ISCB Newsletter 7-4

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) is presenting the 13th Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB 2005) conference from June 25-29, 2005 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center in Michigan. ISMB 2005 will be co-hosted by the University of Michigan’s Bioinformatics Program and the Michigan Center for Biological Information (MCBI). The Conference will be chaired by the University of Michigan’s Dr. David States, Professor of Human Genetics and the Director of the Bioinformatics Program and co-chaired by Dr. Brian Athey, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of MCBI.

Michigan’s life sciences community has grown to become a vibrant and growing sector of the region’s economy, making the state an excellent setting for ISMB 2005. Today, Michigan is home to 542 life sciences companies, and the State of Michigan invests over $2 billion in R&D each year for the expansion of research in the field. This investment has led to the creation of over 100 new companies since 2000, and today, the state leads the nation as one of the fastest-growing life sciences states. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) funds Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor (MTTC), which fosters growth in life sciences, advanced automotive technologies and homeland security industries. With the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor (MLSC) fund, the Core Technology Alliance (CTA) was created in 2001, which is a consortium of three research universities: The University of Michigan and Wayne State University, Michigan State University, and the Van Andel Research Institute. The CTA develops a collaborative network of technologically-sophisticated core facilities to enhance life sciences research and product development throughout the State of Michigan.

ISMB 2005 will be held in Detroit’s Renaissance Center, a renowned city landmark which contains corporate offices, hotels, restaurants and shops. The Renaissance Center is surrounded by revitalized historic neighborhoods, and is located on the riverfront which features a number of tourist activities and exciting nightlife. In recent years, this area has truly become the heart of the “Motor City”. Detroit, the oldest big city in the Midwest, is best known for being home to the automotive industry and Motown, but it is also very rich in heritage, entertainment, and cultural attractions. The city is extremely convenient as a world conference destination, as it is a short 90-minute flight for 60 percent of the nation’s population, and is a destination for many non-stop flights from Europe.

From the many valuable comments and feedback we have received from delegates in previous conferences, the ISMB 2005 Scientific Organizing Committee and the Logistical Organizing Committee are working together to plan the best ISMB conference yet. We plan to include “Panel Discussion” sessions during the main conference to provide an open forum for scientists to highlight and discuss the field’s challenges and future direction, and we also plan to incorporate several educational workshops into the meeting.

If you would like to submit a paper to ISMB 2005, the call for papers is now online at: http://www.iscb.org/ismb2005/paper_call.htm. The submission deadline is January 14, 2005 at 11:59 PM in the time zone of your choice! This year, the Scientific Organizing Committee has chosen to discontinue the short paper submission track and will only accept full paper submissions for the conference. Authors should also watch for our call for posters (coming soon) as the poster selection committee will choose high quality abstracts to be elevated as platform presentations.

Please check the conference website for updates, and sign up to receive notices at: http://www.iscb.org/ismb2005/prospects.php.