Split in the centre of science world

The most significant scientific event of the year is open on June 17, 2019.

The most significant scientific event of the year "The 11th ISABS Conference on Forensic and Anthropological Genetics and Mayo Clinical Lectures in Individualized Medicine" (www.isabs.net), organized by the International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS), was officially opened today, on June 17th 2019 and positioned Split as the host city in the focus of the worldwide public. Numerous distinguished persons from academic, scientific and public life attended the opening ceremony, as well as leading people of the world's major associations and institutions in the field of forensic science, personalized and regenerative medicine, and anthropological genetics. Introductory words were given by prof. Dragan Primorac, president of the ISABS, who emphasized that a message will be sent from Split to the world on the direction of 22nd century medicine development, which represents a completely new concept of medicine based on an individualized approach to the patient through the principle: the right drug, at the right dose, at the right time, for the right patient.

"A completely new philosophy in personalized medicine will be presented, including molecular diagnosis, early diagnosis of disease, new forms of immunotherapy, gene therapy of cancer and cell therapy, while from the field of forensics it will be discussed how to determine the perpetrator of a criminal offense if we do not possess his DNA in the official database of the criminal offenders. In the field of anthropological genetics, the main topic will be the encounter of Neanderthal and anatomically modern human”, said Primorac. He particularly welcomed and emphasized the importance of his exceptional team, who has been with him since the foundation of ISABS and without which it would be impossible to organize conferences at such a high world level. "It is these people that prove that Croatia has a chance to develop as a society of knowledge and excellence".

Amongst other esteemed guests, the Conference was addressed by the Minister of Health prof. Milan Kujundžić, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat and Minister of Science and Education prof. Blaženka Divjak. They all agreed that ISABS conferences are extremely important in Croatia's global positioning in the field of science, innovation and economic competitiveness.

Dr. Krešimir Luetić, president of the Croatian Medical Chamber, welcomed the participants on behalf of over nineteen thousand Croatian doctors and emphasized that the presence of the world’s top scientists and Nobel Laureates in Split is an opportunity for colleagues to directly contact them and obtain the latest information from the field of medicine. He gave his full support to prof. Primorac in his efforts to achieve excellence in the field of medical sciences.

Prof. Zeno Geradts, the president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), emphasized the importance of a long-standing cooperation between ISABS and AAFS, resulting in the fact that ISABS is now only the second affiliated institution in over seventy-years-long history of AAFS.

The four Nobel Prize Laureates will participate in this year's Conference: Prof. Paul Modrich (Duke University), prof. Avram Hershko (Technion), prof. Robert Huber (Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry) and prof. Ada Yonath (Weizmann Institute of Science).

Speaking of the reputation of the congresses organized by ISABS, Mayo Clinic and St. Catherine’s Specialty Hospital, it is undeniable that it is strategically positioning Croatia in the world, and the ISABS conferences itself are one of the biggest "scientific brands". 600 participants from 45 countries around the world participate in the rich five-day scientific program of the conference. The fact that more than a million visitors have visited ISABS official website (www.isabs.net) since the foundation of ISABS, and 6000 scientists and 600 invited lecturers from more than 70 countries participated in these congresses, in itself speaks of the strength of this Croatian scientific brand, recognized in the elite world of science. The most influential scientists of the world have chosen the ISABS conference to present their results to the world public, including the new direction of biomedical sciences development and the concept of "Medicine of the 22nd Century", which will completely change the medical sciences we know today.

Statements:

Dragan Primorac (ISABS Founder and President): ”At this time, the St. Catherine Specialty Hospital is among the leading institutions in the use of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of osteoarthritis, with remarkable results that completely change the paradigm of today's orthopedics. In collaboration with OneOme, a corporation founded by the Mayo Clinic, the application of the most comprehensive pharmacogenomic analysis of 27 genes for the whole of Europe has started from Croatia. Croatia has an exceptional opportunity to become the pioneer and the leader in personalized medicine, as we started the forensic genetics in the early 90ies".

Mitchell M. Holland (Pennsylvania State University): "The excellent thing about ISABS conferences is the concept of interdisciplinarity, which allows me as a molecular forensicist to hear about the latest findings in the fields of molecular medicine and molecular anthropology, as well as to exchange knowledge and experience with fellow scientists who I would not otherwise meet”.

Avram Hershko (Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry 2004): "Except for the fact that this is an extremely important conference in the field of biomedical sciences, I am delighted to be here to see the beauties of your wonderful country - Croatia".

Keith Stewart (Director of the largest personalized medical center in the United States): “Today, I will present the results of a test that every person can undergo to detect the risk for a large number of cancers before they develop. I am extremely happy to cooperate with ISABS as well as with the collaboration of the St. Catherine Specialty Hospital and OneOme, the company founded by our Mayo Clinic".

Paul Modrich (Nobel Prize winner in chemistry 2015): "My grandparents were born in Croatia and I am very proud of that, and I want to thank prof. Primorac who invited me to this extremely important event”.