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ISMB/ECCB 2015 - Call for Applied Knowledge Exchange Sessions (AKES)

Tutorial Co-chairs:

Fran Lewitter, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, United States
Michelle Brazas, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), Canada

**Call for AKES Submissions - Closed

 

 

This call is 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 called Tutorials and Workshops) at ISMB/ECCB 2015.

 

The purpose of this program is to provide participants with lectures and instruction covering either well-established or new "cutting-edge" topics, relevant to the bioinformatics field. For research-oriented topics, these sessions offer participants an opportunity to get an introduction to important established topics in bioinformatics, to learn about new areas of bioinformatics research, or to develop advanced skills in areas about which they are already knowledgeable. These do not necessarily need to be primarily research oriented, but may also serve to bring together people with common interests to discuss, debate and problem-solve defined topics.

 

Applied Knowledge Exchange sessions may include any form of presentation such as talks or panel discussions. They serve an educational function and are expected to provide a balanced perspective on a field of research. They should not focus on the presenters' own research or software, unless balanced with other tools in the same realm. Sessions on broadly used bioinformatics tools (UCSC, Galaxy, Cytoscape, etc.) will be considered. Please note that if you wish to focus your talk on a specific software package less widely used, your proposal should be submitted to the Technology Track. These presentations do not fall under this Call for proposals.

 

Sessions should be designed as half-day (four hour) or full-day (8 hours) sessions. (A 30-minute break is scheduled for 10:15 am and 3:30 pm). Only proposals providing either:

• Direct practical, hands-on application of the subject matter; or
• Bringing together people with common interest for discussion will be considered for acceptance.

 

Sessions in the following areas are particularly encouraged:

• The Cloud: new trends in bioinformatics in the Cloud
• Methylation analysis workflow and challenges
• Train the trainers: developing the skills of a bioinformatics trainer
• How to develop outreach programs in bioinformatics
• Intellectual property in bioinformatics: Is it possible and how to do it?
• Translational informatics: Using bioinformatics in the clinical realm
• DREAM challenges: Usefulness, numbers and how to start one
• App development in Cytoscape
• Developments in UCSC genome browser
• Practical exercises in GATK
• Galaxy: Toolshed development
• PDB

 

Proposal submissions should be received by Friday, January 23, 2015. Proposals should not exceed a maximum of 4 pages, and must include a detailed description of the session content. You will be asked during the submission process to provide a description of the session that can be used to promote it to delegates. Examples from past conferences can be found at: 2013 and 2014,

 

Proposals should contain the following information:

• Title
• Goals, objectives and motivation of the session
• Detailed outline of the session agenda
• Please adhere to the page limit, but provide sufficient information for a thorough evaluation to be made.
• Intended audience and level
• It should be clearly and precisely indicated at whom the session is aimed, and at which level it would be taught with respect to the different underlying scientific fields. In particular if any background (biology, algorithmics, statistics, etc) is expected, this should be very precisely described.
• Where appropriate, indicate whether the material is considered Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced.
• Organizers & Presenters (where appropriate)
• Each session should have a minimum of two organizers and/or presenters. Based on feedback received from earlier years, please note that in general graduate students are not permitted to participate as instructors.
• A brief description of the organizers indicating the relevant qualifications to the proposal.
• Where appropriate, a brief description of the presenters indicating the relevant qualifications and teaching experience. Session attendees often consider the reputation and standing of the presenters as one of their criteria for choosing particular sessions.
• Session history
• Please indicate whether the session has been presented at ISMB (or another meeting) previously.

 

Proposals must be completed using the MS Word or PDF templates provided. The final proposal MUST be uploaded as a PDF file only. If using the MS Word template, please ensure you convert it to a PDF before uploading. Submissions should be completed through this link.

 

All submissions will be evaluated by a committee, which will consider the following criteria:

• Relevance, interest, and value of the topic to ISMB attendees
• Completeness, clarity, and quality of the proposal and materials
• Expertise and experience of the presenters in the proposed topic
• Expertise and experience of the organizers in delivering a successful educational experience
• Effectiveness of the proposed presentation approach
• If the session has been presented previously the participant evaluations will be considered

 

Session Materials

The presenters agree to provide participants with teaching materials that include:

• Copies of the slides in Powerpoint or PDF format for printing.
• Copies of relevant articles/book chapters published by the presenters may be provided as Supplementary Information. Presenters will have to obtain copyright permission from their publishers, as required.
• Voice-over presentation recording of session for publishing on ISMB web site. This voice-over recording will serve as an oral record of the speaking notes for the presentations.

 

Copyright

The authors will grant copyright to session materials to the ISCB for a period to extend from acceptance through August 1, 2015, and they agree that their materials may be made available for use in perpetuity through ISCB.

 

Compensation

Each session team will be provided:

• Free * AKES* registration for team members presenting the session (ISMB/ECCB 2015 full conference registration is NOT included)
• 1 x US$500 honorarium

Proposal Submission

• Click here to complete a submission for AKES.
• Proposal Template - MS Word
• Proposal Template - PDF

 

Important Dates:
Announcement of Applied Knowledge Exchange sessions: Wednesday November 19, 2015

Proposal submission deadline: Friday January 23, 2015

Notification of proposal acceptance: Friday February 6, 2015

Posting of AKES on ISMB website: Friday February 20, 2015

Draft materials for review: Friday June 5, 2015 (Failure to meet this deadline may result in the cancellation of the session).

Final session materials for printing: Monday June 29, 2015

Session presented: Saturday July 11, 2015