the society for glycobiology

What the society for glycobiology does

The Society for Glycobiology (SFG) is a non-profit scholarly society incorporated in Maryland and headquartered in Hyattsville, MD, dedicated to advancing the field of glycobiology — the study of complex carbohydrates such as glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosaminoglycans, and their biological roles. SFG serves academic researchers, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, retired scientists, and industry stakeholders by providing a common professional meeting ground for an otherwise fragmented interdisciplinary community. Core products and offerings include the peer-reviewed journal *Glycobiology* (Impact Factor 3.3, published through Oxford University Press), an annual scientific meeting (the 2026 edition scheduled for November 8–11 in Atlanta, GA), a self-service online job board, student and trainee travel awards, the Glycopalooza trainee initiative, and a portfolio of named recognition awards including the Karl Meyer Lectureship, Rosalind Kornfeld Lifetime Achievement, Glycobiology Significant Achievement, SFG Distinguished Service, President's Innovator, and MCP/ASBMB Lectureship awards.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lightweight: SFG operates a MemberClicks platform for membership management, conference registration, job postings, and member communications, and publishes its journal through Oxford University Press's academic distribution channels. The society is a member society of FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), which provides members with access to broader policy, advocacy, and cross-disciplinary networking infrastructure spanning 26 scientific societies.

SFG's business model is membership-driven with diversified ancillary revenue streams. Primary income comes from recurring annual and multi-year membership dues (Regular members $295/year or $1,425 for five years; Student/Postdoc members $99/year or $280 for three years; Retired members complimentary), supplemented by conference registration fees, tiered job board postings ($100–$400 for non-members, with discounts for members and nonprofit institutions), and corporate sponsorship packages ($1,500–$10,000+ for the annual meeting). Go-to-market is community-led, leveraging FASEB affiliation, the society's journal prominence, and direct outreach to academic and industry researchers. The society maintains a globally distributed member base across North America and international markets, with concentrated U.S.-based operational leadership.

Name

the society for glycobiology

Legal name

Society for Glycobiology

Website

https://glycobiology.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Society for Glycobiology is a non-profit scholarly society that promotes glycobiology research through the peer-reviewed *Glycobiology* journal, an annual scientific meeting, awards programs, and membership services for researchers, trainees, and industry partners worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarly Scientific Society

NAICS

Business Associations (81391), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

STM Publishing (Science, Technical & Medical) (MPAJABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC), Training & Competency Programs for GxP Compliance (HLAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Glycobiology scholarly society
• Scientific journal publishing
• Annual scientific conference
• Professional membership services
• Life science research promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees provide core revenue. Membership runs on calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) with multi-year discount options. Includes electronic subscription to Glycobiology journal.
2. Annual Meeting Registration: Conference registration fees from the annual SFG meeting provide reduced rates for paid members.
3. Journal Subscriptions: Electronic subscription to Glycobiology is included as part of membership. The journal is published by Oxford University Press.
4. Job Board Postings: Fee-based job postings on the SFG job board. Nonprofit institutions receive free posting for members; for-profit entities pay $150-$400 depending on duration and membership status.
5. Sponsorship Revenue: Corporate sponsorship opportunities for the annual meeting, including silver sponsorships and general sponsorships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Society for Glycobiology (SFG) is a non-profit scholarly society that promotes glycobiology research, education, and scientific communication worldwide. It provides paid membership with tiered individual categories (regular, student/postdoc, retired), publishes the peer-reviewed Glycobiology journal through Oxford University Press, and hosts an annual scientific conference with associated trainee and award programs.

Product overview

The Society for Glycobiology (SFG) is a non-profit scholarly society that serves as a professional membership organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings include the peer-reviewed journal Glycobiology (published by Oxford University Press), the annual SFG meeting (SFG26 scheduled for November 2026 in Atlanta), a job board for the glycobiology community, student and trainee travel awards, and the Glycopalooza trainee-led program. Membership provides access to FASEB benefits, journal subscriptions, conference discounts, and travel awards. The society also recognizes outstanding contributions through multiple named awards including the President's Innovator Award, Karl Meyer Lectureship Award, Rosalind Kornfeld Lifetime Achievement Award, Glycobiology Significant Achievement Award, SFG Distinguished Service Award, and MCP/ASBMB Lectureship Award.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Glycobiology Journal The official peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Glycobiology, published by Oxford University Press. Dedicated to research into the biological functions of glycans, glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans, and free oligosaccharides. Impact Factor 3.3. Free electronic subscription included with SFG membership; hard-copy subscriptions discontinued as of 2018.
• SFG Annual Meeting Annual scientific conference bringing together leading glycobiologists and emerging scientists to explore the latest breakthroughs and innovations in glycosciences. Includes scientific program, Glycopalooza trainee initiatives, awards presentations, and networking opportunities. Reduced registration fees for paid members.
• SFG Job Board

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFG is a FASEB member society, providing members access to policy, advocacy and networking activities. FASEB represents 26 scientific societies and over 100,000 researchers. SFG participates in FASEB committee representation including Advocacy, Science Policy, and Science Research Conferences committees.
• Oxford University PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFG partners with Oxford University Press for publication of Glycobiology journal, the official peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Glycobiology. Oxford publishes the journal and provides global distribution through academic channels.
• Emory Conference CenterminorOthersHost venue for the 2026 SFG Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA (November 8-11, 2026).
• GlycoGeneticsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor of the SFG 2026 Annual Meeting.
• Lectenz BiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor of the SFG 2026 Annual Meeting.
• VersitiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGeneral sponsor of the SFG 2026 Annual Meeting.
• Consortium for Functional Glycomics (CFG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFG is referenced as a major resource for functional glycomics research. SFG links to the Functional Glycomics Gateway which provides access to databases, resources, and research publications. The Consortium previously operated under NIH funding and established key technologies for the field.
• NIH Common Fund Glycoscience ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFG maintains resources linking to NIH grants and programs. The NIH Common Fund Glycoscience Program supports infrastructure development for glycoscience research and is referenced in SFG programming.
• University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCRC is listed as a key resource partner providing research, analytical services, and annual hands-on training courses in glycoscience techniques including Separation and Characterization of Glycoconjugate Oligosaccharides, Structural Characterization of Glycosaminoglycans, and Mass Spectrometry of Glycoproteins.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB): ASBMB is a peer scientific society that co-sponsors the MCP/ASBMB Lectureship Award with SFG and publishes Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, a journal in adjacent glycobiology-adjacent life sciences. Both are U.S.-based non-profit scholarly societies that combine journal publishing, annual meetings, awards programs, and FASEB-style advocacy for biochemistry researchers.
• American Association of Immunologists (AAI): AAI is a comparable U.S. non-profit scholarly society for a specific life-sciences sub-discipline, running a leading peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Immunology), an annual meeting, named awards, and FASEB-aligned advocacy. Its size, structure, and member base closely mirror SFG's operating model.
• American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB): ASCB is a U.S. non-profit scholarly society for cell biologists that publishes Molecular Biology of the Cell, runs an annual meeting, confers named awards, and engages in science policy through FASEB. Its size, governance, and journal-plus-meetings model make it a tight operational peer to SFG.
• International Society for Glycomics / Glycoconjugate Journal community: The international glycomics research community operates as a thematic peer to SFG, with overlapping scientific constituencies (glycobiologists, glycoproteomics researchers) and competing or complementary conferences and journals. International sister societies offer SFG a benchmark for global member acquisition and cross-society collaboration.

Broad incumbents

• American Chemical Society (ACS): ACS is a far larger scientific society that publishes numerous high-impact journals and runs major chemistry conferences, overlapping with the carbohydrate chemistry side of glycobiology. ACS represents a broader-incumbent peer whose portfolio includes publishing, meetings, awards, and member services analogous to SFG's model, but at much greater scale.
• Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC): RSC is a UK-headquartered international scientific society that publishes journals, hosts conferences, and confers awards in chemistry and adjacent life sciences. Like SFG, RSC runs a journal-led, membership-driven scholarly society model with sponsorship and conference revenue streams, but operates globally and at much larger scale.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM): ASM is a larger U.S. scientific society that publishes multiple journals, hosts major annual meetings (e.g., Microbe), and runs extensive awards and advocacy programs. It shares SFG's non-profit scholarly society operating model and FASEB alignment, with overlapping researcher audiences in microbiology and glycobiology.
• Society for Neuroscience (SfN): SfN is a large U.S. non-profit scholarly society that publishes the Journal of Neuroscience, runs a major annual meeting, awards programs, and FASEB-style advocacy. While focused on neuroscience rather than glycobiology, it serves as a benchmark for the larger end of SFG's peer set in terms of operating model and member services.

Regional players

• Biochemical Society (UK): The Biochemical Society is a UK-headquartered non-profit scholarly society that publishes the Biochemical Journal and Biochemical Society Transactions and hosts focused meetings in biochemistry and molecular biology. It is structurally analogous to SFG, but serves a primarily UK/European audience with overlapping research interests in glyco-related biochemistry.

Others

• FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology): FASEB is SFG's parent coalition of 26 scientific societies, providing shared advocacy, policy, and Science Research Conferences infrastructure. It is not a direct competitor but a strategic enabler/umbrella organization whose programs materially shape SFG's policy influence, member benefits, and conference programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SFGlycobiology
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/society-for-glycobiology

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about the society for glycobiology