World-leading scientists head to Cairns

The International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology is heading to Australia for the first time, and will be hosted at the Cairns Convention Centre in July 2022. The global event will bring together over 700 leading academic scientists, researchers and scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Vertebrate Morphology. The congress also provides an interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations and trends. The conference, hosted by the International Society of Vertebrate Morphology, will be attended by delegates from over 40 countries, with experts from a variety of International universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, Yale, Chicago and Brown. “Cairns was the perfect choice for the 2022 Congress,” said Dr Olga Panagiotopoulou, from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, who led Australia’s bid to host the event. “Over recent years, Australia has become a leading nation in vertebrate research and we wanted to bring the international community to a city where they could network together and explore one of the most beautiful destinations in the world.” Life sciences is a growing sector in Australia. Queensland has more than 100 large institutes, facilities, research hospitals, precincts, smaller laboratories and other research organisations involved in the biotechnology sector. Janet Hamilton, General Manager, Cairns Convention Centre, said: “Attracting this event is a fantastic opportunity for Cairns in 2022. The Centre’s business development team will continue working closely with the society executives and Dr Panagiotopoulou to deliver an exceptional international meeting. “The Centre is a leader within the region, and in Australia, in hosting international scientific conferences, highlighting our industry strengths and research expertise.”