Cover Story
Greetings from the 6th President of AFOB, 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