About IGO (International Glycoconjugate Organization)
By Prof. Sandro Sonnino
(Past president of IGO)
First, I want to point out that IGO is not a Society, but rather an organization founded by a group of friends, all outstanding Scientists, interested in the various fields of the biology of glycoconjugates: glycolipids, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans. This sometimes is a problem for relationships and for raising money.
IGO was initially established to promote international collaboration in the study of glycoconjugates by ensuring the proper organization of the International Symposiums on Glycoconjugates (this is the correct title of our meeting), which are held every two years. The following is the list of venues of the IGO Symposia and their Chair:
| GLYCO I | 1964 | Swampscott, USA; Prof. Roger W. Jeanloz |
|---|---|---|
| GLYCO II | 1973 | Lille, France; Prof. Jean Montreuil |
| GLYCO III | 1975 | Brighton, UK; Prof. Alan B. Foster |
| GLYCO IV | 1977 | Woods Hole, USA; Profs. John Gregory & Lennart Roden |
| GLYCO V | 1979 | Kiel, West Germany; Prof. Roland Schauer |
| GLYCO VI | 1981 | Tokyo, Japan; Prof. Tamio Yamakawa |
| GLYCO VII | 1983 | Ronneby, Sweden; Prof. Bengt Lindberg |
| GLYCO VIII | 1985 | Houston, USA; Prof. Eugene A. Davidson |
| GLYCO IX | 1987 | Lille, France; Prof. Jean Montreuil |
| GLYCO X | 1989 | Jerusalem, Israel; Prof. Nathan Sharon |
| GLYCO XI | 1991 | Toronto, Canada; Prof. Harry Schachter |
| GLYCO XII | 1993 | Krakow, Poland; Prof. Jerzy Koscielak |
| GLYCO XIII | 1995 | Seattle, USA; Prof. Sen-itiroh Hakomori |
| GLYCO XIV | 1997 | Zürich, Switzerland; Prof. Jürgen Roth |
| GLYCO XV | 1999 | Tokyo, Japan; Prof. Akira Kobata |
| GLYCO XVI | 2001 | The Hague, The Netherlands; Prof. Johannes F. G. Vliegenthart |
| GLYCO XVII | 2003 | Bangalore, India; Prof. Avadhesha Surolia |
| GLYCO XVIII | 2005 | Florence, Italy; Prof. Guido Tettamanti |
| GLYCO XIX | 2007 | Cairns, Australia; Prof. Paul Gleeson |
| GLYCO XX | 2009 | San Juan, Puerto Rico; Prof. Dipak Banerjee |
| GLYCO21 | 2011 | Vienna, Austria; Prof. Leo März |
| GLYCO22 | 2013 | Dalian, China; Prof. Jianxin Gu |
| GLYCO23 | 2015 | Split, Croatia; Prof. Gordan Lauc |
| GLYCO24 | 2017 | Jeju, South Korea; Prof. Jin Won Cho |
| GLYCO25 | 2019 | Milan, Italy; Profs. Sandro Sonnino and Alessandro Prinetti |
| GLYCO26 | 2023 | Taipei, Taiwan; Profs. Kay-Hooi Khoo and Fu-Tong Liu |
| GLYCO27 | 2025 | Edmonton, Canada; Prof. Matthew Macauley |
The first international symposium on glycoconjugates was held in the USA (MA) in 1964, but I know nothing about it. Regular IGO symposia began in 1973, and the establishment of IGO can be traced back to the 1970s.
In those years, there were only a few participating countries, I remember with certainty:
France, Italy, Israel, USA, Japan, West Germany, UK, Canada and Poland
At 2015 the number of Nations in IGO were much more, 27, and now the number reaches 31.
Officers
- President: Matthew Macauley (Canada)
- President-Elect: Tadashi Suzuki (Japan)
- Immediate Past President: Albert M. Wu (Taiwan)
- Secretary: Celso A. Reis (Portugal)
- Treasurer: Gordan Lauc (Croatia)
National Representatives
- Karina Marino (Argentina)
- Morten Thaysen-Andersen (Australia)
- Iain B. H. Wilson (Austria)
- Els Van Damme (Belgium)
- Mauro Pavao (Brazil)
- Matthew Macauley (Canada)
- Haojie Lu (China)
- Gordan Lauc (Croatia)
- Michaela Wimmerova (Czeck Republic)
- Henrik Clausen (Denmark)
- Jukka Finne (Finland)
- Yann Guerardel (France)
- Rüdiger Horstkorte (Germany)
- Rao Appa (India)
- Yehiel Zick (Israel)
- Alessandro Prinetti (Italy)
- Tadashi Suzuki (Japan)
- Dirk Lefeber (The Netherland)
- Ute Krengel (Norway)
- Sobala Lukasz (Poland)
- Celso A. Reis (Portugal)
- Andrei Petrescu (Romania)
- Nicolai Bovin (Russia)
- Jaroslav Katrlik (Slovakia)
- Won Ho Yang (South Korea)
- Pedro Bonay (Spain)
- Martin L. Olsson (Sweden)
- Stephan von Gunten (Switzerland)
- Kai Hooi Khoo (Taiwan)
- Anne Dell (UK)
- Stacy Malaker (USA)
Past Presidents
- Jin Won Cho (South Korea)
- Eugene A. Davidson (USA)
- Alan B. Foster (UK)
- Paul Gleeson (Australia)
- Jianxin Gu (China)
- Mary Catherine Glick (USA)
- Gerald W. Hart (USA)
- R Colin Hughes (UK)
- Roger W. Jeanloz (USA)
- Akira Kobata (Japan)
- Jerzy Koscielak (Poland)
- Gordan Lauc (Croatia)
- Bergt Lindberg (Sweden)
- Jean Montreauil (France)
- Jürgen Roth (Switzerland)
- Harry Schachter (Canada)
- Roland Schauer (Germany)
- Nathan Sharon (Israel)
- Sandro Sonnino (Italy)
- Avadhesha Surolia (India)
- Guido Tettamanti (Italy)
- Johannes F. G. Vliegenthart (The Netherlands)
- Iain B. H. Wilson (Austria)
- Albert M. Wu (Taiwan)
- Tamio Yamakawa (Japan)