Letter from the President
Tokyo, JAPAN 3 January 2025
Dear IUPB Member Societies and our wider community of photobiology/photobiochemistry colleagues,
Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end, we were able to enjoy the 18th International Congress of Photobiology (ICP) face-to-face in Perth, Western Australia. I took over the role of the President of the International Union of Photobiology (IUPB) after Professor Janet F. Bornman (Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia) who served as the President from 2019 (17th ICP at Barcelona) through 2024 (18th ICP at Perth) and will continue to serve on our executive board as Past-President.
At the general assembly during the 18th ICP in Perth, I announced several topics for the future activities of IUPB. The first and most important of these is to held a successful international congress to gather photobiologists, photochemists, photomedical scientists and related researchers from around the world. Fortunately, Dr. Luis Arnaut (Professor, University of Coimbra) proposed to organize the next ICP in Coimbra (Portugal) and his proposal has been unanimously accepted by the IUPB Executive Board. We are very much looking forward to the 19th ICP in Coimbra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On this occasion, we would particularly like to encourage the younger generation to organize symposia and deliver talks at the congress, at the same time providing equal opportunities to scientists of all backgrounds, ages, and genders.
In addition to the congress, IUPB provides an international platform for bringing the relevant local and national societies together. Membership is open to Societies and individuals engaged in photobiology, photobiochemistry and photomedicine. Individuals who do not have a regional or national society are very welcome as IUPB members. An ‘Individual IUPB members’ group in a particular country can nominate a contact person/spokesperson to liaise with the IUPB President and Executive Committee for further assistance with managing individual memberships. We have also made some very beneficial changes to the fee structure (please see the related page) to encourage new societies and individuals to join IUPB and our current members to continue to support IUPB. Presently, many member Societies are from EU countries, but I would emphasize that in the recent ICP meetings I have met many participants/friends from other regions and countries, particularly from Asia, such as China, India, Korea, and others. We welcome all photobiology societies from these countries to join IUPB.
To increase the interaction and to share information among Societies and individual members, it is important to promote the content of the IUPB website. I am very glad to announce the renewal of the website from the beginning of 2025, and I am grateful to the Executive Committee members, particularly Dr. Evelyne Sage (Secretary, IUPB), and to our webmaster for this improvement. We would be pleased receiving congress/meeting announcements or other information to be shared on our website.
Maintaining a sustainable financial basis is also very important for IUPB activities, and I am grateful to the Executive Committee members, particularly Dr. Franz Trautinger (Treasurer, IUPB) for his continuous efforts. Finally, IUPB continues to offer awards, i.e., Finsen Medals, Edna Roe Lecture, and Finsen Lectures. A call for nominations will be published on due time on our website. Feel free to send nominations for these prestigious awards to the Executive Committee of the IUPB.
Concluding remarks
Some of you will remember these last points from the slides that I presented at the last General Assembly and Executive Board meeting in 2024:IUPB strategy plans for 2024-2029
Yours sincerely
Yoshitaka Fukada (IUPB President)