Open-call Symposia
Proposal Deadline:
January 30 (Fri), 2026 17:00 JST
We are now accepting symposium proposals from MBSJ and JBS members.
The organizing committee will carefully review all submitted proposals and notify applicants of acceptance or rejection by late March.
Please refer to the guidelines below and submit your proposals by the deadline.
Application Guidelines
Available Slots
- ・Approximately 200 proposals will be accepted.
- ・BMB2026 will feature 120-minute Symposium Sessions and 90-minute Mini-Symposium Sessions scheduled during the daytime and evening/night.
Note: We may request your session to be held in a time slot or format different from your initial preference.
We invite proposals for each time slot that align with the following concepts:
| Session Length | Focus & Scope | Objectives |
|---|---|---|
| 120 Minutes | Proposals with broad appeal that are beneficial to researchers across different disciplines | To discuss macro-level biology and enable participants to explore new research directions |
| 90 Minutes (Daytime) |
Proposals that involve an in-depth exploration of a specific topic | To share the latest research findings and challenges, thereby deepening participants' understanding of the field |
| 90 Minutes (Evening/Night) |
Proposals based on novel and innovative concepts | To facilitate the creation of new fields or the proposal of groundbreaking concepts based on new perspectives and technologies |
Language
- ・The choice of language (English or Japanese) is left to the organizers; however, the language must be unified within the session.
- ・Regardless of the presentation language, all speakers are required to prepare their slides in English.
- ・We highly recommend using Japanese supplementally, either on the slides or verbally, for specialized terminology and complex concepts to aid understanding.
Speakers / Presentations
- ・Each proposal may have one or two organizers; however, at least one organizer must be a member of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan or the Japanese Biochemical Society.
- ・Diversity, including the geographical background of the organizers, will be taken into consideration during the selection process.
- ・The speaker lineup must be composed so that no more than 75% of the speakers belong to a single gender.
- ・Each person is allowed to submit only one abstract; multiple presentations by the same individual are not permitted.
- ・Symposium sessions for this meeting will not include presentations selected from general abstract submissions. Sessions must be composed solely of speakers nominated by the organizer(s).
- ・Speakers' consent should be secured at the time of proposal submission. If you apply for the 120-minute slot, please secure consent only from speakers who are also willing to present if the session is changed to a 90-minute slot upon acceptance. Adding speakers after acceptance is permitted.
- ・All sessions will be recorded for on-demand streaming. The secretariat will confirm the availability for on-demand distribution at the time of abstract submission. Presentations for which the speaker declines on-demand streaming will not be distributed.
Registration Fees/Travel Support
- ・Designated speakers who are non-members will have their registration fees waived, regardless of whether they live within or outside of Japan.
- ・Speakers who are members of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan, the Japanese Biochemical Society, or the Biophysical Society of Japan are requested to register and pay the registration fee.
- ・No travel or accommodation support will be provided for domestic speakers, regardless of membership status.
- ・For designated speakers attending the meeting on-site from overseas, BMB2026 will provide travel support (up to 150,000 JPY for one speaker per proposal, up to 300,000 JPY for two or more speakers per proposal) and accommodation support (up to 3 nights at the designated hotel, for up to 3 speakers).
Note: The amount of support will be determined based on the number and regions of invited overseas speakers, as well as the overall meeting budget.
Acknowledgment of Co-hosts/Sponsors/Supporters, etc.
Symposia can be held as projects which are co-hosted, sponsored, or supported by entities such as Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas, CREST, PRESTO, etc.
- ・Duration: 120 minutes or 90 minutes
- ・Speaker Selection: Please be sure to include external speakers so that the session does not resemble a group meeting.
- ・Sponsorship Fee: We kindly request your support of JPY 250,000 (tax included) as the sponsorship fee, which includes venue costs and advertising expenses.
- ・Acknowledgment: Names of sponsors will be acknowledged on the official website and in the meeting program.
Note: Please note that the sponsorship amount is fixed and does not vary depending on the session duration.
※Fees for Multiple Co-sponsoring Entities
For two or more co-sponsoring entities, the following fee structure applies, provided that mutual consent has been obtained among all sponsors:
2 Entities: Total Fee JPY 400,000 (JPY 200,000 per entity)
3 Entities: Total Fee JPY 450,000 (JPY 150,000 per entity)
4 or more Entities: Please contact the meeting secretariat for a consultation.
*All fees are tax-included.
Symposium Sponsorship Presentation
Sponsor companies have the option to deliver a 3-minute presentation either before the start or immediately after the conclusion of the symposium. The sponsorship fee for this presentation (198,000 JPY, tax included) must be paid by the sponsor company. However, if the symposium organizer successfully secures the sponsoring company, a subsidy of 100,000 JPY will be provided to the organizer to support symposium-related travel expenses.
How to Apply
Please access the application form linked at the bottom of this page and register the required information below by January 30 (Fri) 17:00 JST.
- Language: Japanese or English, to be selected by the organizer
- Symposium title
- Organizer(s) Details: Name(s), Affiliation(s), Age Group, Position/Title, Gender, and Membership
- Abstract / Summary (Approx. 400 English characters)
- List of Prospective Speakers: Name, Affiliation, Position/Title (and, if known, their age group and gender), Membership, and Approval status
- Name and contact information of the corresponding organizer
- Select the Categories / Topics from the classification list below.
- Expected number of attendees
- Sponsorship Acknowledgement: State whether the symposium has a sponsor acknowledgement and, if applicable, provide the name of the sponsoring organization.
- Preferred category (120 minutes, 90 minutes (noon), or 90 minutes (evening/night))
If you wish to request a 120-minute session slot, please provide the reason why it would appeal to a different field.
* Please note that the final decision regarding the adoption of proposals and the allocation of session slots will be made by the Program Committee. Therefore, we may not be able to accommodate all requests.
Categories / Topics
| Categories | Topics | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glycobiology and Lipid Biology | a | Glycoproteins and proteoglycans |
| b | Lectins | ||
| c | Carbohydrate-related enzymes | ||
| d | Glycomics and glycoinformatics | ||
| e | Glycolipids | ||
| f | Phospholipids | ||
| g | Bioactive lipids | ||
| h | Sterols, steroids, and lipoproteins | ||
| i | Lipidomics | ||
| j | Fatty acids, glycerides, and neutral lipids | ||
| k | Others | ||
| 2 | Proteins | a | Structural biology |
| b | Protein folding and quality control | ||
| c | Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) | ||
| d | Protein synthesis, design, and modification | ||
| e | Mass spectrometry and proteomics | ||
| f | Others | ||
| 3 | Enzymes and Bioenergetics | a | Catalytic mechanism, regulation, and inhibition of enzymes |
| b | Oxidoreductases, metalloenzymes, and heme enzymes | ||
| c | General enzymes | ||
| d | Coenzymes, vitamins, and minerals | ||
| e | Bioenergetics and electron transport chain | ||
| f | Others | ||
| 4 | Cellular Structures and Functions | a | Cellular membranes, membrane transport, and lipid translocation |
| b | Structures and functions of organelles | ||
| c | Intracellular trafficking system | ||
| d | Intracellular degradation | ||
| e | Cytoskeleton, cell motility and adhesion, and extracellular matrix | ||
| f | Cell cycle, cell division, and cell polarity | ||
| g | Cell death | ||
| h | Intercellular communication | ||
| i | Others | ||
| 5 | Cellular Response | a | Extracellular signaling molecules, receptors, and ion channels |
| b | Nuclear receptors | ||
| c | G proteins and signaling proteins | ||
| d | Protein kinases and phosphatases | ||
| e | Stress response and redox response | ||
| f | Others | ||
| 6 | Genome and Genetic Information | a | Genome structure, whole genome analysis, chromosome |
| b | Chromatin and epigenetics | ||
| c | DNA replication, DNA recombination, DNA mutation and repair | ||
| d | Transcription | ||
| e | RNA processing, transport and translation | ||
| f | Non-coding RNAs | ||
| g | Nucleus, nuclear substructures | ||
| h | Others | ||
| 7 | Development and Regeneration | a | Germ cells and fertilization |
| b | Embryogenesis, organogenesis, and morphogenesis | ||
| c | Stem cells and cell differentiation | ||
| d | Developmental engineering and regenerative medicine | ||
| e | Others | ||
| 8 | Biology of Diseases | a | Cancer |
| b | Immunity and immune diseases | ||
| c | Infectious diseases | ||
| d | Metabolic diseases and metabolic syndrome | ||
| e | Genetic disorders | ||
| f | Aging and age-related diseases | ||
| g | Diagnosis, xenobiotic metabolism, and toxicology | ||
| h | Others | ||
| 9 | Neuroscience | a | Neural development and regeneration |
| b | Synapse, neural circuit, and learning and memory | ||
| c | Molecular and circuit mechanisms of sensory, motor, and cognitive functions | ||
| d | Neurological and psychiatric disorders | ||
| e | Others | ||
| 10 | Plant Science, Microbial Science, and Agrobiology | a | Plant cells, organelles, and organogenesis |
| b | Plant genome and omics analyses | ||
| c | Photosynthesis, environmental responses, and plant pathogenic responses | ||
| d | Plant hormones, transcriptional regulation, and epigenetics | ||
| e | Microbiology and symbiosis | ||
| f | Breeding science, horticultural science, and food science | ||
| g | Others | ||
| 11 | Biotechnology, Frontier Sciences and Evolution | a | Bioinformatics and information science |
| b | Systems biology and synthetic biology | ||
| c | Molecular evolution and taxonomy | ||
| d | Omics analysis technologies （genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics） | ||
| e | Genetic engineering, nucleic acid engineering, and genome editing | ||
| f | Protein engineering, antibody engineering, and cell engineering | ||
| g | Chemical biology | ||
| h | Bioimaging and biosensors | ||
| i | Others | ||
| 12 | Others | a | Others |