Joint meeting of ICOP/ISOP 2025, June 22 – June 2027, Seoul, Korea
Conference venue
The conference was held at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), located near the most important palaces of Joseon Korea. The present-day university is a modern continuation of the National Neo-Confucian Academy, founded in 1398 at the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty. From its inception, the Academy served as the highest educational institution in the country, dedicated to training government officials and national leaders.
SKKU alumni have historically played key roles in the state’s political and intellectual life. Modern university buildings, such as the impressive 600th Anniversary Building that hosted the congress, are located around the historic Neo-Confucian Academy, which is still in use today—for example, as a site for degree ceremonies. The Academy’s historic buildings were repeatedly destroyed and significantly renovated, most recently in 1869.
Fig. 1: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) – modern 600th Anniversary Building is situated near the historic campus of the National Neo-Confucian Academy. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
Fig. 2: Congress Opening. Hwan Su Yoon (President, Organizing Committee) and Jong Soo Park (Secretary General, Organizing Committee) welcome all participants. Photo by Eunsil Yoon.
ISOP-Organized Events
Anna Karnkowska (University of Warsaw, Poland) and Patrick Keeling (University of British Columbia, Canada) delivered their Past President Addresses.
While Anna focused on challenges facing the community and future perspectives, Patrick spoke more about his scientific endeavors. The key take-home message from both talks: we are living in turbulent times, facing many challenges. Our field is growing but still remains outside the scientific mainstream. To thrive, we must exceed mainstream standards—especially in storytelling, because many researchers don’t even know that the organisms we study exist. We need to convince them that our work on these “weird” creatures is relevant and impactful. At the same time, this lack of mainstream attention may be our advantage—our superpower. Like 18th- and 19th-century naturalists, we explore the unknown—but now with 21st-century tools.
Fig. 3: ISOP Past President talk by Anna Karnkowska. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
Fig. 4: ISOP Past President talk by Patrick Keeling. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
ISOP also financially supported two symposia organized by Society members:
- Structural biology of macromolecular complexes, organized by Lilach Sheiner (University of Glasgow, UK)
- Environmental sensing, responses, and differentiation in protists, organized by Michelle Leger (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan) and Núria Ros i Rocher (Institut Pasteur, France)
Fig. 5: ISOP-sponsored symposium on Environmental sensing, responses, and differentiation in protists. Photo by Tomáš Pánek
Alastair Simpson also presented an update on the ongoing work toward a new classification of protists—continuing a lineage of taxonomic frameworks that dates back to the seminal 1964 paper by Honigberg et al.
ISOP supported 37 individuals with travel grants totaling $45,000 USD and awarded the Jahn-Bovee Prizes for best talk and poster presented by ISOP student members. These awards include monetary prizes. This year’s winners are listed below.
Fig. 6: ISOP President Sina Adl and Holz-Conner awardees. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
Fig. 7: ISOP President Sina Adl and Jahn-Bovee awardees. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
Poster presentation
- The 3rd J-B awardee for the best poster presentation is MinSang Cho – Dalhousie University, Canada. $200
- The 2nd J-B awardee for the best poster presentation is Veronika Kantnerová – Charles University, Czech Republic. $300
- The 1st J-B awardee for the best poster presentation is Margarita Skamnelou – Institut de Biologia Evolutiva – CSIC-UPF, Spain. $500
Oral presentation
- The 3rd J-B awardee for the best oral presentation is Karla Iveth Aguilera-Campos – Lund University, Sweden. $200
- The 2nd J-B awardee for the best oral presentation is Marek Valt – Charles University, Czech Republic. $300
- The 1st J-B awardee for the best oral presentation is Anežka Konupková – Charles University, Czech Republic. $500
A total of 52 members attended the ISOP Business Meeting, approving updates to the Bylaws and membership fees.
Fig. 8: The transfer of the ISOP Presidency from Sina Adl to Julius Lukeš took place during the ISOP Business Meeting. Photo by Eunsil Yoon.
Last but not least, Alastair Simpson, on behalf of the Hutner Award Subcommittee (currently chaired by Richard Dorrell), announced the new Hutner Awardee: Javier del Campo. The subcommittee recognized not only his outstanding scientific achievements but also his dedicated service to the community. The award was presented by Julius Lukeš (Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences), the new ISOP President.
Fig. 9: Alastair Simpson (left) and Julius Lukeš (right) with Hutner award winner Javier del Campo. Photo by Eunsil Yoon.
Before the conference banquet, participants were treated to performances of traditional Korean music and dance.
Fig. 10: Traditional Korean Daebuk and Samulnori performances. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
Alastair Simpson organized a Protist Trivia session, and the local organizing team prepared a calligraphy station, where participants could receive beautifully hand-written cards with their names in Hangul.
Fig. 11: Protist Trivia session. Photo by Eunsil Yoon.
Conference Summary
A total of 442 participants from 21 countries, including 161 students, attended the conference.
The program featured 253 talks and 126 posters.
There was a noticeable increase in presentations on expansion microscopy and Radiolaria research. While ecology and evolution remain strong areas of interest, the focus is shifting away from classical taxonomy toward broader biological phenomena.
Fig. 12: 600th Anniversary hall. Photo by Eunsil Yoon.
Non-Scientific Activities
Participants enjoyed Korean hospitality, the blend of historical and modern Seoul, and its delicious and relatively affordable cuisine. We had many productive discussions over hot pots, Korean BBQ, and other local specialties. The more adventurous attendees even sampled dishes like chicken feet and live octopus.
Fig. 13: Injeongjeon hall – The throne hall and main building of Changdeokgung palace, Seoul. Photo by Tomáš Pánek.
