The ICGEB Board of Governors comprises a representative from each Member State and meets once a year. The Scientific Council includes Nobel laureates, who support scientific activities and makes recommendations to the Board.
Board of Governors
The Board of Governors consists of a representative of each Member State and constitutes the Governing body of the Centre. Its main functions include:
- Determining the general policies and principles governing the activities of the Centre;
- Admitting new Members to the Centre;
- Approving the work programme and budget, taking into account the recommendations of the Council of Scientific Advisers, adopting the financial regulations of the Centre and deciding on any other financial matter
Since 1999 all Member States participate in the financing of ICGEB through a scale of assessment adopted by the Board of Governors at its third session. The Financial Regulations (in PDF) of the Centre are available for consultation.
The Board holds most of its regular sessions in Trieste, as the seat of the Organisation’s Headquarters. The Conclusions and Decisions are available upon request.
The Director General of UNIDO is an ex-officio member of the Board, without voting rights.
Representatives of the United Nations, specialised agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations, upon invitation of the Board, participate as observers in its deliberations. For this purpose, the Board has established a list of organisations that have a relationship with, and that have expressed interest in, the work of the Centre.
The Thirty-second Session of the ICGEB Board of Governors will be held on 19-20 May, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Board Members
- AFGHANISTAN
Dr. Najibeh Ataei, Clinical Study Manager, WSG – Westdeutsche Studiengruppe GmbH, Mönchengladbach, Germany - ALGERIA
Dr. Ammar Azioune, Directeur, Centre de Recherche en Biotechnologie de Constantine (CRBT),Constantine - ANGOLA
Dr. Madalena Chimpolo, Dean, Medical School, Universidade Katyavala Bwila, Benguela - ARGENTINA
Dr. Paula Zingoni, National Director of Institutional Coordination of Science and Technology, Secretariat of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Buenos Aires - BANGLADESH
Prof. Md Sagir Ahmed, Director General, National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB), Dhaka - BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Prof. Dr. Kasim Bajrovic, Scientific Advisor, Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Sarajevo - BRAZIL
Dr. Andrea Brito Latgé, Secretary of Strategic Policy and Programmes, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Brasília - BULGARIA
Dr. Dimitar Djilianov, AgroBio Institute, Sofia - BURKINA FASO
Dr. Koussao Some, Agence Nationale de Biosécurité, Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l’Innovation, Ouagadougou - BURUNDI
Dr. Samson Musonerimana, Director-General, Burundi Institute of Agronomic Sciences (ISABU), Bujumbura - CAMEROON
Dr. Eddy Léonard Ngonkeu Mangaptche, Conseiller Technique, Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation, Yaoundé - CHILE
Dr. Ennio Augusto Vivaldi Véjar, Ambassador of Chile in Italy and Permanent Representative to FAO, WFP, IFAD - CHINA
Prof. Zhang Xinmin, Director-General, China National Centre for Biotechnology Development (CNCBD), Beijing - COLOMBIA
Mr. Juan Raúl Mendoza, Advisor at Directorate of Technological Development and Innovation, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Bogotà - COSTA RICA
Dr. José A. Bonilla, Centro de Investigación en Biología Celular y Molecular (CIBCM), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José - COTE D’IVOIRE
Dr. Nazaire K. Kouassi, Central and West African Virus Epidemiology, Université Félix Houphouët-Boignyy, Abidjan - CROATIA
Prof. Kristian Vlahovicek, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Molecular Biology, Zagreb - CUBA
Dr. Jorge Valdés Hernández, Vice Director, Centro de Ingenieria Genetica y Biotecnologia, Havana - DJIBOUTI
Dr. Mohamed Jalludin, Director-General, Centre d’Études et de Recherches Scientifiques de Djibouti (CERD), Djibouti - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dr. Edian Franklin Franco, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCYT) - ECUADOR
Mr. César Vásquez, Secretary, Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Quito - EGYPT
Prof. Gina El-Feky, President, Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Cairo - ERITREA
Prof. Tadesse Mehari, Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Asmara - ETHIOPIA
Prof. Kassahun Tesfaye, Director-General, Bio and Emerging Technology Institute, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Addis Ababa - HUNGARY
Dr. Elemér Szabó, National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Budapest - INDIA
Dr. Alka Sharma, Senior Advisor/Scientist ‘H’, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi - IRAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF)
Dr. Javad Mohammadi, Director General, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran - IRAQ
Dr. Sumaya Talib Yousif, Department of Animal Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Baghdad - ITALY
Min. Plen. Giuseppe Pastorelli, Directorate General for Country Promotion, Deputy Director General/Principal Director for integrated promotion and innovation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome - JORDAN
Dr. Bilal Azab, University of Jordan, Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Amman - KENYA
Dr. David Ngigi, Director General / CEO, National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, Nairobi - KUWAIT
Dr. Sabah Al Momin, Biotechnology Program, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Safat - KYRGYZSTAN
Dr. Zhainagul Isakova, Director, Research Institute of Molecular Biology and Medicine, National Centre for Cardiology, Bishkek - LIBERIA
H.E. Amb. Andrew W. Kronyanh, Ambassador Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Liberia, Rome - LIBYA
Dr. Adam Elzagheid, General Director, Libyan Center for Biotechnology Research (LBTRC), Tripoli - MALAYSIA
Mdm Aidawati Misdar, Undersecretary, Strategic Technology and S&T Application Division, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Putrajaya - MAURITIUS
Dr. Sharmila Buldewo, Ag. Senior Scientific Officer/Scientific Officer, Food Science and Technology Division/Bio-Molecular LaboratoryFood Technology Laboratory, Ministry of Agro-Industry & Food Security, Reduit - MEXICO
to be appointed - MONTENEGRO
Dr. Bojan Adžić, DVM, PI Diagnostic Veterinary Laboratory of Montenegro, Podgorica - MOROCCO
Dr. Mustapha Labhilili, Research coordinator of Biotechnology Unit, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Rabat - NAMIBIA
Ms. Florence Kavirindi, Chief Science and Technology Officer, Directorate of Research, Science and Technology, Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation, Windhoek - NIGERIA
Prof. Mustapha Abdullahi, Director-General / CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Abuja - NORTH MACEDONIA (REPUBLIC OF )
Prof. Zivko Popov, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje - PAKISTAN
Prof. Dr. Nasir Ahmad Saeed, Director, National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad - PANAMA
Dr. Carmenza Spadafora, Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas y Servicios de Alta Tecnologia (INDICASAT), Panama - PERU
Dr. Cristina Guerra-Giraldez, Full Professor, School of Sciences and Engineering, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima - QATAR
Mr. Masoud Jarallah Al-Marri, Director, Agricultural Research Department, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Doha - REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Dr. Ghenadie Curocichin, Head, Family Medicine Desk, Head, Genetics Laboratory, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “N. Testemitanu”, Chisinau - ROMANIA
Dr. Manuela Elisabeta Sidoroff, Head of DANUBIUS Department, National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, President, Romanian Society of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Bucharest - RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Mr. Victor M. Smirnov, President of the ICGEB Board of Governors, Leading Expert, Department of Science, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow - RWANDA
Eng. Michael Hughes, Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Education, Kigali - SAUDI ARABIA
Dr. Bader Obaid Almutairi, Professor, Faculty of Sciences, College of Science, King SaudUnivers ity, Riyadh - SENEGAL
Prof. Salif Gaye, Directeur, Institut Universitaire de Technologie (IUT), Université de Thiès, Thiès - SERBIA
Dr. Jelena Begovic, President of the ICGEB Board of Governors, Senior Fellow, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE), Belgrade - SLOVAKIA
Prof. Mangesh Bhide, Assoc. Prof. DVM., Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice and Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak academy of Sciences, Bratislava - SLOVENIA
Prof. Radovan Komel, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, Ljubljana - SOUTH AFRICA
Dr. Nhlanhla Msomi, South African Governor to the ICGEB, Westville - SRI LANKA
Dr. Sepalika Sudasinghe, Director General, National Science Foundation, Colombo - SUDAN
Prof. Zeinab Osman, Director General, The National Centre for Research, Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, Khartoum - SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Dr. Abdul Qader Abbady, Research Director, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), Damascus - TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Dr. Sephra Rampersad, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Department of Life Sciences, The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine - TUNISIA
Prof. Slim Tounsi, General Director, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax - TÜRKIYE
Prof. Dr. Hilal Yazıcı Malkoçoğlu, Medical Biotechnology Research Group Leader, TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Research Team, Gebze/Kocaeli - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
to be appointed - UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
Dr. Bugwesa Zablon Katale, Director of Research Coordination and Promotion, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, COSTECH, Dar es Salaam - URUGUAY
Dr. Sonia Rodrguez, Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Montevideo - VENEZUELA (BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF)
Ministro Consigliere, Signora Maria Elena Uzzo Giannattasio, Incaricato d’Affari a.i., Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Rome,Italy - VIET NAM
Prof. Dr. Vinh Nang Do, Chairman of Scientific Council, Institute of Agricultural Genetics (AGI), Co-Director of the International Joint Laboratory Rice Functional Genomics and Plant Biotechnology, Institute of Agricultural Genetics, Hanoi, Viet nam - ZIMBABWE
Dr. Deckster T. Savadye, Acting Chief Executive Officer, National Biotechnology Authority (NBA), Harare, Zimbabwe
Council of Scientific Advisers
The Council of Scientific Advisers (CSA) comprises fifteen international scientists active in global life sciences. The members of the Council are elected by the Board of Governors, with the Director-General of ICGEB serving as the Secretary. The members of the CSA hold office for three years and are eligible for reappointment for two further periods of three years.
The main functions of the CSA include:
- reviewing the scientific research activity of each ICGEB Component and reporting back to the Board of Governors;
- examining the work programme and the budget of the Centre and making recommendations to the Board;
- assisting the Director General on all substantive, scientific, and technical matters concerning the activities of the Centre,
The CSA holds a regular session once a year, generally alternating the meetings between the three Component laboratories in Trieste, New Delhi, and Cape Town.
The thirty-second session of the CSA will be held in Trieste, Italy, in April 2025.
Current CSA Members
Ana Denicola
Laboratory of Physical Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Biology, School of Sciences, University of the Republic, Montevideo, URUGUAY
Marco Foiani
IFOM (FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology), Milan, ITALY
Angela Gronenborn
School of Medicine, Swanson School of Engineering, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Li Jin
Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, P.R. CHINA
Alexis M. Kalergis
Millennium Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, Santiago, CHILE
Jan E. Leach
Agricultural Biology, College of Agricultural Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Shekhar C. Mande
Former Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt of India, New Delhi, INDIA
Lynne E. Maquat,
Professor, Depts. of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Oncology, & Pediatrics, School of Medicine & Dentistry; Director, Center for RNA Biology; Chair, Graduate Women in Science, Univ. of Rochester, NY, USA
Bongani Ndimba
Senior Research Manager (Director) Infruitec-Nietvoorbij
Agricultural Research Council (ARC), SOUTH AFRICA
Rafael Rivera Bustamante
CINVESTAV, IPN-Unidad Irapuato, Genetic Engineering Department, Irapuato, MEXICO
*Richard J. Roberts
New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA
Simona Ruta
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy; Stefan S. Nicolau Institute of Virology, Bucharest, ROMANIA
Mohammed Sebaihia
University Hassiba Benbouali, Chlef, ALGERIA
Carmen Socaciu
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
Khatijah Yusoff
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, MALAYSIA
Former CSA Members
- Sonia Abdelhak, TUNISIA (2009-2015)
- Khosrow Adeli, CANADA (2009-2018)
- Ahmed Azad, BANGLADESH (1999-2007)
- Padmanabhan Balaram, INDIA (2006-2008)
- Roger Beachy, USA (2014-2024)
- Francesco Blasi, ITALY (2006-2015)
- L. Luca Cavalli Sforza, ITALY (1995 – 2005)
- Ananda Chakrabarty, USA (2007 – 2016)
- Pierre Chambon, FRANCE (1998 – 2006)
- Zhangliang Chen, CHINA (2005 – 2010)
- Zodwa Dlamini, SOUTH AFRICA (2017-2021)
- Zen-Chuan Fan, CHINA (2016-2018)
- Mariano Garcia-Blanco, USA (2011-2021)
- Georgi Georgiev, RUSSIA (1995 – 2003)
- Vladimir Glisin, SERBIA (2000 – 2008)
- Xiaocheng Gu, CHINA (1995 – 2004)
- Robert Haselkorn, USA (1998 – 2006)
- Luis Herrera Estrella, MEXICO (2000 – 2008)
- Luis Herrera Martinez, CUBA (2001 – 2009)
- *Timothy Hunt, UK (2005 – 2010)
- Muntaser El Tayeb Ibrahim, SUDAN (2004-2013)
- Jorge Kalil, BRAZIL (2014 – 2025)
- Gagandeep Kang, INDIA (2017-2019)
- Radovan Komel, SLOVENIA (2004-2013)
- *Arthur Kornberg, USA (1995 – 2005)
- Alberto Kornblihtt, ARGENTINA (2005-2014)
- *Joshua Lederberg, USA (1995 – 2004)
- Miguel A. Gomez Lim, MEXICO (2014-2016)
- Alexander Makarov, RUSSIA (2013-2023)
- Valerie Mizrahi, SOUTH AFRICA (2008-2014)
- Hassan Mshinda, U.R. TANZANIA (2014-2016)
- Vasey Nyamu Mwaja, KENYA (2016-2018)
- Nduka Okafor, NIGERIA (1995 – 2003)
- Govindarajan Padmanaban, INDIA (1995 – 2005)
- Nicholas Proudfoot, UK (2006-2015)
- Rafael Radi, URUGUAY (2010-2019)
- Dinakar M. Salunke, INDIA (2012-2015)
- Ramesh V. Sonti , INDIA (2019-2021)
- Héctor Norberto Torres, ARGENTINA (1995 – 2004)
- Pablo Valenzuela, CHILE (1995 – 2000)
- Marc Van Montagu, BELGIUM (2007-2013)
- Inder Verma, USA (2017-2021)
- Mamannamana Vijayan, INDIA (2009-2011)
- Brenda Wingfield, SOUTH AFRICA (2015-2017)
- Ray Wu, USA (1995 – 1997)
- Wei-hua Wu, CHINA (2011-2014)
- *Harald zur Hausen, GERMANY (2015-2017)
*Nobel Laureates
Documents
The publication containing the legal documents of the ICGEB, the Statutes
Terms of Reference for ICGEB Scientific Liaison Officers are also available here.This page is also the portal through which to access the official documents of the annual Council and Board sessions.
Terms of Reference for ICGEB Scientific Liaison Officers
Terms of Reference for ICGEB Appointed Governors
Reserved Area:
Documents from the 31st session of the Board, 14-15 May 2025
Documents from the 31st session of the CSA, 28-30 April 2025
For documents from previous sessions, contact the Secretariat.
For further information
Marianna Maculan
Secretary, ICGEB Board of Governors
Chief, External Relations
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]