| A: ISCB or the International Society for Computational
Biology (http://www.iscb.org/)
is the parent organization and primary sponsor of the annual ISMB
conference. The ISCB is dedicated to advancing the scientific
understanding of living systems through computation, with a special
emphasis on the role of computing and informatics in advancing
molecular biology. The Society aims to serve its membership by
facilitating scientific communication and raising awareness through
meetings, tutorials, publications and by electronic means. ISCB
membership offers many benefits including reduced conference registration
fees and reduced subscription prices for the Journal of Computational
Biology and Bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is the official journal
of the society. There are currently over 1700 active members from
42 countries including more than 300 students and trainee members.
A member's meeting and a meeting of the Board of Directors for
the society are held annually in conjunction with the Intelligent
Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) conference. Officers are
elected on an annual basis and serve voluntarily.
A: ISMB (Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology) is an international
conference sponsored by the International Society for Computational
Biology. Over the past ten years, the ISMB conference has grown
to become the largest bioinformatics conference in the world.
The ISMB conferences provide a multidisciplinary forum for disseminating
the latest developments in bioinformatics. ISMB brings together
scientists from computer science, molecular biology, mathematics,
and statistics. Its principal focus is on the development and
application of advanced computational methods for biological problems.
A:The European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB) is a
multi-disciplinary conference that bridges the fields of computer
science, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology by bringing
together involved scientists from all over the world. It has a
revolving scheme in which, each year, one of the European countries
hosts the European conference, often jointly with the national
conference on computational biology. ECCB
2003 will be held in Paris, France.
A: By combining both conferences, we're aiming to ensure that
no-one has to miss out. ISMB/ECCB 2004 will have the broadest
scope of any international bioinformatics conference held to date.
Our submission procedures, keynote speakers, paper and poster
presentations, tutorials and social events are all being designed
to cater for computational biology's eclectic mix of disciplines.
ISMB/ECCB 2004 will be the largest and most important computational
biology event globally in 2004; we hope that this will be the
first of many collaborations between ISMB and ECCB in the future.
A: ISMB/ECCB 2004 will be a single conference with one programme.
A: Genes, Proteins and Computers (GPC) is The UK's biennial conference
in computational biology. It is organized by CCP11.
Holding ISMB/ECCB 2004 in conjunction with GPC VIII upholds ECCB’s
tradition of organizing ECCB jointly with the relevant national
bioinformatics conference.
A: CCP11 (Collaborative Computing Project 11, Biosequence and
Structure Analysis) is a project funded by three of the UK research
councils—the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council
(BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) — to coordinate
the UK bioinformatics community, particularly (but not only) in
academia. Its aims are: to facilitate the transfer of bioinformatics
knowledge and expertise through meetings, workshops and the World
Wide Web; to develop software and facilitate its use (it is the
prime mover behind the development of the public-domain bioinformatics
software suite EMBOSS;
and to represent the interests of the UK bioinformatics community
in Europe and worldwide through its membership of EMBnet. More
information is available at CCP11's Website: The
Bioinformatics Resource.
A: The European Bioinformatics
Institute (EBI) is a non-profit academic organization that
forms part of the European Molecular
Biology Laboratory (EMBL). It is Europe's leading centre for
research, services and training in bioinformatics. The EBI's mission
is to ensure that the growing body of information from molecular
biology and genome research is placed in the public domain and
is accessible freely to all facets of the scientific community
in ways that promote scientific progress. It does this by fulfilling
four broad functions: supplying information to biologists across
the globe through its
databases and other
resources; state-of-the-art
bioinformatics research; training; and supporting companies
through its Industry
Programme.
A: The Scottish Bioinformatics
Forum (SBF) is a network of bioinformatics researchers from
academia and industries in Scotland and is a vehicle for developing
Scotland as a centre of bioinformatics excellence. The SBF has
nodes over the whole of Scotland including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh
and Glasgow, with several member institutions at each node. The
Forum has four key objectives: providing additional opportunities
for collaborative research to be identified and realized; enabling
researchers and industry to forge closer working relationships;
promoting tailored training and recruitment schemes; and providing
a generic voice for the Scottish Bioinformatics community.
A: The University of Glasgow
is one of the UK's leading universities with an international
reputation for its research and teaching and an important role
in the cultural and commercial life of the country. Its mission
is to be a research-led University operating in an international
context with the following fundamental aims: to provide education
through the development of learning in a research environment;
to undertake fundamental, strategic and applied research; to sustain
and add value to Scottish culture, to the natural environment
and to the national economy.
A: ISMB/ECCB 2004 will be co-chaired by:
Professor
Janet Thornton, CBE, FRS
Director, EMBL - The European Bioinformatics
Institute
After graduating in physics, Janet Thornton studied for her PhD
in Biophysics at the National Institute for Medical Research,
Mill Hill, London (1970-1973). She then moved to Oxford, where
she worked in molecular biophysics with David Phillips until 1978
when she returned to London to the National Institute for Medical
Research, and subsequently to a Fellowship at Birkbeck College.
In 1990 she was appointed Professor and Director of the Biomolecular
Structure and Modeling Unit at University College, London and
later also was appointed to the Bernal Chair in the Crystallography
Department at Birkbeck College. In October 2001 she became Director
of the EMBL - European Bioinformatics Institute on the Wellcome
Trust Genome Campus at Hinxton, near Cambridge. She was elected
a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and a Member of EMBO in
2000, and a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences
in 2003. Janet's research focuses on structural molecular biology
using computational approaches. Her goal is to understand biological
processes at the molecular level, based on sequence data and the
three-dimensional structures and interactions of the molecules
involved. Current research is focused on understanding the evolution
of biological function from a structural perspective and predicting
function from structure. This includes analysis of the molecular
interactions that provide recognition, specificity and complexity
in biology. Such studies reveal the principles of molecular recognition
and provide the foundations to improve the design of novel molecules
with specific functions, for use as therapeutics.
Professor
David Gilbert
Professor of Bioinformatics, Bioinformatics
Research Centre, Department
of Computing Science, University
of Glasgow
David Gilbert holds an MSc and PhD in Computing from Imperial
College, London where his research focused on parallel computing.
He was an EPSRC Research Fellow at the EBI during 1998 and a Leverhulme
Research Fellow in the Biomolecular Structure and Modeling group
in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
College London in 2000. David leads funded research projects on
protein structure modeling and analysis, and biochemical pathways.
The fast protein structure-comparison system that he has developed
is part of the TOPS
suite, and he also co-developed the first version of the path
searching interface to the aMAZE biochemical pathway database.
A: Glasgow is located
in the west of Scotland,
UK. For many years it was known as the industrial capital
of Scotland, but after being European
Capital of Culture in 1990 and City of Architecture in 1999
it is now considered one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.
There is a wealth of attractions to discover, the UK’s finest
Victorian architecture to astound, internationally acclaimed museums
and galleries to inspire as well as Glasgow’s own unique
atmosphere to soak up. Be entertained in one of Europe’s
cultural capitals by its year-long calendar of festivals and special
events and enjoy outstanding shopping, superb bars and restaurants—all
located within a stone’s throw of some of the country’s
finest parks & gardens. The area also stands at the gateway
to some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery.
A: The official language spoken is English—with a characteristic
dialect!
A: No.
A: Valid Passports are required for all visitors to Scotland,
UK from beyond the European Union (EU). Residents from EU countries
with official recognized ID cards may enter Scotland without their
passport but must have their official recognized ID card.
Scotland uses the British Pound (£). £1 is worth approximately
$1.50 or Euro1.30, depending on the exchange rate at the time
of conversion. The CNN
currency converter will allow you to convert British Pounds
to other currencies.
A: The cost of living in Glasgow is similar to that of other cities
in the UK although not as expensive as London. Big Macs cost £3.29
($4.80; Euro5.50) A can of Coke costs £0.55 ($0.82; Euro0.71).
High quality restaurant meals are generally priced between £25
($37.50; Euro32.50) and £35 ($52.50; Euro45.50) per person.
Luxury hotels are typically priced at £180 ($270; Euro234)
to £210 ($315; Euro273) per night, based on rack rate at
2003 prices. Public transportation (buses and trains) in the city
centre ranges from £0.80 ($1.20; Euro1) to £1.50 ($2.25;
Euro1.95) on weekdays, and taxis cost approximately £3 ($4.50;
Euro3.90) per 2 miles. Most other goods (clothing, electronic
items, books etc.) are reasonably priced.
A: Glasgow International Airport is located about 8 miles from
Glasgow City Centre. You may take a cab, limousine, bus, or train
or you can rent a car. Details of these services can be found
on the Glasgow
International Airport website or the Strathclyde
Passenger Transport Authority website. The cost of a taxi
from the airport to city centre is approximately £25.00
($37.50; Euro32.50), whilst the bus will cost approximately £3.50
($5.25; Euro4.55).
A: Registration will take place in Hall 4 of the Scottish
Exhibition and Conference Centre. Full details will be provided
soon. Information on how to reach the SECC is available on the
SECC website. View
a plan of the SECC.
A: Information on travel fellowships will be provided soon.
A: Information for exhibitors will be provided soon.
A: Information on poster set up will be provided soon.
A: The Cyber Cafe is an industry-sponsored facility offering web
and email access for conference attendees. To avoid long lines,
we recommend that users limit their access times to 15 minutes
per session.
A: The Cyber Cafe will be located in Hall 4 of the Scottish Exhibition
and Conference Centre (SECC). View
a plan of the SECC.
A :ISMB/ECCB 2004 will operate a ‘Can I Help You?’
desk at the registration area in Hall 4. Any lost and found items
will be handed into this desk. View
a plan of the SECC.
A: Details of registration fees will be provided soon.
A: Any queries relating to refund of VAT should be directed to
Customs and Excise at the airport on departure from the UK. We
recommend that
you retain all receipts for this purpose.
|
Q:
What is the ISMB conference?
