Melbourne, Australia to host XIX International Congress of Genetics July 2003

Nobel Prize winning pioneer of DNA research, James D. Watson, will head 280 speakers including 8 Nobel Laureates at the XIX International Congress of Genetics in Melbourne, Australia in July.

The XIX International Congress of Genetics will bring the world’s best geneticists together with Australia’s leading scientists in one of the major highlights on the State of Victoria’s $1 billion a year business events calendar. 

With four months to go to the event, early bird registration has reached 2000, despite political uncertainty and international travel concerns. Abstracts received to date number 1700.

“2003 highlights a critical landmark in Genetics – the 50th year since the publication of the Watson and Crick paper on the structure of the DNA molecule,” said Congress Secretary General Dr. Philip Batterham.

“Melbourne will be the international focus for discussion and celebration of what is regarded as the twentieth century’s greatest scientific achievement and all that has stemmed from it,” he said.

The XIX International Congress of Genetics - Genomes – the Linkage To Life – to be held at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre from 6 to 11  July 2003, is conducted under the auspices of the International Genetics Federation.

It is held every five years and will be the highest impact scientific event ever to be staged in Australia, and the first time the congress has been held in the  Southern Hemisphere.

The International Congress of Genetics has a proud history dating back to 1899 and has been held in major centres in Europe and North America.

A passion for genetics in professional life has provided the motivation and the foundation for Dr. Batterham’s six-year commitment to bring the congress to Melbourne.

This commitment was recognized by Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau, which assisted Dr Batterham in his efforts to bring this landmark congress to Victoria.

Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Mr Gary Grimmer congratulated Dr Batterham on his efforts to bring the congress to  Melbourne.

“One thousand Australians, many of whom are among the best in their fields, will come from around the country to this event. If this congress was  held in New York that number would be around 50 to 100,” Mr Grimmer said.

“Instead of 100 Australians going to New York you’ve got 10 times that sharing in the expertise of their top colleagues from around the world in a real opportunity for expertise development in this country,” he said.

Dr Batterham said the congress served to reflect on progress made in genetics, to celebrate the best of contemporary research and to anticipate future developments in the discipline.

“With genome sequences now in hand, the discipline of genetics is free to powerfully address the broadest range of biological questions and the congress will cover genetics in all of its contemporary depth and breadth,” Dr Batterham said.

There will be 9 plenary addresses and 54 symposia with 280 speakers, 200 of whom are from outside of Australia.

Speakers will consider fundamental issues as diverse as mutation, development and evolution and a broad range of applied themes with relevance to agriculture and medicine using organisms ranging from viruses to humans.

Ethical and legal issues will also be on the agenda and given the importance of genetics research for wealth generation, issues relating to commercialization, patents, IP and the availability of data in the public  domain will be discussed in detail.

Australian congress speakers include microbiology and immunology expert, Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty, an expert on the genetics of marsupials and a co-discoverer of the male gene, Jennifer Marshall Graves.

Dr. Batterham said a number of satellite meetings and workshops would be held in Melbourne and other sites in Australasia. Themes include Comparative Genomics, Mutation Detection, Drug Discovery, and Environmental Stress.

Major sponsors of the congress include Applied Biosystems, Hewlett Packard, Science, Australian Biotechnology News and the Victorian State Government.