European Conference on the Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules – Dublin 2019

Initiated in 1985, the bi-ennial European Conference on the Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules (ECSBM) has become recognised as one of the leading international conferences at which applications of biomolecular spectroscopy in fundamental scientific research, medical and clinical sciences, and the pharmaceutical industries are explored [1]. The 18th edition of ECSBM took place in the O’Brien Centre for Science, University College Dublin from the 19th – 22nd August 2019, co-chaired by Susan J. Quinn, UCD, and Hugh J. Byrne, TU Dublin. Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules entails the fundamental understanding of biomolecular structure, function and dysfunction, their contributions in organisms, including plants, animals and humans, as well as the development of technologies to monitor their presence, performance, and/or production (e.g. diagnostic imaging, process control). ECSBM provides a platform for a multidisciplinary community, developing a wide range of spectroscopic techniques (IR, Raman, UV-Vis, fluorescence, NMR, EPR) for the investigation of the structures, functions and dysfunctions of biological molecules, exploring the potential applications of the techniques in areas including food and nutrition, biomedical imaging, anticancer research, drug delivery and nano-biotechnology. The scope of the scientific topics covered has recently extended to applications in the fields of biomedical imaging, anticancer research, drug delivery and nano-biotechnology. At the meeting in Dublin, the impact for food science and nutrition was also included within the scope of the programme. In total, the meeting was attended by 177 delegates, from 22 countries, including USA (3) and Brazil (5). The programme entailed 18 oral, and 2 poster sessions. There were a total of 70 oral and 69 poster