Sponsorship Opportunities

A number of sponsorship opportunities are available for the ISCB Africa ASBCB 2011 Conference on Bioinformatics. In order to learn how we can best accommodate your specific needs as a conference sponsor, please review these SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES or MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES documents, or contact the Conference Co-Chair and Local Organizing Committee member Nicola Mulder (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

The Conference Thanks our Confirmed Sponsors!

Travel Fellowships

TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

We are raising funds to provide travel fellowships for African students to attend the ISCB Africa ASBCB 2011 Conference on Bioinformatics.

The Aim is to bring African students together to introduce them to a variety of research projects in computational biology, increase their awareness of the broad range of opportunities that exist in the field, and introduce them to some of the people leading this research internationally. The conference provides a great opportunity for students as it is preceded by 2 days of bioinformatics workshops, as well as a young researcher’s forum to be held in conjunction with the Human Genetics meeting.

Funding and Eligibility

• Funding will support the registration, travel and accommodation of students. It will not cover visa fees, meals or subsistence.

• The applicant must work at an African-based Institution.

• The applicant must be a current member of ISCB and/or ASBCB.

• Applicants need to have submitted a poster or paper for this conference; only accepted student poster and paper submitters will be eligible for funding (acceptance notification will be sent on the same day as the award notification).

Important Dates

-- Calls for Travel Fellowship applications and paper and poster abstracts open

-- Deadline for Travel Fellowship applications and paper and poster abstracts

-- Notifications of accepted papers, posters, and travel fellowships

Steering Committee

Co-Chairs: Nicola Mulder (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Janet Kelso (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Committee Members: Daniel Masiga, Burkhard Rost, Reinhard Schneider, Olivier Gascuel, Manuel Corpas, BJ Morrison McKay, Kavisha Ramdayal

Local Organising Committee

Nicola Mulder, Alan Christoffels, Kavisha Ramdayal, Judit Kumuthini   (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Scientific Committee (paper and poster reviews)

Committee chair: Alan Christoffels (SANBI, University of the Western Cape)

Alia Benkahla (Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia)
Jer-Ming Chia (Cold Spring Laboratory, USA)
Manuel Corpas  (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK)
Pietro Guzzi (Magna Graecia University, Italy)
Oliver Hofmann (Harvard School of Public Health, USA)
Fourie Jourbert (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Janet Kelso (Max-Planck Inst for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany)
Dan Masiga (ICIPE, Kenya)
Nicola Mulder (Computational Biology, University of Cape Town, South Africa)
William Noble (University of Washington, USA)
Guilherme Oliveira (Genomics and Computational Biology Group, Fiocruz, Brazil)
Mark Pallen (University of Birmingham, UK)
Christian Schoenbach (Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan)
Todd Taylor (RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center, Japan)

MRC Event Management Office

Mandy Salomo (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Meagan Simpson, Deon Salomo, Ellen Claasen, Denise Roberts, Robert Ganesh

Travel Information

Venue -- Cape Town International Convention Centre

While the CTICC is still relatively young as far as international convention centres go, much has happened in the five or so years since it first opened its doors.

The idea of the centre was first conceived in the late 1990s when it was recognised that a truly international convention centre would fill an obvious gap in the city of Cape Town’s tourism infrastructure, and have the potential to deliver a phenomenal impact on the local, provincial and national economy.

As a result, the CTICC was born, with the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government of the Western Cape as its largest shareholders - effectively putting ownership of the centre in the hands of the people of the city. And in a few short years, this exceptional centre has grown into a shining example of the power of effective partnerships

Hotels

Hotel bookings can be made through the Hotel Service Department of the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC), or by contacting hotels directly through their websites or telephone numbers available online.

A list of accomodations that are offered at a discounted rate to delegates attending the 2011 ISCB Africa ASBCB Conference on Bioinformatics from 9th to 11th March, 2011 is included in the Booking Form. Please complete this BOOKING FORM and submit it per the instructions on the form in order to reserve your hotel accommodations as early as possible (each hotel has limited availability and rooms are confirmed on a first come first served basis).

Participants may prefer to invesitgate hotel rates and availability outside the group blocks held through the CTICC by using any of the travel search engines on the internet. In many cases the cancellation penalties are less restrictive when bookiing direct, although the rates may be higher or rooms outside the group block may no longer be available.

Flights

Delegates are responsible for booking their own flights to and from Cape Town. In most cases, booking airline tickets via the internet is a cost-effective option. The main carrier in South Africa is South African Airways, but many other airlines such as British Airways, Virgin, Delta Airlines, KLM, etc. fly directly into Cape Town International Airport or via Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Passport and Visas

As for all international travel, visitors to South Africa should be in possession of a valid passport. Passports must meet the following requirements:

1. It should not be less than 6 months from the date of expiry.
2. There should be at least 1 full, free page in the passport for stamping by     officials.
3. Citizens from countries that require visas for the Republic of South Africa (RSA), who arrive without visas, will be refused entry into the RSA and placed on return flights in terms of legislation.
4. Delegates are responsible for making their own visa arrangements. Travel agents and South African diplomatic missions will provide you with relevant information. Information and visa application forms can be found on the website of the South African Department of Home Affairs: www.dha.gov.za. Visas are NOT issued on arrival at South African ports of entry.

Climate

To visit the South African Weather Service, for temperatures in Cape Town, South Africa.

Currency

The South African currency is the Rand (ZAR). The rate of exchange against international currencies is variable so foreign delegates are advised to check the daily published rates, or use the currency converter at: www.oanda.com

Health

A yellow fever vaccination is required for entry into South Africa from various countries in Central, East and West Africa – please confirm these requirements with the South African diplomatic mission in your country.

Insurance

The conference organisers cannot accept liability for personal injuries sustained, or for loss or damage of property belonging to participants or their accompanying persons. It is therefore recommended that delegates and accompanying persons arrange for appropriate travel and health insurance before travelling.

Language

South Africa has 11 official languages. English, however, is spoken throughout the country.

Safety

While vigilance and common sense will ensure a trouble-free and enjoyable stay in South Africa, it is advisable to take the following precautions: do not leave luggage, mobile phones or valuables unattended; use the safety deposit boxes provided by most hotels; do not carry large amounts of cash, and keep cash, credit cards and identification documents in a secure place on your person.

Tourism

Though one of the most stunning locations in the world, Cape Town and the Western Cape remains surprisingly affordable and has many great attractions, including Table Mountain, the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town's markets, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Point Nature Reserve, the winelands, or the many beautiful beaches.
For further information on the city’s attractions and accommodation, visit www.tourismcapetown.co.za or www.capetown.travel or call +27 (0)21 487 6800
Several companies offer different length tours in and around Cape Town, an example is provided below.

The Grand Cape Peninsula Tour

This tour visits several attractions in the Cape Town and peninsular area, including:

• Clifton beaches
• Hout Bay & Mariners’ Wharf
• Boat ride to view seals (optional)
• Chapman's Peak Drive (if open)/ Ou Kaapse Weg
• Cape Point & Nature Reserve
• Penguin colony at the Boulders (optional)
• Historic Simon's Town
• Groot Constantia Wine Estate OR
• Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Contact: Amatikulu Tours on: + 27 (39) 9732534 / www.amatikulu.com

Submission Guidelines

** Submit your Late Poster here **

Papers and posters are intended to convey a scientific result that is original work, and are not advertisements for commercial software packages. Papers and posters may cover any area of computational biology, but preferably within one of the topic areas listed below:

• Host/pathogen systems biology
• Bioinformatics of human genetics
• Molecular epidemiology and evolution
• Functional, structural and comparative genomics
• Database and resource development
• Search and design of vaccines and drugs

All abstracts must be a maximum of 250 words (to appear in the conference booklet) and should provide at the least the following information within them: background information, approach/methods, results and conclusions (actual headings within the abstract are not necessary). For paper submissions, authors are required to submit an additional paragraph of up to 250 words stating the relevance of the work for the purpose of convincing reviewers of the scientific content/validity; these additional 250 words will not be published and are for reviewing purposes only.

PAPER submissions are now CLOSED.

POSTER submissions are now CLOSED.

LATE POSTER submission is now CLOSED.

Key Dates

-- Calls for Travel Fellowship applications and paper and poster abstracts open

-- Deadline for Travel Fellowship applications and paper and poster abstracts

-- Notifications of accepted papers, posters, and travel fellowships

-- Late Poster abstracts deadline

-- Early registration deadline

-- Final registration using the PDF form

The next ISCB Africa ASBCB will be held in Tunisia in March 2013. Exact dates and location to be announced soon.

Thank You to the 2011 ISCB Africa ASBCB Conference on Bioinformatics Organizers and Participants!

Program booklet available for download

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) and the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB) held the ISCB Africa ASBCB Conference on Bioinformatics in Cape Town, South Africa, in March 2011. The meeting constituted the second joint meeting of ISCB and ASBCB, and the third conference of the ASBCB on Bioinformatics of African Pathogens, Hosts and Vectors.

This conference featured a broader Bioinformatics scope than the previous two conferences, but included a special interest in infectious diseases relevant to Africa. The meeting followed the Joint International Conference of the African and Southern African Societies of Human Genetics (6-9 March) with a shared session during the overlapping day.