The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) will host two major international academic events this October — the IBS Conference on Neuronal and Glial Function and the IBS Conference on the Dark World — bringing together some of the world’s foremost scholars in neuroscience and cosmic dark matter.

The IBS Conference series is a flagship international scientific meeting where leading experts and influential speakers from across the globe share the latest research trends in their respective fields. IBS has organized these conferences since 2013 to strengthen global networks for international research collaboration.

The IBS Conference on Neuronal and Glial Function will take place on October 23–24 at the College of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon. It is jointly organized by three IBS Centers: Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (Director KIM Seong-Gi), Center for Memory and Glioscience (Co-Directors C Justin LEE and KAANG Bong-Kiun), Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions (Director KIM Eunjoon)

Participants will discuss cutting-edge topics and recent discoveries on cortical waves, integration of cognitive and sensory processing, stress and prefrontal cortex function, and age-related changes in prefrontal neural networks.

Distinguished speakers include: Prof. Lyle MULLER (Western University, Canada), Prof. John MANN (Columbia University, USA), Prof. Yang DAN (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Prof. Adam KEPECS (Washington University School of Medicine, USA), and others.

The IBS Conference on the Dark World will be held from October 27–30 at the IBS Science Culture Center in Daejeon. It is jointly organized by Center for Underground Physics (Director KIM Yeongduk), Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe (Co-Directors CHOI Kiwoon and YAMAGUCHI Masahide), and Dark Matter Axion Group (Chief Investigator YOUN SungWoo)

Speakers will present the latest findings and discuss future directions in research on dark matter, dark energy, neutrinos, cosmology, and new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Confirmed speakers include: Dr. Aldo IANNI (Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italy), Prof. Andrew J. LONG (Rice University, USA), Prof. Gray RYBKA (University of Washington, USA), Prof. Takahashi FUMINOBU (Tohoku University, Japan), AND OTHERS

IBS President NOH Do Young stated, “Understanding brain function and exploring the dark universe are both grand challenges of humankind that demand international cooperation. I hope these conferences will strengthen global scientific exchange and foster collaborative research efforts toward solving these profound mysteries.”