Call for Abstracts

The global scientific community is invited to submit abstracts for an International Scientific Symposium on “Fundamental Life Science meets Climate, Environment and Sustainability: new bridges, new partnerships, new opportunities.”  The symposium will focus on four thematic areas: 

• Climate Change and Health  

• Ocean Biodiversity and Resources at Risk  

• Food Security in a Changing World  

• Individuals, Institutions, and Society – the Need for Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Transformations  

Abstracts should reflect research in progress (unpublished, or late breaking research) or published previously under the above topics. Anyone working in a related focus is also welcome to submit an abstract and attend. Topics can span all levels of organization and can be research at the molecular level, the earth/sustainability level, bridging the two broad areas, or research on sustainability issues as applied to demography, diversity and inclusion. The abstracts should convey a scientific result, but it may contain reference to innovations and applied technology that shows the impact of basic science for sustainable development. 

The Scientific Symposium is part of a three-day event held in conjunction with the United Nations International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD). HFSP and its partners, see below, will host a Science Summit on 27 June and the International Scientific Symposium in Paris, France on 28 & 29 June 2023. 

Background and Purpose of the Symposium

The science communities working on the current “big ticket items” like climate change, mitigation and adaptation, energy transitions, biodiversity, food security, and other global challenges under the U.N. Agenda 2030, have been historically “disconnected” from biological research in all its forms. Yet, scientists working in fields such as cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, human cognition, behavior, and public health can bring vital perspectives and can help close persistent gaps in our understanding of how the living parts of Earth’s systems interact with, and potentially regulate, key systems such as the Earth’s climate, the carbon cycle, prevailing ocean currents, and interfaces at biomes. Indeed, approaching sustainability from a holistic, scientific point of view that is transdisciplinary can accelerate sustainable development solutions.  

Pioneering science needs to integrate research from all sides – biological sciences and earth sciences – together with approaches from other disciplines, such as the social sciences, engineering, and other fields in order to provide answers relating to sustainable development. Innovative multidisciplinary studies have, in recent years, helped to bridge some of these knowledge gaps, but what is missing is a holistic integrative approach, connecting the fragments in a meaningful way to better understand and tackle some of these critical problems and fuel the transition to sustainability. 

For more information on the events and a background document please refer to the meeting page.

Submission Guidelines 

Abstracts may contain up to 500 words (excluding bibliography), plus a maximum of three references. They should describe the research, theoretical or experimental foundations, methodologies, outcomes, and contribution to the sustainable development transitions. Abstract submission should be done exclusively through the HFSP digital submission portal, and those submitted by email, or any other contact form will not be considered. 

Submission deadline: 15 May 2023, until midnight CET.  

Notifications to authors will only be sent after the review and selection process has concluded, and the full program for the symposium will be posted once scientific papers and posters have been finalized. Authors selected for posters will be asked to provide a physical poster. All abstracts will be published in a Proceedings Book.