In the year of the 30th anniversary of the First Congress of VSG&B, the next forum of the Vavilov Society was also decided to be held in Saratov. It will be organised at SSU from June 14 to June 19.

Symbolically, the First Congress of VSG&B was held in 1994 in Saratov, a landmark place for the Russian genetics. It was here that Nikolai Vavilov discovered the law of homological series in hereditary variability, which marked the beginning of the development of genetics in our country.

The congress is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg State University, and the 115th anniversary of Saratov State University.

Numerous guests will visit the Big (physical) Hall of the university in Bldg. 3., SSU, where Vavilov made his famous report at the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Breeders in June 1920.

The programme of the congress consists of plenary sessions and 20 symposiums, where more than 250 speakers will speak on the main areas of genetics and breeding. Scientists from Russia and other countries will take part in the events – reports will be delivered in Russian and English.

The discussion of the participants of the international congress in Saratov will focus on such scientific areas as the matrix principle and mechanisms of genetic processes; ecological and evolutionary genetics, symbiogenetics; bioinformatics and systems biology; medical genetics; genetics, breeding, and biotechnology.

These days, panel discussions on the following topics will be held – Issues of genetic, biotechnological, and breeding education in the Russian Federation, Interaction of science with business, The history of genetics, and Ethical, legal and social aspects of genetic and genomic research.

The 3rd Genetic Resources of Russia Forum will also be held as part of the congress. Due to this large-scale event, specialists will be able to share their experience in the ongoing research, discuss complex interdisciplinary projects, and develop international professional contacts.

Today, the VSG&B includes 31 departments from 37 regions of the Russian Federation, unites more than three thousand scientists of the country representing all areas of genetics – one of the most successful branches of modern biology.

The VSG&B congresses are held every five years and are the largest events in genetics in the CIS. The previous 7th Congress was held in 2019 in St. Petersburg, and more than 1,300 participants from 33 countries gathered there. In different years, the VSG&B congress was also held in Rostov-on-Don, Moscow, as well as Omsk.