What's the buzz at The 46th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan

Our representatives from Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University From left: Yasutsugu Suzuki and Irish Coleen Angelo Asin

Irish Coleen Angelo Asin, MEcoH research student, and Yasutsugu Suzuki, CMES Office for International and Social Cooperation,  got to experience the Molecular Biology Society of Japan (MBSJ) annual meeting held from December 6 to 8 in Kobe, Japan. Navigating through diverse research topics in molecular virology and medical entomology, the scale of the annual event was immense to say the least.

​Highlights include presenting a collaborative study on insect-specific viruses, engaging with Japanese researchers, and gaining research inspiration. On Day 1, a poster session was held. The research presented by MEcoH focused on the replication kinetics and tissue tropism of three insect-specific viruses co-infecting a naturally infected laboratory colony of Aedes aegypti. This collaborative study involved Dr. Artem BaidaiIiuk and Dr. Etienne Simon-Loriere from the Department of Virology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. This is a great opportunity to converse, learn, and exchange ideas with researchers from all over Japan. 

​Here are some highlights to showcase the lively academic atmosphere.

A Merry Christmas indeed

Coleen and her presentation on the natural viruses found in Aedes mosquito

​"The Kobe International Conference Center is massive, but it is a fitting venue to host such big conferences like MBSJ. Strategizing on how to watch and attend all the sessions, posters, scientific pitches, and symposia that match your research interests is quite necessary because the conference covered several and diverse research topics. In my case, my research fields are molecular virology and medical entomology. Amongst the thousands of poster sessions and several talks per day, I was fortunate enough to listen, meet, and talk to people working on those research topics."

- Coleen

The experience, enriched by talks, poster sessions, and sponsor exhibitions, was made possible with the support of a travel grant. For that, we thank the support given by the Foundation of Pasteur Japan to our young scientists. 

We hope that these collaborations will continue and we hope that greater things would come out of it.