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Special Sessions

Links within this page: Responsibilities of a Session Organizer | Special Session Registration



Submit Special Session Proposal

ISCB-Africa ASBCB Conference 2025 welcomes Special Sessions proposals.  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 by February 17, 2025.

Special Sessions have the purpose of introducing the ISCB community and conference delegates to relevant 'hot’ topics. Sessions can be considered as mini-symposia on timely topics, or new emerging areas 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 the conference is not currently approaching with the desired proficiency. Some attractive topics include:

  • AI and LLMs
  • Plant Biology
  • Biodiversity informatics
  • Biomedical Data
  • Agricultural bioinformatics
  • Biomedical Ethics
  • Drug design and discovery
  • Text Mining


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 (no more than one hour)
    2. Expected sessions / topics,with an explanatory paragraph about each, if possible 
    3. A draft schedule showing how the sessions / topics will be organized 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 two (2) per session) for those attending the conference 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 the conference 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.

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Responsibilities of a Session Organizer

If your proposal is accepted, you will be responsible for most of the organization of your session, including:

  1. Creating and maintaining a webpage for your session
  2. Deciding the session structure including length of time talks and chairing the session
  3. Attending ISCB-Africa ASBCB 2025 and running the session
  4. if your session has invited talks or tutorials, communicating and coordinating with the speakers
  5. If your session has contributed papers or abstracts, your responsibilities are to:
    • Solicit manuscripts
    • Obtain reviewers, assign papers and abstracts to reviewers, and ensure timely return of reviews
    • Evaluate the reviews and make recommendations to the programme co-chairs regarding which papers or abstracts should be accepted
    • Updating the webpage for your session with the list of accepted papers and abstracts as well as providing the schedule of talks in your session.

Final decisions regarding acceptance of submitted papers will be made by the ISCB-Africa ASBCB programme co-chairs. 

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Special Session Registration

The conference can offer up to two (2) full conference registrations and up to four (4) one-day registrations. Special sessions will be held on Thursday, April 17. Organizers and presenters within the Special Sessions are responsible for their own travel costs. 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.

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