenty scientists from abroad (Slovenia, USA, Austria, Germany, Poland, Romania and Brazil) who presented their scientific achievements through 26 invited lectures, 16 oral presentations and 61 poster presentations.
On the first day of the Congress, a Symposium in honour of the 30th anniversary of the Society was held. The doyen of Croatian biochemistry and molecular biology, Academician Željko Kućan, Dr Elsa Reiner, Prof Pavao Mildner, Dr Ljubinka Vitale, and Prof Mirna Flögel Mršić talked about the founding of the Society, the processes that resulted in the membership of the Society in the umbrella organizations FEBS and IUBMB, and the activities of the Society during 30 years of existence.
The Annual Prizes for Young Scientists for 2004 and 2005 were also presented at the Congress, and the awardees, Zrinka Kovarik (2004), and Martina Bosnar and Sanja Dabelić (2005), gave lectures in which they presented their research.
The rich social life, which, in addition to the Welcome Cocktail and Gala Dinner, also included a half-day boat trip to the Krka National Park, provided an opportunity for informal socialising.
Selected scientific papers of the Congress participants were published in the journal Croatica Chemica Acta 2008 81(1), and the guest editors of that issue were Jadranka Varljen and Zrinka Kovarik.
HDBMB2004 Congress, Bjelolasica, September 30 – October 2, 2004
The Congress was held for the first time under the name HDBMB2004, considering that at the Assembly in 2003 adopted a new name of the Society – Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (HDBMB). The Congress Programme was dominated by molecular-biological topics and techniques, which further confirmed the justification of the changed name of the Society.
The HDBMB2004 Congress was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the University of Zagreb, the University of Rijeka, and the City of Ogulin.
Scientific Committee: Karmela Barišić (President), Roberto Antolović, Tihomir Balog, Jerka Dumić, Carol M. Herak-Cramberger, Irena Landeka, Sonja Levanat, Vladimir Mrša, and Donatella Verbanac.
Organising Committee: Jerka Dumić (President), Irena Landeka (Treasurer), Karmela Barišić, Sanja Dabelić, Sandra Šupraha Goreta, Jadranka Varljen and Donatella Verbanac.
More than 100 scientists who attended the Congress presented the results of their research through 16 invited lectures, 9 oral presentations and 66 poster presentations. In addition to Croatian scientists, colleagues from Austria, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and Slovenia took a part in the Programme.
As a part of the Congress program, a Symposium in honour to Academician Željko Kućan was organised. It was a homage not only to one of the founders and long-time president of HDBMB and a distinguished professor, but also to the development of molecular biology at the Ruđer Bošković Institute and the University of Zagreb. Mirna Flögel Mršić presented the scientific achievements of Academician Kućan, President of the Society from 1985 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1996, at the time of the Society’s membership in international umbrella organizations, and a member of the Committee for Biological and Environmental Sciences of the European Science Foundation since 2003. The associates of Academician Kućan, today eminent scientists surrounded by their own associates, Ivana Weygand-Đurašević, Vera Gamulin, Mirslav Plohl, and Ivica Rubelj delivered scientific lectures.
At the Congress, the Annual Prize for Young Scientists (for 2003) was presented for the first time, and the awardee, Dr Gordana Maravić delivered a lecture Inhibition of Erm methylation – a novel approach to combat the antibiotic resistance by ribosomal RNA methylation.
Selected scientific papers of the Congress participants were published in the journal Croatica Chemica Acta 2005 78(3), and the guest editor of that issue was Karmela Barišić.
In addition to the scientific program, participants were provided with the opportunity for informal socialising during the Cocktail in honour of Academician Kućan, a Gala Dinner and a half-day trip that included a guided visit to the town of Ogulin and Lake Sabljaci.
Symposium HB2003 Quo vadis biochemia?, Zagreb, October 17, 2003
The Society celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of DNA structure by organizing the Symposium Quo vadis biochemia?, in collaboration with the PLIVA Research Institute. The Opening lecture was delivered by Academician Željko Kućan, Fifty years of complementarity, in which he gave a historical overview of the discovery of the structure of DNA. The Symposium continued by lectures by Dr Goran Valinger, Prof Gordan Lauc, Dr Maja Herak-Bosnar, and Stribor Marković, who presented the application of DNA technologies in biotechnology, forensic medicine and biomedicine and the development of new drugs. Ass Prof Tonči Matulić highlighted the significance of the discovery of the structure of DNA from the philosophical, theological and religious aspects. In the Closing lecture At the Crossroad, Prof Mirna Flögel presented a vision of future applications of DNA technology.
The Assembly of the Society, according to the results of a previously run, written survey on the name and abbreviation of the Society, accepted the proposal of the Presidency to change the name of the Society to the Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with the abbreviation HDBMB. The Assembly also established the Annual Prize for Young Scientists.
The working part of the Symposium was followed by a dinner in the restaurant Veseli kutić.
1st COOMLIS – 1st Croatian Congress of Molecular Life Sciences, Opatija, June 9 – 13, 2002
The 1st Croatian Congress of Molecular Life Sciences was organized on the initiative of the Croatian Biochemical Society and the Croatian Genetic Society, and under the auspices of the Croatian Parliament. The Croatian Anthropological Society, Croatian Biological Society, Croatian Biophysical Society, Croatian Immunological Society, Croatian Microbiological Society, Croatian Pharmacological Society, Croatian Society of Biotechnology, Croatian Society of Electron Microscopy, Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists, Croatian Society of Plant Physiology, Croatian Toxicological Society, and the company PLIVA Ltd participated in the organisation. Academician Željko Kućan served as President of the Congress and Jerka Dumić as Secretary of the Congress.
Scientific Committee: Mirna Flögel (President), Višnja Besendorfer, Jasna Franekić-Čolić, Vera Gamulin, Danko Hajsig, Marina Ilakovac Kveder, Stipan Jonjić, Nikola Ljubešić, Renata Mažuran, Srđan Novak, Dražena Papeš, Ljiljana Pinter, Pavao Rudan, Elizabeta Topić , Ita Samardžija, Radan Spaventi, Đurđica Ugarković, Ivica Valpotić, and Zoran Zgaga.
Organising Committee: Jasna Franekić-Čolić (President), Andrea Ambriović Ristov, Roberto Antolović, Višnja Bačun-Družina (Treasurer), Jerka Dumić (Secretary of the Congress), Srećko Gajović, Kroata Hazler Plilepić, Irena Landeka, Vladimir Mrša, Mirjana Pavlica, Sanja Sikora, Jadranka Varljen, and Donatella Verbanac.
The Congress brought together about two hundred Croatian and foreign scientists in natural, biomedical and biotechnological disciplines dealing with complex biomolecular structures and their function, molecular signalling, regulation and coordination of processes in living organisms, bioinformatics and the development of new methods for detection, identification study of biomolecules or researching the applicability of biomolecular knowledge in diagnostics, treatment and design of new drugs, in plant production and protection, in industrial biotechnology, in monitoring ecotoxicological phenomena in the sea, in forensics and molecularly based phylogenetics.
The Programme was composed of four plenary lectures, given by Prof Dieter Söll (Yale University, New Haven, USA), Prof Rudolf Karl Zahn (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany), the Spiridion Brusina Medal awardee, and Prof Vito Turk (Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia) (EMBO Lecture), 29 invited lectures, 11 short presentations, and 97 poster presentations.
Two debates on the social aspects of molecular life sciences and on molecular life sciences in technology, medicine, and ecology were organized in the evenings.
Social program was composed of a Welcome Cocktail, Gala Dinner, and full day trip to the island Cres.
HB2000 Congress, Zagreb, October 13 – 15, 2000
At the millennium transition, the Society celebrated its Silver Jubilee by organising the HB2000 Congress for the first time (instead Annual Meeting). On that occasion, the Society appointed Honorary Members of the HBD, to thank foreign colleagues who supported the research of Croatian biochemists. Through many years, the honourees have encouraged the formation of research teams on current topics of biomolecular science and/or have supported equipping laboratories, thus significantly contributed to the development and affirmation of Croatian biochemistry. For the honorary members of HBD were promoted: Prof Vito Turk (Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia), Prof Nathan Sharon (The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel), Prof Dieter Söll (Yale University, New Heaven, USA), Prof Palmer Taylor (University of California at San Diego, USA), and Prof Peter Campbell (University College London, UK).
Scientific Committee: Mirna Flögel, Vera Gamulin, Dubravka Juretić, Željko Kućan, Gordan Lauc, Vlado Mrša, Elsa Reiner, Donatella Verbanac, and Ljubinka Vitale.
Organising Committee: Mirna Flögel (President), Sanja Dabelić, Jerka Dumić, Gordan Lauc (Secretary), Sandra Šupraha Goreta, Donatella Verbanac, and Kristina Zvonar.
The Congress, held in the Old Town Hall, gathered about a hundred scientists who presented their scientific research work through 28 invited lectures and 68 poster presentations. Plenary lectures were given by Academician Željko Kućan, Prof Ana Stavljenić, Prof Vito Turk (Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia) and Giuseppe D’Alessio (University of Naples Federico II, Italy).
In addition to the Congress Dinner at the Okrugljak restaurant, a trip to Hrvatsko Zagorje was organized on the last day of the Congress.
At the initiative of the Croatian Biochemical and Croatian Genetic Society, the Committee for Molecular Biosciences was established, which brought together the representatives of 13 scientific societies with the aim of organizing the 1st Croatian Congress of Molecular Life Sciences (1st CCOMLIS). This initiative was whole-heartedly supported by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). The preliminary Programme included representatives of crucial areas of molecular life sciences in Croatia, Croats who gain their scientific reputation by working at renowned foreign universities and foreigners from reputable world universities who support the development of underrepresented areas of molecular biosciences in Croatia.
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists HB98, Bizovačke toplice, September 17 – 20, 1998
The Annual Meeting HB98 was held in Bizovačke toplice as a sign of solidarity with colleagues in post-war Osijek. Unfortunately, this meeting started unplanned with a commemoration for the deceased member of the Society and the untried host of the gathering, Prof Ivka Steiner-Biočić.
Scientific Committee: Mirna Flögel (President), Slobodan Barbarić, Željko Kućan, Gordan Lauc, Vaskrsenija Lipovac, Boris Mildner, Jadranka Varljen, and Ljubinka Vitale.
Organising Committee: Ivka Steiner-Biočić (President), Ljubica Glavaš-Obrovac (Vice-President), Jerka Dumić, Zorica Jurković, Ivan Karner, Saška Roknić, Boris Takač, Jadranka Varljen, and Ljubinka Vitale.
The Congress brought together about a hundred domestic and foreign scientists who presented their scientific achievements through 22 invited lectures and 42 poster presentations. Plenary lectures were given by Prof Vito Turk (Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia) and Prof Berislav Pende.
As part of HB98, a Symposium was organised in honour of Prof Berislav Pende, President of the Society from 1981 to 1983, a pioneer of Croatian immunochemistry, initiator of international and development projects at the Institute of Immunology in Zagreb and teacher of immunochemistry in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the University of Zagreb.
In the presence of all previous Presidents of HBD, at the Annual General Assembly, it was discussed on changing the name of the Society in order to harmonise it with the educational profile and scientific orientation of the membership, and with the already changed name of umbrella organizations. In 1992, the IUB was renamed the IUBMB (International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), while FEBS survived as an abbreviation and name, but for the Association of European Societies for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
In addition to the Gala Dinner, the social program also offered a visit to the State Stud Farm Đakovo, on the last day of the Congress.
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists HB97, Zagreb, September 8 – 9, 1997
By recognising the importance of bioinformatics, HBD invited its members to participate in a thematic meeting entitled Computers and Information Systems in the Service of Biochemistry instead of reviewing their own results.
Organising committee: Gordan Lauc (President), Sandra Šupraha, Boris Lenhard, Jerka Dumić, Sanja Dabelić.
Advisory Board: Željko Kućan, Mirna Flöfel, Marijan Pribanić.
The Meeting was organised at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and the program was divided into theoretical and practical part. Participants were able to engage actively in differently targeted workshops to gain new IT experience. Lectures were given by Gordan Lauc, Boris Lenard, Ivica Letunić, Dubravko Rendić, and Kristian Vlahoviček. The society has thus shown that it has excellent young bioinformatics experts, ready and needed for inclusion in university curricula.
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists HB95 on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Croatian Biochemical Society, Zagreb, October 18 – 19, 1996
The 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Society was celebrated during the HB96 Meeting, organised in Zagreb’s Old Town Hall.
Organising Committee: Željko Kućan (President), Karmela Barišić, Mirna Flögel, Gordan Lauc, Boris Lenhard and Ivana Weygand-Đurašević.
Around hundred scientists participated at the Meeting, which program was focused on the role of biochemistry in related fields, from understanding evolution, biotechnology development to environmental protection and medical applications. Ten lectures and 78 poster presentations were presented.
HBD recognised the importance of biomolecular content at all levels of education and in different educational profiles and during the Meeting, it organised the round table discussion on Biochemistry at Croatian universities. It was moderated by Mirna Flögel and Željko Kućan, with participation of Elizabeta Has-Schön (University of Osijek), Ivan Kračun (University of Zagreb), Čedomil Milin (University of Rijeka), and Maja Pavela-Vrančić (University of Split).
A review of the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Society, which was published in the journal Periodicum biologorum 98(3) was prepared by Elsa Reiner.
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists HB95, Supetar na Braču, September 22 – 25, 1995
The HB95 Meeting was organized with the significant help of the Research Institute PLIVA Ltd. It was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the University of Split.
Scientific committee: Marija Abramić, Vladimir Delić, Mirna Flögel, Daslav Hranueli, Željko Kućan, Davor Juretić, Jasenka Pigac, Elsa Reiner, Blanka Reis, Ivka Steiner-Biočić, Jadranka Varljen.
Organising Committee: Boris Mildner (President), Ines Glojnarić-Spasić (Secretary), Karmela Barišić, Ivo Friganović, Daslav Hranueli, Marija Kozlović, Anka Mandušić, Vladimir Mrša, Maja Pavela-Vrančić, and Tihana Žanić-Grubišić.
The HB95 Meeting brought together Croatian biochemists as well as prominent colleagues of the younger and middle generation who worked permanently or occasionally outside Croatia. With this gesture, the Meeting wanted to warn that Croatia had great scientific potential in the molecular life sciences, but did not have the appropriate equipment for modern research, despite all the warnings about laboratory poverty and reasoned procurement proposals. In addition, the conference was an added impetus to the development of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Split. About a hundred scientists from Croatia and abroad took part in the conference. The scientific achievements of the participants were presented through 20 lectures and 61 poster presentations. A round table discussion on The role of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology in biotechnology was organized with the participation of Mirna Flögel (University of Zagreb), Vladimir Marić (University of Zagreb), Vitomir Šunjić (Ruđer Bošković Institute) and Branimir Zamola (Ministry of Science and Technology).
The participants had opportunity for informal contacts during the refreshment breaks, Welcome Party (Gathering at barbecue), during the Gala Dinner and a half-day trip to the Blaca Desert.
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists HB94, Opatija, October 14 – 15, 1994
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists, HB94, was mostly organised by the HDBMB Branch – Rijeka, co-organized by the University of Rijeka, and had a regional character, because the invited speakers, in addition to the representatives of Croatian research centres, were guests from Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Hungary.
Scientific committee: Mirna Flögel, Željko Kućan, Aleksandar Lutkić, Čedomila Milin, Greta Pifat-Mrzljak, Milivoj Popović, Elsa Reiner, Blanka Ries, Željko Trgovčević and Jadranka Varljen.
Organising Committee: Jadranka Varljen (President), Branka Blagović, Vladimir Mrša, Karmela Barišić, Čedomila Milin, Jasminka Rupčić, and Donatella Verbanac.
The Programme consisted of 7 plenary lectures, 10 invited lectures, and 53 poster presentations. Plenary lectures were given by Prof Freidrich Paltauf (Graz, Austria), Prof Viktor Dombradi (Debrecen, Hungary), Prof Franc Gubenšek (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Prof Davor Juretić (Split), Prof Gian-Luigi Sottocasa (Trieste, Italy), Prof Željko Trgovčević (Zagreb), and Prof Hildebert Wagner (Munich, Germany).
At the Annual General Assembly of the Society, the Declaration on Biochemistry as a separate field in the field of Natural Sciences was adopted. In that declaration, Croatian biochemists expressed the opinion that it is necessary and urgent to recognize biochemistry as an independent field within the field of Natural Sciences, and to enable students to obtain master and doctoral degrees in biochemistry.
The rich social life consisted of a concert of spiritual music in the church of St. James in Opatija, Congress Dinner in the Crystal Hall of the Hotel Kvarner and a trip around Istria led by Academician Branko Fučić.
The Annual Meeting of Croatian Biochemists HB93, June 17 – 18, 1993, Zagreb
The HB93 meeting was their first gathering of Croatian biochemists in independent Croatia, organised one year after the Croatian Biochemical Society joined FEBS and IUBMB, as an independent society in 1992. The HB93 meeting was organised under the auspice of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the University of Zagreb, on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the city of Zagreb.
Organising Committee: Mirna Flögel (President) Maja Abramić, Slobodan Barbarić, Karmela Barišić, Zlatko Kniewald, Željko Kućan, Vladimir Mrša i Vera Simeon.
It was a great joy for the participants to host Prof Vito Turk, FEBS Secretary General and Prof Horst Kleinkauf, IUBMB Secretary General, the representatives of Society’s international umbrella associations. The Programme and invited lecturers presented scientific teams and current topics of Croatian biochemistry as well as foreign scientists, who have cooperated and supported the research of Croatian biochemists. Plenary lecturers were Prof Vito Turk (Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia), Prof Horst Kleinkauf (Technical University of Berlin, Germany), Prof Werner E.G. Müller (University of Mainz, Germany) and Prof Domenico Romeo (University of Trieste, Italy). Over a hundred participants presented 14 lectures and 85 poster presentations. The abstracts of all presentations have been published in the Book of Abstracts.
In addition to the scientific part of the Programme, the Symposium in honour of Professor Pavao Mildner, founder of the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb was organised. Prof Mildner was the founder of the Croatian Biochemical Society HBD and the Association of Biochemical Societies of Yugoslavia, which he headed for years. He started publishing the journal Food Technology and Biotechnology, and he was the Editor-in-Chief for many years.
The social program consisted of Cocktail and Congress Dinner, which were organised in the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry University of Zagreb.