About the APA
History
Australian peptide science has its origins in the pioneering establishment of a Leather Section of the Division of Industrial Chemistry at the CSIRO in 1940 and its genesis into the Biochemistry Section two years later. The Australian Peptide Association was formally established in 1983 to support and promote the research activities in peptide science. The field of peptide science has rapidly matured such that today, although Australians make up less than 1% of the world's population, it produces 4 % of its scientific output.Today, Australia enjoys an outstanding reputation in many areas of peptide research ranging from isolation, chemistry, proteomics, peptidomimetics, immunology, pharmacology and therapeutics development. This provides strong impetus for our Association to help showcase its many members' expertise and promote its peptide science, especially throughout Asia-Pacific.
Meetings
The major goal of the Australian Peptide Association is the organization and hosting of biennial international scientific conferences, satellites and support of local state meetings. Through these meetings we advocate emerging techniques in peptide science to the scientific community, promote Australian peptide science internationally and support the development of young scientists in the field. To date these international conferences have been held in Queensland, New South Wales and Malaysia in the following locations:
1st Daydream Island, QLD 16–21 Oct 1994
2nd Fraser Island, QLD 6–11 Oct 1996
3rd Laguna Quays, QLD 4–9 Oct 1998
4th Lindeman Island, QLD 7–12 Oct 2001
5th Daydream Island, QLD 5–19 Oct 2003
6th Hamilton Island, QLD 9–14 Oct 2004
7th Cairns, 21–25 QLD Oct 2007
8th Couran Cove, QLD 11–16 Oct 2009
9th Hamilton Island, QLD 16–21 Oct 2011
10th Penang, Malaysia, 8–13 Sept 2013
11th Kingscliff, NSW 25–30 Oct 2015
12th Noosa, QLD 15–20 Oct 2017
13th Port Douglas, QLD 8-13 Sept 2019
14th Gold Coast, QLD 17-22 Oct 2021
15th Brisbane, QLD 15-20 Oct 2023
16th Launceston, TAS 12-17 Oct 2024
The 7th Australian Peptide meeting in Cairns was held jointly with not only the 4th International Peptide Symposium, but also the 2nd Asia-Pacific Peptide Symposium. It was the first time that the International Peptide Symposium was held in the Southern hemisphere. The 15th meeting in Brisbane was again held together with the International Peptide Symposium. Our 10th Australian Meeting was a special event held in Penang – facilitating international participation and making it an extra memorable occasion.
Membership
Membership is open to all colleagues worldwide who attend the meetings and we warmly welcome your participation in the Association's activities!