The Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists (FAOB) was jointly founded on 1 August 1972 by the Australian Biochemical Society, the Society of Biological Chemists (India) and the Japanese Biochemical Society to promote the development of biochemistry in the Asian and Pacific Region. The first Executive Committee comprised Edwin C. Webb (President, Australia), Takashi Murachi (Vice-President, Japan), and N. R. Mougdal (Secretary-General, India).
The Federation became officially incorporated as a non-profit and tax-exempt association (FAOB Inc.) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 8 December 1992 and undertook a change in name to Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB) Incorporated on 7 December 1993. FAOBMB is an Associate Organization of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB), with which it actively collaborates. The Federation’s logo, adopted in 1989 and modified in 1993 to include the change in name, reflects the dynamic nature of the FAOBMB and the continual flow of information of biochemistry between members, which consists of countries in both the Asian and Pacific region.
Some articles of interest that describe the history of FAOBMB in more detail and overview the activities of the Federation can be found at the following links:
Linnane (1978); Svasti (1981); Svasti (1992); Anraku (2005); Svasti and Sawyer (2006); de Jersey (2010); Nagley (2017); Nagley, Svasti and Kikuchi (2022)
The Federation’s Constituent Members represent in excess of 20,000 active scientists. Honorary membership is bestowed on individuals who have given distinguished service to FAOBMB. The member societies are heterogeneous in respect of their history and academic capability, yet share equal partnership and responsibility in governance and the decision-making process.
Since the founding of FAOBMB, biochemistry and molecular biology have grown in importance not only as a focus of the health sciences but also as the basis of the biotechnology industry. It is doubtful if the original founders could have foreseen this rapid growth but they were correct in believing that many biochemists and molecular biologists in the Asia-Pacific region would benefit substantially from improved communication and collaborations between members and the encouragement of young scientists.
Presidents
| Edwin C. Webb Anthony W. Linnane Kazutomo Imahori Osamu Hayaishi Bimal K. Bacchawat Takashi Murachi Jisnuson Svasti Nadhipuram V. Bhagavan Yasuhiro Anraku William H. Sawyer Lin Qi-Shui Kyung-Soo Hahm Masamitsu Futai Andrew H. J. Wang Kiyoshi Fukui Zengyi Chang Akira Kikuchi Joon Kim |
Australia Australia Japan Japan India Japan Thailand Hawaii Japan Australia China Korea Japan Taipei, China Japan China Japan Korea |
1972 – 1974 1975 – 1977 1978 – 1980 1981 – 1983 1984 – 1986 1987 – 1989 1990 – 1992 1993 – 1995 1996 – 1998 1999 – 2001 2002 – 2004 2005 – 2007 2008 – 2010 2011 – 2013 2014 – 2016 2017 – 2019 2020 – 2022 2023 – current |
Secretaries-General/Treasurers
| N. R. Mougdal Takashi Murachi |
India Japan |
1972 – 1975 1976 |
Secretaries-General
| Mervyn G. Smith Fyfe L. Bygrave Kay Hoon Lee Lin Qi-Shui Khoo Hoon-Eng John de Jersey Phillip Nagley Sheila Nathan |
New Zealand Australia Singapore China Singapore Australia Australia Malaysia |
1977 – 1979 1980 – 1987 1988 – 1993 1994 – 1999 2000 – 2005 2006 – 2011 2012 – 2017 2018 – current |
Treasurers
| Serene Vimokesant Jisnuson Svasti Nadhipuram V. Bhagavan Yasuhiro Anraku Si Myung Byun Kiyoshi Kita Uhtaek Oh Piamsook Pongsawasdi Shannon Au |
Thailand Thailand Hawaii Japan Korea Japan Korea Thailand Hong Kong |
1977 – 1980 1981 – 1986 1987 – 1992 1993 – 1995 1996 – 2001 2002 – 2007 2008 – 2013 2014 – 2019 2020 – current |
Fellowships Chairs
[The Fellowships Committee was established in 1983, although FAOB Travel Fellowships were awarded from 1980. The Chair of the Fellowships Committee is a member of the Executive Committee of FAOBMB, as determined in the updated Rules of FAOBMB approved by Council in 2013. Prior to 2013, this position entitled the holder to attend Council meetings.]
| Takashi Murachi Montri Chulavatnatol Sang-Sup Lee Masamitsu Futai Raymond Yuen Yuzuru Ishimura Perumal Ramasamy Samir K Brahmachari Lin Qi-Shui Piamsook Pongsawasdi Sheila Nathan Paul Gleeson Rasika Perera |
Japan Thailand Korea Japan Singapore Japan Malaysia India China Thailand Malaysia Australia Sri Lanka |
1983 – 1986 1987 – 1989 1990 – 1992 1993 – 1995 1996 – 1998 1999 – 2002 2003 2004 – 2006 2007 2008 – 2013 2014 – 2017 2018 – 2023 2024 – current |
Education Chairs
[The Education Committee was established around 1997. The Chair of the Education Committee is a member of the Executive Committee of FAOBMB, as determined in the updated Rules of FAOBMB approved by Council in 2013. Prior to 2013, this position entitled the holder to attend Council meetings.]
| Nadhipuram V. Bhagavan Susan Hamilton Khoo Hoon-Eng Koh Siok-Im Gracia Fe B Yu Nirma Samarawickrema |
Hawaii Australia Singapore Singapore Philippines Australia |
1997 (approx.) – 2001 2002 – 2005 2006 – 2011 2012 – 2017 2018 – 2023 2024 – current |
Archivists
[The Archivist is entitled to attend Council meetings.]
| Kay Hoon Lee Nadhipuram V. Bhagavan [Position not filled] Phillip Nagley |
Singapore Hawaii ——– Australia |
1995 – 1999 (approx.) 2000 (approx.) – 2005 [2006 – 2017] 2018 – current |
Public Officers/Secretaries
[This position is a statutory position concerning the registration and activities of the Federation as an Incorporated Association in the State of Victoria, and can only be held by a resident of Australia]
| William Sawyer Paul Gooley Heung-Chin Cheng Phillip Nagley |
Australia Australia Australia Australia |
1992 – 1998 1999 – 2004 2005 – 2019 2020 – current |