The 27th IUBMB Congress will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 19–23 September 2027 under the theme “Biochemical and molecular innovation for a sustainable world”. It is co-hosted by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Federation of African Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
The scientific programme connects molecular discovery with disease, biotechnology and sustainability. Its themes include bioinformatics, computational and systems biology; structural biology and biophysics; infectious and parasitic diseases; development, stem cells and cancer; chromosomal dynamics and gene regulation; and the molecular basis of disease. Further strands address prevention and treatment, natural products and phytomedicine, biotechnology and synthetic biology in the circular bioeconomy, chemical biology and drug discovery, and changing approaches to education.
The draft programme opens on Sunday 19 September with registration, the official opening, a Jubilee Lecture by Emmanuelle Charpentier and a welcome reception. Subsequent days combine plenary lectures with parallel scientific sessions, poster presentations and short “Posters in the spotlight” contributions. Early-career attendees are offered networking and career-discovery periods, while “Meet the professionals” breakfasts provide another setting for exchange across career stages.
Published plenary speakers include Emmanuelle Charpentier, Christian Happi, Frank Slack and Gordon Brown. Their research backgrounds encompass CRISPR and molecular genetics, pathogen genomics, microRNAs and cancer, and antifungal immunity. The meeting therefore brings together fundamental molecular science and research with direct relevance to global health.
Abstracts are invited across the congress themes, with a submission deadline of 12 February 2027. Researchers can align their work with the relevant scientific strand, including interdisciplinary projects spanning computational methods, molecular mechanisms, disease and translational applications.
The programme is published as a draft and may develop as the meeting approaches. Its combination of plenaries, parallel sessions, posters and early-career activities is designed to support both presentation of research and sustained discussion among the international biochemistry and molecular biology community.
The published fee table uses rand-denominated amounts: general early registration R11,700; LMIC student SASBMB member R3,600; other student, postdoctoral and membership categories differ. Daily registration R3,240 and the congress dinner R1,250 are separate categories, not a full-congress delegate rate. The official table lists overlapping March early/standard labels; confirm the applicable tier when booking.
