International Conference on Polyphenols Brings Hundreds of Researchers to Turku in 2020

​The International Conference on Polyphenols is one of the world’s largest scientific conferences focusing on polyphenol research. The selection of Turku as the host for the 30th conference was published in July in the ICP 2018 conference organised in Madison, WI, USA.

Polyphenols are natural compounds that contain more than one phenolic structural unit. Polyphenols can be found in all plants, and the most famous polyphenol groups include tannins and flavonoids that affect the flavour of food, among other things. Polyphenols are studied in natural sciences based on chemistry and medicine, in particular.

The main responsibility for organising the ICP 2020 conference has been appointed to the Natural Chemistry Research Group of the University of Turku led by Professor Juha-Pekka Salminen.

– In the application, we gave an extensive presentation on the arrangements related to the conference and on Turku as the host city. Our presentation stood out among the applicants with its completed budget and other well thought out details, says Salminen.

In the application process, Salminen’s research group and Turku beat metropolises such as Athens and Canberra. The research group has received support from the City of Turku Convention Bureau in particular. According to Salminen, the background material provided by the bureau was highly valuable when creating the application.

– Turku is a magnificent city, and it’s a great delight to present it to the international scientific community. As a city, it’s both European and unique at the same time, a place with historical significance that is easy to reach, says Salminen.

One of Turku's advantages was that its presentation focused on doctoral candidates’ opportunities for participating in the conference. Salminen adds that the polyphenol research conducted in Finland is of internationally high quality.

The ICP conferences are coordinated by Groupe Polyphénols, a community of polyphenol researchers that was established in France in 1972. The conference’s keynote lectures will be compiled into the eighth volume of Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research, a leading publication in the field.

A more detailed programme and the conference’s keynote speakers will be confirmed by summer 2019. You can find the conference’s website at http://icp2020turku.utu.fi

Text: Heikki Kettunen
Translation: City of Turku & University of Turku