AFOB Newsletter

vol.18
October 15, 2022

Cover Story

Greetings from the 6th President of AFOB, Takeshi OMASA

Takeshi OMASA

Dear AFOB member,

I am honored to be the President of AFOB from October 1st, 2022.

Biotechnology could greatly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, which were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The possibilities for biotechnology are endless, and it is capable of making a significant contribution to human society. AFOB is the leading research organization representing the field of biotechnology in Asia and will continue to lead in the 21st century, the century of biotechnology.

As the president of AFOB, I am committed to its work and will strive to maintain its high level of activity and contribute to further the development of biotechnology in Asia and the rest of the world. The AFOB Secretariat will be led by Prof. Choul-Gyun Lee as the Secretary General of AFOB.

AFOB is an organization that has evolved and expanded from the voluntary and spontaneous activities of biotechnologists/bioengineers from Asia, including previous YABEC and APBioChEC activities. As the president, I would like to actively encourage these spontaneous activities, activities of younger members, division activities, and academic activities in each region.

Although AFOB is a non-profit organization, limiting its possible undertakings, I would like to highlight the following goals for this purpose.

AFOB aims to promote scientific collaboration between academic and industrial scientists in Asia, to advance interdisciplinary research in biotechnology to the industrial level.

AFOB seeks to increase public awareness and education, promote the exchange of people and ideas, and stimulate innovation and technology transfer, toward the common goal of advancing biotechnology in Asia and the rest of the world.

AFOB promotes the safe, sustainable, and beneficial use of natural resources in life science and biotechnological research and industries, by supporting sound science and engineering applications. AFOB seeks to expand the network of scientists and organizations in the region, increase scientific mobility among Asian countries, and promote the exchange of technologies and ideas.

AFOB supports collaboration and networking among young scientists/engineers, including those from YABEC, YABEC-West, and other networks.

In order to stimulate these activities, we would also like to actively encourage ACB, ARS, and other AFOB-related meetings, and relationships with other international organizations, including the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) and Synthetic Biology Australasia (SBA). I hope that you can continue to support the new AFOB team by actively promoting the activities of AFOB. Sincerely yours,

Takeshi Omasa, Ph.D.
President of AFOB,
Professor, Department of Biotechnology,
Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University
September 20, 2022