Leading Professional Society for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
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ISCB News and Announcements

ISCB Affiliate Conferences

Mark Your Calendars for for ISCB Affiliated Conferences!

Dear ISCB Members and Colleagues,

Don't miss your chance to network, connect and collaborate with your colleagues at these ISCB affiliated conferences!

ISCB members enjoy discounts on all of our affiliated conference registration fees.

Renew your membership or join today, to instantly take advantage of this ISCB Member benefit!

The 9th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - BIOSTEC 2016
Rome - Italy
Feb 21, 2016 through Feb 23, 2016


The purpose of BIOSTEC is to bring together researchers and practitioners, including engineers, biologists, health professionals and informatics/computer scientists, interested in both theoretical advances and applications of information systems, artificial intelligence, signal processing, electronics and other engineering tools in knowledge areas related to biology and medicine.

Event Registration: 2015-05-01 through 2015-12-16
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ISCB Member Discount: none
 
The Fourth Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation (CAGI)
Berkley, CA - United States
Mar 25, 2016 through Mar 27, 2016

Call for predictors! The Fourth Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation (CAGI 4) is underway. CAGI is a community experiment with the primary goals of determining the effectiveness of computational methods for predicting the phenotypic consequences of human genetic variation, and advancing genome interpretation methods. Participants are provided with genotypes and asked to predict the corresponding phenotypes, usually related to genetic disease or cancer. Prediction season runs through December 2015.
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ISCB Member Discount: none
 
Bio-IT World Conference & Expo 2016
Boston - United States
Apr 05, 2016 through Apr 07, 2016

Since its debut in 2002, the Annual Bio-IT World Conference & Expo has established itself as a premier event showcasing the myriad of IT and informatics applications and enabling technologies that drive biomedical research, drug discovery & development, and clinical and healthcare initiatives. The Bio-IT World Conference & Expo continues to be a vibrant event that unites 3,000+ life sciences, pharmaceutical, clinical, healthcare, and IT professionals from more than 30 countries.
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ISCB Member Discount: 10 percent
 
SolBio International Conference and Workshop 2016
Mexico - Quintana Roo - Riviera Maya
Apr 22, 2016 through Apr 26, 2016

SoIBio International Conference and Workshop 2016 on "Bioinformatics and Computational Biology for Innovative Genomics". This is an international conference organized by SoIBio, with the support of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), the Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano (LIIGH, UNAM) and the Centro de Ciencias Genómicas (CCG, UNAM), that wants to bring together the scientific and technological studies of many groups and institutions from IberoAmerica (including 22 countries) working in the field of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.

Early Registration Deadline: 2016-02-26
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ISCB Member Discount: 15 percent

DON'T FORGET

ISMB 2016 Highlights Submission Deadline
March 10, 2016
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ISMB 2016 LBR Submission Deadline Deadline
April 4, 2016
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Fight Against Ebola Award Deadline
April 10, 2016

Join Your COSI!
Interested in being part of the COSI groups? Sign up now!
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Connecting, Training, Empowering, Worldwide
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ISCB Buzz: ISCB Buzz: ISCB Ebola Award, Conference Updates & More!



Conference Updates

GLBIO/CCBC 2016 Abstract Submission Deadline:
07 March



NGS 2016 Early Registration Closes:
29 February





Call for Submissions
Submissions are being requested for the new Fight Against Ebola Award. ISCB will award the winning submission at ISMB 2016. Deadline for submissions is April 10, 2016. Click here for more information.

Bonnie Berger to be Inducted into Medical & Biological Engineering Elite!
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the pending induction of Bonnie Berger, Ph.D., Professor of Applied Math and Computer Science at MIT, and head of the Computation and Biology group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to its College of Fellows.




Registry of Standards
Share your feedback - help us to help you! We would like to ask you 10 questions to assess your needs for a registry of standards in the life, environmental, and biomedical sciences.

FASEB Releases Reproducibility Recommendations
On January 14, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) issued Enhancing Research Reproducibility, a set of recommendations aimed to promote the reproducibility and transparency of biomedical and biological research.


 

ISCB Executive Committee Responds to New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Data Sharing and the Journal


The recent editorial by Drs. Longo and Drazen in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) [1] has stirred up quite a bit of controversy. As Executive Officers of the International Society of Computational Biology, Inc. (ISCB), we express our deep concern about the restrictive and potentially damaging opinions voiced in this editorial. While some of the concerns voiced by the authors of the editorial are worth considering, large parts of the statement purport an obsolete view of hegemony over data that is neither in line with today’s spirit of open access nor furthering an atmosphere where the potential of data can be fully realized.

We acknowledge that the additional comment on the editorial [2] eases some of the polemics, unfortunately without addressing some of the core issues. We still feel, however, that we need to contrast the opinion voiced in the editorial with what we consider the axioms of our scientific society, statements that lead into a fruitful future of data-driven science:

• Data produced with public money should be public in benefit of the science and society
• Restrictions to the use of public data hamper science and slow progress
• Open data is the best way to combat fraud and misinterpretations

Current large data collections proceed from many sources are continually accumulated and require a variety of analytical approaches. Data generation and data analysis overlap in time and are continually updated with new data sets produced by new techniques and new analysis methodologies. Furthermore, in many cases current science functions in consortia in which scientists collaborate toward common goals while preserving their own scientific objectives. Dividing scientists into data providers and data analysts is simplistic and gives a misleading impression of the actual state of biological and biomedical science.

We very much support collaboration between disciplines, including experimental and clinical as well as bioinformatics, as the best way forward to address complex biological problems. But this collaboration cannot be based on imposed restrictions to data access and cannot be contained in professional silos. (The use of expressions such as “research parasites” clearly does not help.)

Many bio-communities have made significant progress by endorsing open data policies and, gratefully, public funding agencies have connected to the spirit that they are distributing taxpayers’ money to science and that, therefore, the data that are generated in the course belong to the public. It is, perhaps, natural that some areas of biomedical research are slow in adopting these policies. History and the confidential nature of the relevant data are surely one of the reasons. However, in our opinion data hegemony is another, a reason that has to be overcome. The sooner these barriers to progress are removed the sooner the patients will benefit from the current flourishing of biomedical research.

1. Longo, D.L. and J.M. Drazen, Data Sharing. N Engl J Med, 2016. 374(3): p. 276-7.
2. Drazen, J.M., Data Sharing and the Journal. New Engl J Med.

Respectfully submitted,

ISCB Executive Committee

Alfonso VALENCIA, President
Bonnie BERGER, Vice President
Terry GAASTERLAND, Vice President
Thomas LENGAUER, Vice President
Christine ORENGO, Vice President
Bruno GAETA, Treasurer
Scott MARKEL, Secretary

Contact Person: Executive Office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)



 


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BARCELONA, SPAIN
APRIL 4 – 6, 2016

Mark your calendars!
 

REGISTRATION


KEYNOTE SPEAKERS


SPONSORS/EXHIBITS

Register Now & Save: NGS 2016!

Early Reg Deadline: February 29, 2016!




Join us in Barcelona for the NGS 2016 conference: a dedicated meeting on cutting-edge approaches to the processing and analysis of Genome Annotation methods and bringing together bioinformatics researchers across the globe.  Register Now!



DON'T FORGET

GLBIO/CCBC 2016 Abstract Submission Deadline
March 7, 2016
........................................

ISMB 2016 Highlights Submission Deadline
March 10, 2016

Join Your COSI!
Interested in being part of the COSI groups? Sign up now!
ISCB
Leading Professional Society for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Connecting, Training, Empowering, Worldwide
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ISCB Buzz:  Conference Updates, Translational Bioinformatics 2016, Ebola Award & Much More!



Conference Updates

GLBIO/CCBC 2016:
- Full Paper Submissions Deadline: 01 February
- GLBIO/CCBC 2016 Abstract Submission Deadline: 07 March


Call for Nominations for annual review of Translational Bioinformatics 2016!

Call for nominations of exciting papers published between January 2015 and the present.  The talk will be held on March 21 in San Francisco as part of www.amia.org/jointsummits2016

Thomson Reuters Worlds Most Influential Scientific Minds of 2015!
ISCB members; Gad Getz, Eric Lander, Alex Bateman, among others noted in the 2015 listing of Thomas Reuters Worlds Most Influential Scientific Minds of 2015 report!  Read more.

Call for Submissions
Submissions are being requested for the new ISCB Fight Against Ebola Award.  ISCB will award the winning submission at ISMB 2016.  Deadline for submissions is April 10, 2016.  Click here for more information.

ISCB Cited in the Landscape of Bioinformatics Education

ISCB's Education Committee Curriculum Task Force noted in shaping the landscape of bioinformatics education!  Click here for the article.
 

Call for Applied Knowledge Exchange Sessions (AKES)!



Deadline: January 22, 2016

SUBMIT NOW and become part of the Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) 2016 Conference!

An open invitation to scientists and professionals working in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology to submit high quality proposals for Applied Knowledge Exchange sessions (formerly Tutorials & Workshops).

In need of ideas?  Look through AKES presented in 2015 here!
- Explore the Science @ ISMB 2016 -
   

Submit to ISMB 2016!


DON'T FORGET

ISMB Special Sessions Proposals
04 December
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ISMB AKES Proposals
22 January 2016

ISCB
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Connecting, Training, Empowering, Worldwide
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ISCB Buzz:  Conference Updates, Wikipedia Competition, Ebola Award & More!



Conference Updates

ISMB 2016
- Call for Special Sessions at ISMB! Deadline for proposals 04 December!
- Call for Applied Knowledge Exchange Sessions (AKES). Deadline for proposals: 22 January


Call for Submissions!

Submissions are being requested for the new ISCB Fight Against Ebola Award. ISCB will award the winning submission at ISMB 2016. Deadline for submissions is April 10, 2016. To submit click here.

ISCB Wikipedia Competition
The competition is open to all students and trainees aims to improve content of Computational Biology articles in Wikipedia. Deadline for entry into the competition is January 11, 2016. Click here to learn more.

ISCB Fall Newsletter!
Hot off the E-press! Click through the exciting updates within the community and learn more about ISCB's new initiatives in the 2015 Fall Newsletter.
ISCB Fall 2015 Newsletter



Call for Special Sessions Proposals - ISMB 2016!



Deadline: December 4, 2015

Special Sessions aim at introducing ISMB attendees to relevant "hot" topics that influence computational biology and bioinformatics.  Do you have an exciting idea?  Submit your proposal now!

Submit to ISMB 2016!


DON'T FORGET
Upcoming Deadlines:

RSG Hotel Discount Expires
2 November

RSG Online Reg Deadline
10 November

Rocky Early Reg Deadline
10 November
ISCB
Leading Professional Society for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Connecting, Training, Empowering, Worldwide
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ISCB Buzz: ISCB Buzz: Awards Nominations, Conference Updates, Wikipedia Competition, Ebola Award & More!

Conference Updates!
Book your hotel now at a discounted rate before its too late! The RSG Hotel Discount Expires 2 November!



ISCB Members in the News!
Congratulations to Atul Butte, M.D., Ph.D., recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine!

ISCB Awards are Open!
Nominate a deserving scientists today for one of four prestigious ISCB Annual Awards. The Nomination period is Open! Deadline is December 2, 2015. Click here for more information.

Call for Submissions!
Submissions are being requested for the new ISCB Fight Against Ebola Award. ISCB will award the winning submission at ISMB 2016. Deadline for submissions is April 10, 2016. To submit click here.

Nominate a Fellow!
Honoring our distinguished researchers, Nominations for the ISCB Fellows Program is open. The deadline to nominate a Fellow is December 2, 2015. See the Fellows page for details.

ISCB Wikipedia Competition
The competition is open to all students and trainees aims to improve content of Computational Biology articles in Wikipedia. Deadline for entry into the competition is January 11, 2016. Click here to learn more.



Discounted room rate expires
Monday, 2 November 2015.

The Sheraton Philadelphia
Downtown Hotel
201 North 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Book Online

*reference RECOMB/ISCB Conference*

Join us for the RECOMB/ISCB Regulatory and Systems Genomics Conference with DREAM Challenges 2015!

Online Registration Deadline: November 10!

The leading conference on regulatory genomics and systems biology featuring 10 renown keynote speakers, 46 talks, over 100 posters, DREAM Challenges and hackathons
- View the program -

Keynotes - Talks - Register Today!