43rd Informal Meeting on Mass Spectrometry

The Informal Meeting on Mass Spectrometry (IMMS) is a small, discussion-oriented international meeting for scientists working across the full breadth of mass spectrometry. Its roots go back to Padova in 1983, when Pietro Traldi, Károly Vékey and colleagues initiated an informal forum for open discussion of mass spectrometric technology, methodology and applications. The original spirit has remained central to IMMS: a compact meeting, broad scientific scope, no participation fee, and generous time for scientific discussion. A defining feature of IMMS is its support for young scientists. Early-career researchers are encouraged to present their work to an international audience and to discuss it directly with experienced colleagues. The meeting has traditionally been kept small, typically around 120-150 participants, which helps maintain the informal atmosphere and the emphasis on personal scientific exchange. Over more than four decades, IMMS has connected mass spectrometrists from Central Europe, Italy and the wider European MS community (see DOI: 10.1002/jms.4517). Its continuity has been shaped by the founders Pietro Traldi and Károly Vékey, by long-standing contributors such as László Drahos, Gianluca Bartolucci and Sara Crotti, and by many local organisers in Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Czechia, Belgium, Poland, Austria and France. The purpose of IMMS is simple: to create a welcoming scientific environment where new results can be presented early, discussed critically and developed through direct contact between colleagues across generations. Following the 42nd IMMS in Lisbon in 2026, the 43rd IMMS will take place in Stará Lesná / Tatranská Lomnica, Slovakia, on 12-14 May 2027, organised by the Laboratory of Molecular Structure Characterization, Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, and the Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava.