Upcoming key dates

2026 FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE Conference | Travel grants & abstracts deadline
24 July 2026

FEBS Excellence Awards 2026 | Application deadline
15 August 2026

FEBS Letters | Editor in Chief vacancy
31 August 2026

Science and Society Events | Application deadline
31 August 2026

FEBS Advanced Courses | 2027 Call for applications 
1 September 2026

FEBS Press | FEBS Letters cover contest deadline
30 September 2026

FEBS3+ Meetings 2027 | Funding application deadline
30 September 2026

The FEBS Congress 2026: a look back

The 50th FEBS Congress welcomed over 1,400 participants from more than 70 countries to Maastricht earlier this month for the big picture across biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and more! If you were at the event, thank you for all your contributions to the knowledge exchange. We hope you have returned to your work refreshed and inspired, with plenty of new understanding, new ideas or new connections across research areas and countries.

A round-up news post with photos on the FEBS website now highlights some of the special moments at the Congress, from plenary lecturer awards to poster discussions. And you can enjoy browsing more photos from the event in the Congress website’s photo gallery.

Special thanks go to the event’s sponsors/exhibitors, and the Congress host Society – The Netherlands Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (NVBMB).

Next up: the 51st FEBS Congress in Riga, Latvia, 3–7 July 2027. Save the dates!

25th FEBS Young Scientists’ Forum (YSF 2026)

On 2-4 July, over 100 selected PhD students and early career postdoctoral researchers from across Europe and beyond gathered in Wageningen for the 25th FEBS Young Scientists’ Forum (YSF 2026).

They shared their research, explored new ideas, developed new skills, built friendships and scientific connections, and experienced the collaborative spirit that makes the YSF so special, before joining the FEBS Congress in Maastricht.

A growing partnership with KSBMB

The 2026 FEBS Congress highlighted the growing partnership between FEBS and the Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB) through a vibrant programme of scientific exchange and networking.

The FEBS–KSBMB Special Session featured cutting-edge advances in biochemistry, while the Korean Night offered a lively setting for delegates to connect and experience Korean culture. Building on this success, FEBS looks forward to continuing this collaboration at the 2027 KSBMB International Conference.

FEBS Letters

Editor in Chief vacancy
Would you like to shape the future of FEBS Letters? Are you an established academic in the molecular life sciences with experience as an Editorial Board Member of a reputed journal?

Then check out the ad for this exciting opportunity: FEBS Letters is seeking a new Editor in Chief to lead the journal and develop editorial strategy together with a highly experienced editorial team. This is a paid position as an independent contractor, which will be held in parallel to your academic duties. Deadline for applications 31 August.

More news from FEBS Letters
FEBS Letters has had a fruitful first half of 2026, publishing two excellent special issues on circadian biology and cryo-electron microscopy of large metabolic complexes, and hosting the first of our new free webinar series, also on circadian clocks. The full recording of this webinar is now on our website  for those who were unable to attend.

The FEBS Letters staff were also honoured to be able to interact with so many researchers and hear about the latest science at the FEBS Congress; we congratulate Tizibt Ashine Bogale (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) for winning the FEBS Lettersposter prize for her excellent poster “Alpha-synuclein loss impairs early vascular response and long-term functional recovery after ischemic stroke.” In addition, we extend our congratulations and gratitude to Prof. Peter Brzezinski (Stockholm University, Sweden), winner of this year’s FEBS Letters Award; Peter, who has been an indefatigable editor and supporter of the journal for over twenty years, presented an engaging and illuminating FEBS Letters lecture on the structure and function of respiratory supercomplexes at the Congress in Maastricht.  

The FEBS Journal

Special Issue: Extracellular matrix - Proteases cross-talkThe extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic three-dimensional macromolecular network essential for tissue homeostasis. This special issue on ECM cross-talk with proteases, coordinated by Nikos Karamanos (University of Patras, Greece), showcases expert review articles from leaders in the field that discuss the categories and functions of various proteases and their involvement in ECM remodelling and regulation. 

FEBS Open Bio

After another fantastic FEBS Congress, we would like to take a moment to congratulate the FEBS Open Bio award winners.

FEBS Open Bio Article Prize

• Klaudia K. Maruszczak, from IMol Polish Academy of Sciences as the first author of the outstanding paper “Structure prediction analysis of human core TIM23 complex reveals conservation of the protein translocation mechanism”.

 Speed Talk Prize

• Edmee Vandenboorn-Bönner, from Eindhoven University of Technology for her talk titled “Structural and molecular characterization of neurodevelopmental disorder-associated 14-3-3γ mutations and their rescue by small-molecule stabilizers”

Overall FEBS Open Bio Poster Prize winner

• Gaia Galassi, from Università degli Studi di Milano for her poster titled "HDAC6 and HDAC8 combined targeting to counteract glioblastomas multiform progression and treatment resistance"

 Daily FEBS Open Bio poster prize winners

• Laura Valerio Núñez from IBGM CSIC-UVa, for her poster titled "Lipin-2 Orchestrates Macrophage Polarization Through Lipid Metabolism".
• Luiza Oliveira-Jorge from University of Lleida for her poster titled "A conserved group of amino acids enhances thermal stability and antioxidant activity of eukaryotic frataxins"

These awards represent the broad spectrum of work published by FEBS Open Bio and the high-quality work that was on show at The FEBS Congress 2026.

Fellowships

FEBS Excellence Awards 2026

The application deadline for the FEBS Excellence Awards 2026 is fast approaching. If you are an outstanding early-career group leader in the FEBS area, don't miss the opportunity to apply for up to €100,000 over three years to support your research.

???? Application deadline: 15 August 2026

FEBS Advanced Courses

New courses for 2027

We are delighted to announce the FEBS Advanced Courses that were approved at Round 1 of the 2027 call for applications. More details will appear on the Advanced Courses section of the FEBS website over the next months. We will also announce additional 2027 courses later this year, approved in Round 2 of this call.

Updates for organizers

The next deadline to apply to organize a course is 1 September 2026, for Round 2 of the 2027 call, for courses to be delivered in 2027. Check the updated guidelines and application form on the FEBS website.

Hoping to organize a course outside the FEBS area? The new Joint FEBS/IUBMB Advanced Course can be held in any country that has an IUBMB Adhering Body or Associate Adhering Body. This course type is equally funded by FEBS and IUBMB and is still part of the FEBS Advanced Courses programme.

More details are available from the FEBS website.

Updates for participants of 2026 Advanced Courses

The following Advanced Courses are taking place in the second half of 2026:

• FEBS Workshop ‘Biochirality across scales’ (20 – 22 August 2026 │ Nice, France)
• FEBS Advanced Lecture Course ‘MASLD: From novel liver model systems to organelle pathophysiology’ (3 – 8 September 2026 │ Spetses, Greece)
• FEBS Advanced Lecture Course ‘Molecular mechanisms of synaptic vesicle dynamics’ (12 – 18 October 2026 │ Spetses Island, Greece)
• FEBS Advanced Lecture Course ‘6th Danube Conference on Epigenetics’ (19 – 22 October 2026 │ Budapest, Hungary)

Thank you for sharing information about the FEBS Advanced Courses with contacts and networks.

Career of Young Scientists

2026 FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE Conference – Last chance to apply!

Don't miss the final opportunity to apply for €500 travel grants and submit abstracts for oral presentations by 24 July. Join this unique international conference for early-career researchers, combining cutting-edge science, career development and networking, taking place 14–16 October 2026 in Kraków, Poland, under the theme “The Code of Life: Beyond the Genome to Multilayer Biology”.

Science and Society

FEBS Supported Science and Society Events: applications now open

Applications are now open for FEBS Supported Science and Society Events taking place between September and December 2026. This funding scheme supports FEBS Constituent Societies in organising activities that engage the public and promote a better understanding of molecular life sciences.

Funding of up to €2,000 is available for in person events and up to €750 for online activities. The application deadline is 31 August 2026.

Read the full call, eligibility criteria and application instructions on the FEBS website.

FEBS3+ Meetings

Abstract submissions for posters are still welcome for this year’s annual meeting of ÖGMBT (the Austrian Association of Molecular Life Sciences and Biotechnology), which has support from FEMS and FEBS for collaboration with nearby countries.

The FEBS3+ collaboration, 15–17 September 2026, is with the FEBS member Societies CSBMB (Czech Republic) and SBS (Slovenia), and FEBS3+ travel grants are available for early-stage researchers from these countries. The deadline for poster abstracts and FEBS3+ travel grant applications is 5 August 2026.