Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

It is our great pleasure to invite you on behalf of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) to the 40^th Congress of The Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) to be held in Berlin in 2015. The FEBS congress will take place from Saturday July 4 to Thursday July 9, 2015, at the Estrel Convention Center in Berlin, Germany. 

With this joint congress, GBM and FEBS expect to bring together a wide range of researchers from all across Europe and further afield to explore "The Biochemical Basis of Life". The congress takes place under the framework of the biennial GBM conference "GBM - Molecular Life Sciences", and the joint event will cover the entire spectrum of molecular biosciences with symposia on "Mechanisms of Gene Expression", "Membranes, Receptors & Bioenergetics", "Structural Biology & Biophysics", "Systems Biology, Bioinformatics & Theoretical Biology", "Molecular Neuroscience" and "From Chemical Biology to Molecular Medicine". 

Plenary speakers include Nobel laureate Randy Schekman (Berkeley), Xiaowei Zhuang (Harvard), Jürgen Knoblich (IMBA, Vienna), Susan Lindquist (Whitehead Institute), Barbara Meyer (Berkeley), Sarah Teichmann (Cambridge), Alberto Kornblihtt (Buenos Aires), Nikolaus Pfanner (Freiburg) and Matthias Mann (MPI Martinsried). 

In addition there will be sessions and plenary discussions, for example on the future of scientific publishing, women in science, science & society, careers and education – as well as the Young Scientists Forum (YSF) immediately preceding the congress to promote interactions between pre- and post-doctoral scientists. 

The preliminary program is available on this website, registration and abstract submission are already open. To support participation of young scientists, bursaries will be available shortly.  

We trust that the congress will offer ample opportunities for fruitful discussions as well as the possibility to initiate new friendship, collaborations and joint projects. 

We are all looking forward to welcoming you in the vibrant city of Berlin in 2015! 

Volker Haucke, Scientific Organizer
Roger S. Goody, President, GBM 
Israel Pecht, Secretary General, FEBS