On October 13-14, Baku State University hosted the 11th International scientific conference "Achievements and Challenges in Biology" dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Academician Mirali Akhundov. The conference was jointly organized by Baku State University (BSU), ICESCO, Izmir Institute of High Technology (Turkey), and Lahore University (Pakistan). At the international scientific conference held with the participation of researchers from Turkey, France, Spain, Korea, Serbia, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Morocco, India, Belarus, Poland, Iran, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Georgia, as well as higher education institutions and research institutes of our country, reports were heard in such fields as genetics, molecular biology, microbiology, biophysics, biochemistry, physiology, nanobiotechnology, botany, protection of flora diversity, zoology and aquaculture, and ecology of living systems. In the sections of the conference, invited speakers from different countries delivered speeches on the problems of these fields and the latest results obtained.

Ismayil Zulfugarov, head of the Proteomics International Laboratory of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, PhD in Biology spoke at the plenary session of the conference on the topic "Molecular biology and proteomics research to enhance crop production in Azerbaijan: towards sustainable food security". Later, in the sections of the conference, associate professor, PhD Ulduza Gurbanova, PhD Samra Mirzayeva, Aynura Pashayeva, Gunay Ismayilova, Aygun Sadigova, Fidan Yusifova, and Gunay Mustafayeva gave information about their research work, and other young researchers presented their posters.

The rector of BSU Elchin Babayev said that one of the main goals of holding the conference is to establish new collaborations in the field of biology with scientists from different countries and to expand existing relations. Vice President of ANAS, Director General of The Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, academician Irada Huseynova noted that the modern directions of biological science affect the development of all scientific fields. Emphasizing that the 21st century is the century of biology, the scientist wished to hold the next conference in this field in Karabakh.