On September 24, the first meeting of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Molecular Biology of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan in its new composition was held. At the beginning of the meeting, the memory of Academician Jalal Aliyev, founder of the Institute, prominent scientist and public and political figure, was commemorated with a minute of silence.

Academician Irada Huseynova, Acting Director of the Institute, opened the meeting and acquainted the participants with the items on the agenda. The meeting primarily addressed the new composition of the Scientific Council of the Institute, the organization of the activities of the newly established Institute of Molecular Biology, which was created on the basis of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, the Institute of Microbiology and the Institute of Biophysics of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the results of admission to the Institute's doctoral programme for the 2026/2027 academic year, and other issues.

The preparations for the 8th Eurasian Congress on Biochemical Approaches and Technologies, to be held on October 29-November 1, 2026, in Antalya, Türkiye, were subsequently reviewed. It was noted that, alongside the Turkish Chemical Society, Dokuz Eylül University (Izmir, Türkiye), Ankara University (Türkiye), and the Tyndall National Institute (Ireland), the Institute of Molecular Biology of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan is also among the organizers of the international scientific event. Academician Irada Huseynova serves as Vice-Chair of the Congress and an invited speaker, Doctor of Biological Sciences Yashar Feyziyev is a member of the Congress Organizing Committee and an invited speaker, and Doctor of Biological Sciences Karim Gasimov is a member of the Organizing Committee. The Institute's involvement in organizing the Congress is an indicator of its international standing and is of significant importance for expanding opportunities for scientific cooperation in biochemistry, molecular biology, and other related fields.

The Scientific Council also discussed organizational matters related to the international scientific symposium entitled “Ecological, Biological and Medical Aspects of Urban Planning: Sustainable and Healthy Urban Environment,” which will be held on October 15–16, 2026, jointly organized by the Institute of Molecular Biology and the Division of Biological and Medical Sciences of ANAS.

Reports on the scientific missions of Institute staff and their participation in international scientific events were subsequently heard. A report was presented to the Scientific Council on the scientific mission of Taleh Yusifov, PhD in Biology, Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, who carried out a scientific visit to the University of Utah, USA, from April 27 to July 27, 2026.

A report was also heard on the participation of Aygun Sadigova, Researcher at the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, in the final international conference of the COST–CopyTree project, entitled “From Lab to Forest and Orchard,” held in Tirana, Albania, on September 14–16, 2026.

The Scientific Council also considered the publication of scientific works prepared by Institute staff. The expediency of publishing the monographs prepared by Ilham Aliyev, PhD in Biology, Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Microbiological Biotechnology, entitled “Species Composition and Ecobiology of the Xylomycobiota of Some Forests of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” and by Nahida Aliyeva, PhD in Biology, Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Organization of Chloroplasts and Productivity Processes, entitled “Salt-Induced Structural and Functional Changes in Chloroplasts of Maize,” was discussed, and relevant decisions were adopted.

In addition, the participation of Institute staff in the 8th Eurasian Congress on Biochemical Approaches and Technologies was discussed. The Scientific Council considered the scientific missions to Antalya, Türkiye, of Samira Rustamova, PhD in Biology, Associate Professor and Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Bioadaptation; Yashar Feyziyev, Doctor of Biological Sciences and Head of the Laboratory of Bioenergetics and Green Energy, together with his colleagues—Researcher Konul Jumsudlu and Junior Researcher Ruslan Suleymanov; and Ulduza Gurbanova, PhD in Biology, Associate Professor and Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Enzymology, for the purpose of participating in the Congress.

The Council also considered the scientific mission of Aynura Pashayeva, PhD in Biology and Head of the Laboratory of Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics, to the People's Republic of China as the winner of the postdoctoral programme at the Pomology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

At the end of the meeting, relevant decisions were adopted on the items on the agenda, and a number of current issues related to the organization of the Institute's activities were also discussed.