Isoprenoid Society

The Isoprenoid Society was established in Prague on September 7, 2014 as a learned society that supports all kinds of research, utilisation and information on natural compounds, namely the isoprenoids.

The Isoprenoid Society is a nonprofit organization which functioning is based on gratuitous activity and voluntary contributions of its members, and supporters. The Isoprenoid Society is i.a. closely associated with the Isoprenoid Conference and since its creation has been the principal co-organiser of this conference. Support and strengthen the tendency of getting closer the cooperation in isoprenoid research, ideas exchange, gathering international research teams and help in starting joint projects are also the goals of the Isoprenoid Society.

The main aims and role of the Society are described in its charter.

Isoprenoid Society Charter

1. The Isoprenoid Society (IS) is created to serve all those with an interest in isoprenoid chemistry, biochemistry, function and utilisation, or any other aspect of isoprenoid research. The Isoprenoid Society is a nonprofit organization which functioning is based on gratuitous activity and voluntary contributions of its members and supporters.

2. The Isoprenoid Society is i.a. closely associated with the series of meetings “Conferences on Isoprenoids” (Isoprenoid Conference) and since its creation has been the co-organiser of this conference.

3. The Isoprenoid Society has both personal (individual) and corporate membership. The individual members are not expected to contribute financially to the Society.

4. A corporate member of the Isoprenoid Society may be any legal body or association with aims and activities which fall within the interests of the Isoprenoid Society. Corporate members pay a membership fee by agreement.

5. Individual members are of three categories: member, fellow, honorary life fellow.

6. Any person who has attended at least two Isoprenoid Conferences is eligible for membership. The membership is valid for two years and may be extended by further attendance of the Isoprenoid Conference.

7. Any person who took part in the organization of, or provided significant support for the Isoprenoid Conference, or any person who has contributed significantly to the isoprenoid research field, may be admitted as a Fellow of the Isoprenoid Society.

8. A person who has contributed to the isoprenoid field beyond the definition in §7 may be admitted as an Honorary Life Fellow of the Isoprenoid Society.

9. The executive body of the Isoprenoid Society is the IS Board (Executive Committee).

10. The IS Board consists at the time of creation of the society of the “Founding Fathers”, from whom the president and a secretary are elected.

11. The term of membership of the IS Board is for four years, after which there will be an election of the new board consisting of seven members. The election quorum shall be all eligible IS members present at the Isoprenoid Conference.

12. Decisions taken by the IS Board must be approved by a majority vote of Board members. IS Board members may vote electronically via the internet, or via similar means. A minimum of four members must participate in the voting. If the IS Board is unable to make a decision, the president may defer the decision until the next meeting of the IS Board.

13. Should the president be unable to act, the secretary shall act as vice-president and take temporarily his role.

14. Any member of the IS Board is eligible to run for re-election.

15. The Isoprenoid Society shall be considered as dissolved after four consecutive years during which no Isoprenoid Conference was organised, or by the decision of the IS Board.

Adopted and certified in Prague on September 7, 2014.

Covey Douglas, Drašar Pavel, Harmatha Juraj, Khripach Vladimir, Morzycki Jacek, Strnad Miroslav, Wicha Jerzy

Executive Committee

Current Executive Committee of Isoprenoid Society consists of

President:

Wicha Jerzy, Prof. dr hab., Institute of Organic Chemistry, the Polish Academy of Sciences? PL

General Secretary:

Drašar Pavel, Prof. RNDr. DSc., University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, CZ

Members:

Adekenov Sergazy Mynzhasarovich, Prof. DSc., Joint Stock Company “Research and Production Center “Phytochemistry”, Karaganda, KZ

Covey Douglas, PhD. Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

Harmatha Juraj, Prof. PhD., Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, CZ

Khripach Vladimir, Prof. DSc. Member of AS BY, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, AS BY, Minsk, BY

Morzycki Jacek W., Prof. dr hab., Białystok University, PL

Strnad Miroslav, Prof. ing. CSc., Institute of Experimental Botany AS CR, Prague, CZ

Secretariat of Isoprenoid Society

c/o Czech Chemical Society ; Novotneho Lavka 200/5; Staré Město, 116 68 Praha 1, Czech Republic

Conference on Isoprenoids

The famous Conference on Isoprenoids that was established originally as the Polish-Czechoslovak forum of natural products chemists by Professors Marian Kocór, Vaclav Černý, Vlastimil Herout, Jozef Tomko, and their co-workers. The conference fulfilled an important role in integrating European chemists.

The “Isoprenoids” forum became quickly known as one of the pioneering channels in the 1960s and 1970s that surmounted the very high Arrhenius barrier, “The Iron Curtain”, that restricted contacts between chemists on either side of this barrier. The Conference later evolved into a forum that brought “isoprenoid folk” together with as many specialists as possible from broadly connected fields of research to promote practical uses of isoprenoid science and information dissemination.

In the history, there were Isoprenoid conferences:

Warszaw, PL, 1966; Szklarska Poręba, PL, 1967; Karpacz, PL, 1969; Jadwisin, PL, 1971; Liblice Castle (north of Prague, CZ) 1973; Toruń, PL, 1975; Tatranská Lomnica, CZ, 1977; Toruń, PL, 1979; Praha, CZ, Sept. 1981; Třeboň, CZ, Oct. 16-21, 1983; Jachranka, PL, Sept. 16-21, 1985; Pec pod Sněžkou, CZ, Oct. 4-11, 1987; Poznaň, PL, Sept. 24-29, 1989; Tábor, CZ, Sept. 15-21, 1991; Zakopane, PL, 1993; Praha, CZ, Sept. 17-23, 1995; Krakov, PL, Sept. 21-26, 1997; Prachatice, CZ, Sept. 10-16, 1999; Gdańsk, PL, Sept. 8-14, 2001; Liberec, CZ, Aug. 12-18, 2003; Białowieźa, PL, Sept. 23-29, 2005, where was held the 21st conference, to be followed by the 22nd in Praha, CZ, on Sept. 7-10, 2014.
Isoprenoid Society brings Abstract Books of all Conferences here.

The last true "old time" Isoprenoid conference (21st) was held in Białowieża, Poland, 23-29 September 2005. The following Conference in Karpacz (Poland, 8-12 July 2009) that initially intended to be the 22nd conference o Isoprenoids, but in an attempt to broaden participation by chemists with broader, but related, interests it was organized under the title “Conference on Advances in Organic Synthesis”.

The "true" 22nd Isoprenoids conference in Prague on Sept. 7-10, 2014, several days after the 5th EuCheMS Congress in Istanbul. After that the regularity of the Isoprenoid Conference went on again on biannual basis. In 2016 there was successfully organized the 23rd Isoprenoid Conference in Minsk (September 4-7, 2016), and the 24th in Bialystok (September 9-12, 2018). The meeting in Karaganda (Kazakhstan), originally planned on Sept. 9-11, 2020, postponed due to COVID to Sept. 11-13, 2023 was finally cancelled for technical reasons.

So far there is on the horizon the 25th Isoprenoid Conference in 2024, which is planned on 18 to 21 September 2024 at the University building on Naples seaside. More information on the conference web.

KENJI MORI MEDAL

For Achievements in Natural Products Research
PRIZE AWARDEES

Professor Kenji Mori (March 21, 1935 - April 16, 2019) was the son of a pastor and grew up in Okayama, Japan. His father introduced him to nature and agriculture, and throughout his life, Kenji was guided by his Christian faith, kindness and compassion.

Kenji Mori studied chemistry at the University of Tokyo where he obtained a Bachelor degree in Agricultural Chemistry (1957). The subject of his PhD thesis, carried out with Professor M. Matsui, was the total synthesis of gibberellins (1962), a group of complex plant-produced diterpenes. He held the position of Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry of the University of Tokyo until 1978, when he became Full Professor at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry. After his retirement (1995), he continued at the Department of Chemistry of the Science University of Tokyo (until 2001) and worked with several Japanese companies and institutes as a consultant, especially at RIKEN (2003-2019)[i].

Isoprenoid Society, decided in 2019 to use the legacy of prof. Mori, honorary life fellow of the Society, by a medal, which shall be prevalently given at the Conference on Isoprenoids to one young scientist for the field of natural products research. The awardee will be selected on the proposal from anyone by the Society Executive Committee. The Executive Committee can decide on more or other awardees if it will be found necessary.

The decision to establish the Medal and Prize was supported by Mrs. Keiko Mori as well as by many scientists from all kinds of natural product research disciplines.

The awardee shall be invited to read a lecture at the “next” Conference on Isoprenoids.

[i] Francke, W.: Professor Kenji Mori, 21 March 1935–16 April 2019. J Chem Ecol 45, 808–809 (2019) doi:10.1007/s10886-019-01095-z

The medal was sculptured by Czech academic sculptor and medalist Vladimír Oppl.

The Kenji Mori Medal has many suppoters, and moreover, donors who allowed its creation. These are the Isoprenoid Society members and also some great personalities, companies and instutuons. Among them we shall name:

Ms. Keiko MORI

The companies and institutions are:

ISOPRENOID SOCIETY