Welcome to the web site of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (IFPCS).

The IFPCS consists of four regional scientific societies (ASPCR, ESPCR, JSPCR and PASPCR) devoted to the study of various aspects of pigment cells.

The scientific journal Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research is the official publication of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies and the Society for Melanoma Research.

Every three years, one of the Regional Societies, organizes the International Pigment Cell Conference (IPCC) on behalf of the IFPCS, following this order: ASPCR, PASPCR, JSPCR and ESPCR.

The IFPCS has also set up a series of Special Interest Groups chaired by internationally respected scientists. These groups focus on specific topics in pigment cell research.

The IFPCS has established a blog to publish information, announcements, job offers, news…

Our next (26th) IPCC meeting (IPCC2026) will be organized by the ASPCR and be held in New Delhi (India) on October 1-4, 2026 at the Hotel The Ashok & Samrat Complex.

 

 

IFPCS Council (2023-2026)

 
Current Officers (2023-2026):
Lluis Montoliu, ESPCR (President)
Rashmi Sarkar, ASPCR (Vice-President)
Andrzej Slominski, PASPCR (Secretary)
Masatake Osawa , JSPCR (Treasurer)

Additional Council Members (2023-2026)

Cecilia Herraiz, ESPCR Corine Bertolotto, ESPCR
Suzie Chen, PASPCR Jonathan Zippin, PASPCR
Michihiro Kono, JSPCR Emi Nishimura, JSPCR
Cheng-Che E. Lan, ASPCR Sang Ho Oh, ASPCR

 

Rashmi Sarkar & Davinder Parsad, ASPCR (ex officio, Organizers of the 26th IPCC-2026)
Vijay Setaluri (ex officio, Editor of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research)
Yoko Funasaka, JSPCR (ex officio, Past IFPCS President)
Lluis Montoliu, ESPCR (IFPCS webmaster)

 
 

 

 

By-Laws

 

By-Laws WEB version PDF document
Rules and Regulations WEB version PDF document

 

 

 

History

The International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (IFPCS) was founded in 1990 to foster interactions in the various disciplines of pigment cell research. The IFPCS was developed initially in 1977 as the International Pigment Cell Society (IPCS) which in turn gave rise to the various regional Pigment Cell Societies that now comprise the IFPCS. Over the years, these groups have sponsored a series of International Pigment Cell Conferences (IPCC) and a summary of those IPCC Conferences, their sites, their Organizers, past recipients of various IFPCS sponsored Awards and past IFPCS Council members are included in this section.

 

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (MN, USA), 26 June 1988. From left to right: Hans Rorsman, James Nordlund, Giuseppe Prota, Joseph Bagnara, Yutaka Mishima. Picture kindly provided by William Oetting. 
University of Lund (Sweden), Top row, from left to right: Richard King, Joseph Bagnara, James Nordlund. Bottom row, from left to right: Yutaka Mishima, Hans Rorsman, Giuseppe Prota. Picture kindly provided by William Oetting.
16th IPCC held in Disneyland (Anaheim, CA, USA) in october 1996. From left to right: Alistair Cochran (co-organizer), Frank Meyskens (organizer), Roger Bowers (co-organizer) and unidentified colleague. Picture kindly provided by Frank Meyskens.
16th IPCC held in Disneyland (Anaheim, CA, USA) in october 1996. Frank Meyskens (organizer) sitting between Patrick Riley (right) and his wife. Picture kindly provided by Frank Meyskens.
16th IPCC held in Disneyland (Anaheim, CA, USA) in october 1996. Frank Meyskens (organizer) with his wife visiting the Disneyland Park. Picture kindly provided by Frank Meyskens.

 

Past IPCC Conferences

All our meetings since 1946.
Past Awarded Scientists

Outstanding scientist awarded by IFPCS.
Past IFPCS Council Members

Officers and council members since 1990.
Past Travel Awardees

Travel awards to attend IPCC.
IPFC WEB SITE History

The History of our presence online.