International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
International non-governmental organization
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Through Biochemistry, World War II and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
History
The first Congress of Biochemistry was held in 1949 in Cambridge, UK, organized by the Biochemical Society, and was inspired by German-born British biochemist Sir Hans Adolf Krebs as a means of bringing together biochemists who had been separated by World War II. At the time, biochemistry was blossoming as a discipline and was seeking its own recognition as a union within the International Council for Science (ICSU). The congress was a first step to recognize biochemistry as a separate discipline and entity. At the final session of this congress, the International Committee of Biochemistry was set up with 20 members from fourteen countries with the goal obtaining from the ICSU 'recognition as the international body representative of biochemistry, with a view to the formal constitution of an International Union of Biochemistry as soon as possible.' Discussions continued over the next few years, and by the third Congress of Biochemistry, which took place in Brussels in 1955, the International Union of Biochemistry (IUB) was formed and officially admitted to the ICSU. In 1991, the IUB changed its name to the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB).
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Members
The IUBMB unites biochemists and molecular biologists in 75 countries that belong to the IUBMB as an "Adhering Body" or "Associate Adhering Body" represented by a biochemical society, a national research council or an academy of sciences. It also represents the regional organizations, Federation of Asian Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB), Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), and Pan-American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PABMB).
Meetings
IUBMB organizes a triennial Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and sponsors three annual focussed meetings. In addition, it supports symposia, educational activities (including the Tang Fellowships), award lectures (including Jubilee Lectures), and travel grants for students around the world.
Fellowships
The IUBMB is committed to providing training opportunities to biochemists and molecular biologists around the world. The Wood Whelan Research fellowship, established in honor of past-Presidents Harland G. Wood and William Joseph Whelan, provides opportunities for students to travel to a laboratory in a different country to work on a specified project. Mid Career Fellowships provide a similar opportunity to early career investigators. The IUBMB collaborates with American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to offer PROLAB fellowships to provide opportunities for Latin American students to study in the US.
Biochemical nomenclature
The IUBMB publishes standards on biochemical nomenclature, including Enzyme Commission number nomenclature, in some cases jointly with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The enzyme nomenclature scheme was developed in 1955 at the International Congress of Biochemistry and, with the addition of translocases in 2018, contains 7 classes of enzymes.