AFOB Newsletter

Prof. Toshiomi Yoshida,
AFOB's 1^st President ( 2008~2012 )
He passed away on April 28, 2023, at the age of 83.
We pray for his soul to rest in peace.

Memory for Prof. Toshiomi YOSHIDA

Professor Toshiomi YOSHIDA sensei, the first president of AFOB, entered the Department of Fermentation Technology at Osaka University in 1959, graduated from and completed graduate school, and obtained a Doctor of Engineering from Osaka University in 1968. He worked as an Assistant Professor at Osaka Prefecture University and the Faculty of Engineering Osaka University. After serving as an Assistant and Associate professor, he became a professor at the International Center of Cooperative Research in Biotechnology (ICBiotech) at Osaka University.

He has since served as president of the Society for Biotechnology JAPAN and has contributed to international exchange in biotechnology in Asia and around the world. I first met Dr. Yoshida at a class as in undergraduate student when he was an Associate Professor. I enrolled in the Department of Fermentation Technology in 1982 and attended his lectures. At that time, the laboratories conducting research on microbial culture engineering were the AIBA Laboratory, the TAGUCHI Laboratory, and the Sixth Laboratory (adjunct professor, Prof. AIBA). Dr. YOSHIDA is an Associate Professor in the TAGUCHI Laboratory

I was conducting research on lysine fermentation in the Sixth Laboratory, and as a researcher in the same field, I remember that I received a lot of guidance from him as a researcher in the same field. Later, during my master's course, I changed my research topics to animal cell culture. Whenever I met him at overseas conferences, he was always very busy. I remember that he always received long fax paper from Japan. He was a great tennis player, and I have great memories of playing tennis with him every week until his retirement.

Thank you for everything you did for me over the years. I pray for his soul to rest in peace.

Dear Professor and President Yoshida

I miss you very much at this moment, and still I can hear your voice all the time. I remember that, in 2008, when we tried to invite you as the first AFOB President, you cordially denied several times, but, finally you have accepted the position and helped everything for the safe start of AFOB.

You were the humblest person, a teacher like father, a warm brother and advisor for the whole Asian Bio – people.

I wish to meet you as another friend in Asian – Biocommunity in our next future life.

Please rest in the best peace for the time – being and see you soon.

In memory of Professor Toshiomi Yoshida

Around the 1980s, Professor Toshiomi Yoshida came to National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan for a visit. At that time I was working at the Department of Chemical Engineering, NTHU. That was the first time we met. He was a gentleman and always tried to inspire young researchers in the biochemical engineering area.

Professor Yoshida was the first President of AFOB and I was the Vice-President from Taiwan during his presidency. Actually, before AFOB established in2008, there were many Societies related to biotechnology such as Asia-Pacific Biochemical Engineering Conference (APBioChEC), Young Asian Biological Engineers’ Community (YABEC). The first President of AFOB must be an outstanding leader who can organize the existing Societies and expand it to encompass a greater variety in Biotechnology. Professor Yoshida was the most suitable person of our biotechnology community in Asia to carry out the duty of the first President of AFOB society. AFOB now is playing an important role of biotechnology activities in the world. We still have so many wonderful memories of him.

Professor Yoshida's article in AFOB Newsletter Vol. 6

As a senior member of AFOB, I am honored to have been asked to write an article for this newsletter. My first encounter with an AFOB-based activity was through my participation in the second YABEC, which was held in Kyoto, Japan. YABEC was discussed and organized by a group of volunteer young researchers from Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan who attended the Asia Pacific Biochemical Engineering Conference (APBioChEC) held in Singapore in June 1994. The first YABEC took place in June 1995, hosted at Seoul National University. However, I was unable to attend it myself as I had gone to study as a visiting researcher at MIT one week after the APBioChEC in Singapore. Nonetheless, the purpose of YABEC was to provide an opportunity for young researchers in their 30s and 40s, who were responsible for the future development of the biotechnology field in the Asian region, to share meals and accommodations during the two- to three-day camp. This allowed for the promotion of mutual enlightenment, information exchange, and intensive international collaboration among researchers through research presentations, receptions, and other interactions. It was completely different from ordinary international conferences. I was captivated by YABEC and attended it every year for the next 10 years.

The most memorable of all was the 5th YABEC, held on a training ship in Pusan, Korea in 1999. Without using any hotels, young people gathered passionately to discuss the future of biotechnology on the boat. I felt that this was the true essence of YABEC. In subsequent YABECs, a star emerged in the form of Professor Jung-Keug Park (Dongguk University), and karaoke and dancing at the reception became regular features. The Bio-Fun concept proposed by Professor Tai-Hyun Park (Seoul National University) and continued to the present day is also unique to YABEC. I am very pleased to see that this original YABEC idea has also spread to other parts of Asia.

I understand that Professor Yoon-Mo Koo (Inha University) and other Korean volunteers played a pivotal role in the official establishment of AFOB in 2008. I believe that AFOB plays a crucial role as a hub of biotechnology in Asia, as a third pillar to compete with the US and the EU region, which have been leading in cutting-edge biotechnology research. Today, AFOB members hail from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, as well as India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Singapore, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Vietnam, where ACB2023 is set to be held this October. Over the past 15 years, AFOB has expanded to include 15 countries and regions. We hope that AFOB will increasingly disseminate world-leading research activities in the future.

I was led to this membership by Professor Nagamune (The University of Tokyo), the first representative of AFOB in Japan. Later, I succeeded Professor Nagamune and served as the Japanese representative for 6 years. Last year, I passed on the baton to Professor Kamiya, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the close connections I have made with people from various countries and regions at various events during that period. The first generation of professors who supported AFOB in Korea, Japan, and elsewhere are now beginning to retire. I sincerely hope that the generational change will proceed successfully, and that AFOB will continue to grow and develop.