CALL FOR POSTERS – ISMB 2018

Poster Chair: Casey Greene, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
Poster Co-chair: Arjun Krishnan, Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States

Submit a Poster

ISMB 2018 invites all interested participants and conference attendees to consider presenting a poster.

General Information
Poster Fees Deadlines
Submission Guidelines
Posters on Display
Poster Display Size
Poster Topic Areas
FAQ

General Information

ISMB/ECCB 2017 will bring together scientists from a wide range of disciplines, including molecular biology, biology, medicine, computer science, mathematics and statistics. We are soliciting high-quality research posters on any aspect of computational and experimental biology. Your poster should be submitted to the category that most accurately reflects the area of the work as posters will be organized accordingly. Your poster must include original work that is unpublished or published after August 1, 2016. Your poster should convey a scientific result and should not be an advertisement for any commercial software package.

Posters advertising commercial software will be rejected from this poster session and/or removed from the conference without notice. There is a separate space for such posters in the exhibition area. If you have an industry poster, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Poster Fees and Deadlines

ISCB Members:
* You are eligible to submit your poster at no charge during the early poster submission process (deadline May 15, 2017).
* You will be charged a $50 fee to submit your poster during the late poster submission process (deadline June 5, 2017).

Non-Members:
* You will be charged a $50 fee to submit your poster during the early poster submission process (deadline May 15, 2017).
* You will be charged a $100 fee to submit your poster poster during the late poster submission process (deadline June 5, 2017).

Fee Schedule

Submission Guidelines

• If you submit your poster by May 15, 2017 deadline, you will be notified whether or not your poster has been accepted by May 31, 2017 and you may be eligible to apply for a Conference Travel Fellowship.
• All poster abstracts must be submitted using the conference submission site by the abstract deadline: May 15, 2017 (You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Zone).
• Your poster's abstract (maximum 250 words) will be posted on the conference web site. You do not need to submit a PDF of your poster.
• Your abstract must not contain your title/position or any personal information (e.g. affiliation).
• You may only be the presenting author for one poster.
• As the presenting author, you must be registered as a delegate and be available at the poster session to which your poster is assigned.
• Any author may submit to other conference tracks in addition to submitting a poster for review.
  
  

Posters on Display

The poster display schedule will be available by May 31, 2017 and will based on the COSI program schedule.

Poster Display Size:

Attention Poster Authors:
When preparing accepted posters please note that your poster should not exceed the following dimensions 0.95 m (wide) x 1.30 m (high) View a diagram of the poster board in pdf format here.

Submissions received after May 15, 2017 will be considered for the late poster acceptance. Posters submitted and accepted as part of the Call for Late Poster (opens May 16, 2017) are NOT eligible to apply for Conference Travel Fellowship Support.

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The conference organizers will not offer tables for laptop computer demos during the poster session. If you would like to demonstrate your software, you are encouraged to submit an application for Technology Track. All abstracts will be considered a "personal communication" to the conference attendees. Abstracts will not be published in the proceedings, but will appear in the program and on the conference website.

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Poster Topic Areas

When submitting posters, please note if more than one area is applicable, please select the most relevant area. If two are equally relevant, please select one arbitrarily.

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Institutional Research.

Not-for profit research institutes and universities are able to submit their research findings as part of the call for posters. This will be displayed with in the topic area of Institutional Research.

Reviews

Individuals may choose to submit a poster presenting a review of a specific field or technique. These submissions do not need to contain original work from the author and are intended to be an introduction for individuals not familiar with the field or technique. These review are not meant to be advertisements (e.g. it is not acceptable that the poster is an advertisement for a book or other type of commercial publication)

All questions regarding Posters should be directed to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FAQ

Q: Should I submit a poster through the submission portal if I have submitted an abstract indicating that I will present a poster if my work is not selected for oral presentation.
A: No, if you submit work to abstracts or proceedings and want to be considered for a poster you will receive an email confirming after acceptance notifications have been sent. Poster submission fees will still apply and your poster will only be confirmed once the submission fee is received.

Q: Can someone else submit my poster for me?
A: Yes but if you are a member you will need to provide them with your ISCB member ID and Password. If you don't recall your password use this link: http://www.iscb.org/iscb-forgot-your-password

• Members, plan ahead to ensure that your membership is valid, that you remember your ISCB ID and Password. Your ISCB ID can only be used once for a poster submission.

• Non-members please ensure your credit card information is correct and valid as payment is required for the submission.

If you are a non-member anyone can submit but they will need to pay the submission fee on your behalf and identify you as the presenter after payment is made during the submission process (Please note a member submitting on behalf of a non-member presenter must use the Payment Option 2 on the poster submission page when submitting for the poster presenter). Membership benefits are non-transferable.

Remember it will save you money to become a member of ISCB as there is no cost to submit a poster as an ISCB member and the conference registration will also be a lower price for members. Either way you save!

Join ISCB here: https://www.iscb.org/iscb-new-member-registration

Q: Can I submit more than one poster?
A: No you should only submit one poster - the conference only allows one poster per author for presentation. The acceptance rate for posters is generally very high so there is no need to submit more than one poster.

Q: If I pay to submit a poster can I get a refund if my poster is not accepted?
A: No refunds will be provided for poster submission payments.

Q: Should I submit a PDF of my poster when completing my submission?
A: No, please only submit the poster abstract. You will bring your physical poster to the conference to present.

Call for Proceedings - ISMB 2018 (Closes January 29, 2018)

Proceedings Co-chairs: Yana Bromberg, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States 
                                          Predrag Radivojac, Indiana University, Bloomington, United States

ISMB 2018 invites submissions reporting theoretical, computational, and statistical advances in computational biology and its intersections with other fields.

Submissions are encouraged to report on advances in algorithm development and optimization, data structures, data visualization, artificial intelligence/machine learning, text mining, statistical inference, database and ontology development, image analysis, citizen and open science, etc. to analyze all types of biological data.

While we encourage submissions in new and emerging areas, we expect that the majority of submissions addressing topical biological domains will fall into one of the areas below. Please note during the submission process you will first select your "area" (the list below) and when providing submission details you will also have the opportunity to select your preferred COSI shown as "topics" in EasyChair (learn more about COSIs here).

Authors of submissions will select one of ten areas most suitable for their paper. During submission authors will be able to identify topics (COSI areas) relevant to their submission. During the review process three reviews will be sought. Papers may be moved between areas as appropriate - this is often necessary for load balance and fit between areas during the review process. Accepted papers will be published as conference proceedings in an open access, online-only, section of a regular issue of the Bioinformatics journal with an electronic version distributed to conference delegates. The proceedings will be available online approximately one month prior to the conference opening.

Publication of the proceedings as an online part of the Bioinformatics journal will result in fully citable articles, indexed by Medline and ISI. See the conference proceedings for ISMB/ECCB 2017 for an example of online-only publication by Oxford University Press.

ISMB 2018 provides authors of accepted papers an oral presentation to provide an oral summary of their work. All presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes including 3-4 minutes for discussion.

Papers can be submitted in either a template-free format or in the format following the template for author submission to the OUP journal bioinformatics. If the OUP template is used the paper length must not exceed nine pages. If the template-free format is used the length of the paper must not exceed 12 pages (single space, 12 point font), including abstract, figures, tables, and bibliography. In either case, the paper must contain an abstract whose length does not exceed 250 words.

After acceptance papers will have to be formatted according to the layout style required by the OUP bioinformatics journal and will be limited to 9 pages. Formatting requirements can be found at: http://www.oxfordjournals.org/bioinformatics/for_authors/submission_online.html

If absolutely necessary, submissions can be accompanied by supplementary material, similar to submissions to scientific journals. The supplementary material should be collected in a separate file that is appropriately marked and uploaded as an attachment on the paper submission page in EasyChair. However, we advise against adding supplementary material, in general. Supplementary material will be published on the proceedings site alongside the online version of the conference paper. We do not support supplementary material presented at any other than the publisher's site. Additionally, OUP does not edit or typeset supplementary data - it is uploaded online exactly as it is received, so authors must ensure its accuracy before submitting.

Papers should be submitted in their final form since the evaluation procedure does not allow for additional rounds of refinement / modification in response to referee criticisms. Poor quality submissions or insufficiently prepared papers are very often rejected. Paper presenters must register and pay to attend and present at the conference.

For submissions to the Proceedings track, ISMB does not accept previously published works through peer-reviewed publications. Please note that conference presentations, posting on recognized preprint servers (such as Arxiv, Biorxiv and PeerJ preprints), or posting on a personal or employer's website do not constitute prior publication. In case of doubt, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PAPERS NOT CONFORMING TO THESE GUIDELINES WILL NOT BE REVIEWED.

Papers submitted for review should represent original, previously unpublished work. At the time the paper is submitted to ISMB 2018, and for the entire review period, the paper should not be under review by any other conference or scientific journal.

Papers will be accepted electronically, in PDF format only, at the submission site until Monday, January 29, 2018 at 23:59 (11:59 pm) Pacific time. *No extensions are granted*

For questions concerning the scientific content of submissions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Call for Special Sessions Proposals - ISMB 2018

Closes: Tuesday, January 30, 2018.

Special Sessions Submissions (Closed)

ISMB 2018 feature Special Sessions track for emerging research areas that will run throughout the conference in parallel to other tracks (except the keynote presentations). In its structure, each session(s) provides a more in-depth look at the subject matter presented. Proposals for special sessions should be submitted via the online submission system at here by Tuesday, January 30, 2018.

Special Sessions have the purpose of introducing the ISCB community and ISMB delegates to relevant 'hot' topics that are not already covered in the COSI tracks. Sessions can be considered as mini-symposia on timely topics, or new emerging area presented by top experts.

A wide range of topics is possible, as long as they are of relevance to computational biology and bioinformatics. We also encourage topics that are marginal to computational biology but clearly will need the involvement of such expertise in the near future. The proposed topics for Special Session might, for example, cover emerging themes that ISMB is not currently approaching with the desired proficiency. Some attractive topics include:

3D genomics
Biological imaging and image analysis
Data compression and storage
Metagenomics
Mathematical and computational medicine
RNA structure
New sequencing technologies

In addition we would like to encourage submissions that deal with the Society-Computational Biology interface. Examples might be “Genomic data sharing and privacy”, "Bringing genomic medicine to the clinic”. We encourage you to submit a proposal on an area that you deem as important to the computational biology community and may impact the future of the field.

Proposals should include the following details:

1. Title (up to 20 words, preferably worded to pique delegates' interest)
2. Topic: Describe the field to be covered by the session(s) and its relevance for conference participants (about one page)
3. Meeting details
   1. Duration (2 hour session, 4 hour session, 1 day)
   2. Expected sessions / topics, if possible with an explanatory paragraph about each
   3. If more than 2 hours, a draft schedule showing how the sessions / topics will be organized within the schedule template, including placement of keynotes, accepted talks, panel discussions, etc.
   4. How presentations will be selected (invitation, call for submissions, etc.)
   5. Possible speakers. This is not required, but may add weight to the proposal—indicate speakers who have already agreed to participate. NOTE: See Special Session Registration information for more details about compensation.
   6. Previous meetings of this with attendance statistics, if held before
   7. Potential sources of sponsorship for the session(s). ISCB provides session organizers with one-day complimentary registration for the invited speakers (maximum of four (4) per session) for those attending ISMB for the sole purpose of presenting within the Special Session. We encourage the organizers to approach experts from related fields and communities that are not necessarily attending ISMB routinely. Organizers will be responsible for raising sponsorship for additional complimentary registrations.
4. Information about the organizers: full name (including title), affiliation, e-­mail and postal addresses, telephone numbers (work and mobile, if available, including country and city codes), URL of home page, and qualifications to organize this meeting.

This call is an invitation for scientists and professionals to submit proposals for Special Sessions for ISMB 2018, to take place at the Hyatt Regency Chicago hotel.

Special Session Registration:

Organizers must identify the session speakers designated to receive the complimentary one-day registrations by May 15, 2018 by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in order to receive special registration instructions. Organizers and presenters within the Special Sessions are responsible for their own travel costs and if attending the full conference are responsible for the full conference registration fee. If needed, organizers are encouraged to seek sponsorships and/or use grant funds available to them to cover their own and their speakers' travel and registration costs.

Special Sessions Submissions

Call For Technology Track Submissions - ISMB 2018

Chair: Dominic Clark, EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, United Kingdom
Co-chair: Jean-Francois Tomb, University of Delaware, United States

Prior to submitting please review the ISCB Exhibitor and Technology Track guidelines for presentations available here.

Closed Thursday, May 10, 2018  ** Please note there still may be opportunities for a late Technology Track - if interest email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.for details

**Technology Track Submissions

The Technology Track allows organizations to showcase their software and/or hardware relevant to the bioinformatics / molecular biology community.

Technology Track

To conduct a Technology Track presentation, organizations must complete the on-line sign-up form including a brief description (50 words maximum) of the talk and a one (1) page Technology Track presentation overview (PDF) which will provide the delegate with additional details about the technology being presented. The presenter of the Technology Track must be a registered and paid delegate of the conference.

The cost to present a Technology Track is:

For profit organization: US$2000.00
Not for profit organization: US$600.00

• Please note payment is due within 10 days of acceptance to ensure talk is included in the conference program schedule).
• Presentation fees do not include conference registration.

Technology Track Details:

• For Profit: 45 minute with ~ 10 minutes for Q&A (within a 60 minute block) presentation time for profit organizations ($2000)
• Not For Profit: 15 minute presentation with ~ 3 minute Q&A (with in a 20 minute time block)($600)
 (The Technology Track schedule is set by the organizers with sponsors given scheduling preference for presentation time slots);
• Each presentation is listed on conference web site and includes abstract and full page PDF overview;
• Technology Track presentation room, set theatre style, includes internet connection and audio-visual equipment (data projector, screen, microphone (all additional equipment required will be charged at cost to the presenting organization).

Presentations occur as part of the parallel track system. All individual time slots are on a 20 minutes schedule (3 talks per hour).

Presenters will be provided with a Windows-based desktop computer and Internet access. If a different operating system is required presenters should bring their own computer and contact the audio visual team at least 24 hours before you are due to give your presentation.

If you intend to use a Windows computer provided by the conference for your Technology Track presentation, please bring a CD/Flash-drive containing any software and presentation material that needs to be loaded, or make your software and other material downloadable via the internet.

Within your time slot, you are at liberty to demonstrate your software in any way that you see fit: for example, you can combine one or more structured talks with live demos and question-and-answer sessions. Authors should consider providing handouts for attendees.

Acceptance and Confirmation

All submissions will be reviewed by the Technology Track selection committee and notification of acceptance will be forwarded no later than May 31, 2018. Technology Track presenters will be contacted by the conference organizers regarding presentation acceptance, Technology Track schedule, logistics and payment. Payment should not be made until organizations receive notification of acceptance.

For information on Technology Tracks contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*** Click here to sign-up to complete your submission for the Technology Track ***