About INPEC

The International Network of Protein Engineering Centres (INPEC) is an unofficial group of national centres concerned with protein engineering research and was established on May 24th, 1991. INPEC is a non-profit, scientifically based organisation with no legal status.

Previous Meetings:

  • INPEC 1991: Braunschweig, Germany
  • INPEC 1992: Montreal, Canada
  • INPEC 1993: Osaka, Japan
  • INPEC 1994: Arhus, Danmark
  • INPEC 1996: Melbourne, Australia
  • INPEC 1997: Trondheim, Norway
  • INPEC 1998: Rockville, MD, USA
  • INPEC 1999: Versailles, France
  • INPEC 2000: Groningen, The Netherlands
  • INPEC 2001: St. Goar, Germany
  • INPEC 2002: Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • INPEC 2003: Bromont, Canada
  • INPEC 2004: Brunnen, Switzerland
  • INPEC 2005: Ein Gedi, Israel
  • INPEC 2006: Elsinor, Denmark
  • INPEC 2007: Jaca, Spain

Next meeting: INPEC 2008: Naantali, Finland.

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The Charta

  1. The International Network of Protein Engineering Centres (INPEC) is an unofficial group of national centres concerned with protein engineering research and was established on May 24th, 1991.
  2. INPEC is a non-profit, scientifically based organisation with no legal status.

  3. The aims of INPEC:

    • Promotion of basic and applied research in the field of protein design via Mutual cooperation and exchange of information to avoid duplication of research
    • Organisation of annual international protein engineering meetings
    • Exchange of scientists
    • International training at the post-doctoral level

  4. INPEC Membership:

    Each country will be represented by one node. It is the responsibility of that node to ensure that its country's activities in protein engineering are represented to INPEC and that information on INPEC's activities is disseminated throughout the node's country. Each node may have up to 2 voting delegates. The selection of delegates and structuring of individual nodes is a national issue and will differ from country to country. It was agreed that continuity of representation is important and should be maintained. Memberships for new countries in INPEC will be considered at the annual meeting for national nodes introduced by an existing INPEC member. Existing members may agree to accept nodes other than strictly national representatives, based on the merit of the application.

  5. Participating Countries:

    Currently, the participating nodes represent the following nations: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, U.K. and U.S.A.

  6. Steering Committee:

    The continuity and administration of INPEC are safeguarded by a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is composed of one representative from each of 4 nodes selected as those hosting the two previous general meetings and the two upcoming meetings.

  7. The current membership is (in alphabetical order):

    • Australia: Dr. Nick Hoogenraaad, Prof. Peter Hudson
    • Austria: Prof. Andreas Kungl
    • Brazil: Dr. Richard Garret
    • Canada: Dr. Mirek Cygler, Dr. Tony Warren
    • Denmark: Prof. Flemming M. Poulsen
    • Finland: Prof. Rik Wierenga, Prof. Adrian Goldman
    • France: Prof. Thomas Haertle, Prof. Andre Menez
    • Germany: Prof. Reinhard Steiner
    • Greece: Dr. Michael Kokkinidis
    • Hungary: Dr. Peter Tompa
    • Israel: Prof. Joel L. Sussman
    • Italy: Prof. Alberto Di Donato
    • India: Dr. Sankaran Krishnaswamy, Dr. Pinak Chakrabarti
    • Japan: Dr. Kosuke Morikawa
    • The Netherlands: Prof. Bauke W. Dijkstra
    • Norway: Prof. Vincent Eijsink
    • Portugal: Dr. Belarmino A Salvado Barata
    • Russia: Prof. Vadim V. Mesyanzhinov
    • Singapore: Dr. Jianxing Song
    • South Korea: Dr. Hak-Sung Kim
    • Spain: Dr. Carlos Gomez-Moreno
    • Sweden: Prof. Tuula T. Teeri
    • Switzerland: Prof. Andreas Plueckthun
    • Taiwan: Dr. Andy Wang
    • United Kingdom: Prof. Sir Alan Fersht, Dr. Greg Winter
    • USA: Dr. Phil Bryan, Dr. Edward Eisenstein
  8. The chairperson is selected to be the representative of the host node for the most recent INPEC meeting with a term of approximately 12 months. A secretariat should be established when necessary. Steering Committee Meetings will take place as necessary but once a year is recommended as a preparation for the main annual meeting. Members can nominate substitutes so that each meeting has a complete membership.

  9. Annual Meeting of Participating Nodes:

    The Annual Meeting is planned for preferably May or June each year. It will be of a closed nature taking containing reports and posters from each node. Each node can be represented by 3 nominated delegates, at least one of whom will be accommodated for no charge by the host organisation. Local observers will be possible. It may be an advantage to hold the INPEC annual meeting in conjunction with a larger open meeting on a related subject. The organisation of the annual meeting is the responsibility of the host node for the particular year.

  10. Annual Business Meeting:

    This should take place during the annual meeting to discuss INPEC matter and plans and to decide on new members. The selection of future hosts for the annual meeting should take place at the annual business meeting at least 2 years ahead. The annual business meeting can be attended by all delegates.

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