We are pleased to introduce the 3rd Joint meeting of the Japanese Society for Developmental Biology (JSDB) and the French Society for Developmental Biology (SFBD), to be held in Strasbourg, France, November 7th-10th, 2022. After 2 years of COVID-linked restrictions, this meeting is planned as an in-person meeting. Given the long-standing relationship between JSDB and SFBD since the first and second joint meetings in Giens, 2008 and Paris, 2010, we hope that this 3rd joint meeting will further stimulate our research collaboration and cultural interactions.

Cultural exchanges between France and Japan at governmental and private levels stretch back more than 100 years. One good example is Maison Franco-Japonaise, established in 1924, which has been supporting the scholar exchange program between the two countries. In the field of Biology, there is the Société Franco-Japonaise de Biologie in Japan, whose former president is Professor Harukazu Nakamura, the former Editor-in-chief of Development, Growth and Differentiation, an official journal of the JSDB.

This conference will cover a broad range of fields including Embryogenesis, Organogenesis, Regeneration, Evo-Devo, and Stem Cell Biology using a variety of animal and plant models, each of these model organisms having its own advantage for addressing fundamental questions of Developmental Biology. There will be two featured keynote speakers one from Japan, Professor Yoshiko Takahashi (Kyoto University), and one from France, Michalis Averof (IGFL, Lyon). An understanding of how cells organize themselves to form complex structures is essential to addressing pathological processes and diseases.

New technologies such as global genomic approaches at a single cell level allow the re-examination of fundamental questions without preconceived notions. Furthermore, whole-embryo live imaging, super-resolution microscopy, and synthetic biology approaches such as organoid and gastruloid are further deepening our understanding of dynamic processes operating at microscopic scale inside embryos.
We are looking forward to seeing you all at the joint meeting in Strasbourg!