Dr. Nitsara Karoonuthaisiri, BIOTEC Acting Deputy Executive Director, represented Thailand at the 54th Meeting of the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Biotechnology (SCB-54) on October 7, 2024, in Singapore. She was assigned by Assistant Professor Dr. Chaowaree Adthalungrong, BIOTEC Executive Director, to attend the meeting.SCB-54 was held as part of the 86th ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI-86) from October 7 to 11, 2024. The SCB brings together biotechnology leaders from government agencies across the 10 ASEAN member states, with a focus on fostering regional collaboration.
At this year’s meeting, the Sub-Committee reviewed ongoing projects and networks,and introduced new initiatives. For BIOTEC, the ASEAN Network on Microbial Utilization (AnMicro) was established in 2014 under the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Biotechnology. AnMicro now includes 22 academic and research institutes from 8 ASEAN countries, with BIOTEC’s Thailand Bioresource Research Center (TBRC) as a founding member and Vietnam’s Institute of Biotechnology (IBT) as the Secretariat. The network aims to strengthen research and human resource capacity through collaboration among members and engagement with international organizations.