CBH recognizes Canadian excellence through its Awards program.
Links within this page: Key Dates | How to Apply | Prize | The CBH Research and Innovation Award | The Francis Ouellette Community Award | CBH Impact Trainee Award
Key Dates
- October 9, 2025 - Award submission opens. Self-nominations accepted
- December 8, 2025 - Award nomination closes
- May 28, 2026 - Announcement and presentation of awards at conference
How to Apply
Select the award category best suited to your submission. Indicate within the submission form if you are applying as a trainee or an early or mid- career professional.
Prize
Awardees will receive one year membership with the International Society for Computational Biology courtesy of CBH.
Awards
The CBH Research and Innovation Award
The CBH Research and Innovation Award recognizes early and mid- career professionals in any sector who are shaping Canada’s bioinformatics, computational biology, and data science (BCBDS) ecosystem. This award highlights active innovations that are making a difference and show strong promise for future impact. It celebrates projects, products, or initiatives that value diverse perspectives and build unexpected connections to deliver transformative solutions.
Eligibility
Open only to early or mid- career professionals; self-nominations accepted. We follow CIHR definitions, so an early career professional is within five years of their first independent research-related position, and a mid-career professional is within 6-15 years of their first independent research-related position.
The innovation must:
- Take place in Canada and provide benefit to people in Canada
- Demonstrate current impact with clear potential for future success
Award Evaluation criteria
Submissions will be evaluated based on:
- Novelty and originality: The candidate’s work introduces fresh thinking, creativity, or innovative approaches that advance BCBDS in Canada.
- Incorporation of diverse perspectives: The candidate’s work incorporates ideas, expertise, or voices from different backgrounds, sectors, or communities to strengthen the innovation.
- Inspiration and creativity: The candidate's work inspires others, encourages creativity, and sparks new directions within the research ecosystem.
- Impact and relevance: The candidate's work demonstrates tangible benefits for Canada’s bioinformatics, computational biology, and life data sciences community, with evidence of current impact and strong potential for future growth.
Submission Requirements
- Curriculum vitae (maximum 5 pages) outlining education, career stage, and relevant achievements to the award.
- Project or Innovation Summary (maximum 500 words) describing why the nominee would be an excellent candidate for this award, as well as the innovation, its objectives, novelty, inspiration potential, current impact, and future potential.
- Statement on Diverse Perspectives (maximum 250 words) explaining how the innovation incorporates different backgrounds, sectors, or communities.
The Francis Ouellette Community Award
The Francis Ouellette Community Award is established in recognition of Francis Ouellette, a major contributor to the development of the Canadian bioinformatics community for 25 years. The Francis Ouellette Community Award is given to an early and mid- career professional in any sector who is making outstanding contributions to building community among Canada’s bioinformatics, computational biology and data science (BCBDS) professionals, or is making outstanding community contributions, including creating or curating community resources (e.g. data, software tools, policies) that empower BCBDS research.
Eligibility
Open only to early or mid- career professionals; self-nominations accepted. We follow CIHR definitions, so an early career professional is within five years of their first independent research-related position, and a mid-career professional is within 6-15 years of their first independent research-related position.
Award Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be evaluated based on:
- Leadership in community initiatives: The candidate demonstrates initiative in organizing or contributing to BCBDS community-building efforts (e.g., student groups, workshops, open-source projects, public databases, hackathon, seminars) in Canada
- Promotion of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility: The candidate champions equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in research spaces and community settings, creating more accessible and welcoming environments.
- Contribution to open science, responsible data management and knowledge sharing: The candidate promotes open and FAIR science by sharing software tools, resources, or learnings that support collaboration, transparency, and broader access to bioinformatics knowledge.
- Potential for sustained impact: The candidate shows promise for continued leadership and long-term contributions to BCBDS community development in Canada.
Submission Requirements
- Curriculum vitae (maximum 5 pages) outlining education, career stage, and relevant achievements to the award.
- Project or Innovation Summary (maximum 500 words) describing why the nominee would be an excellent candidate for this award, as well as a description of their leadership in community initiatives, promotion of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, contribution to open science, responsible data management and knowledge sharing, and sustained impact.
- Statement on Diverse Perspectives (maximum 250 words) explaining how the community activity incorporates different backgrounds, sectors, or communities.
CBH Impact Trainee Award
The CBH Impact Trainee Award is given to a leading trainee in any sector who is making outstanding contributions in areas of The CBH Research and Innovation Award or The Francis Ouellette Community Award.
Eligibility
- Open only to trainees; self-nominations accepted
- The nominee must be in a bioinformatics, computational biology, or biological/medical data science training program in Canada.
Award Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria set out in The CBH Research and Innovation Award or The Francis Ouellette Community Award.
Submission Requirements
- Curriculum vitae (maximum 5 pages) outlining education, career stage, and relevant achievements to the award.
- Submit to the desired award: “CBH Research and Innovation” or “Francis Ouellette Community” and indicate trainee status
- Nomination Summary (maximum 500 words) describing why the nominee would be an excellent candidate for this award, following the criteria of The CBH Research and Innovation Award or The Francis Ouellette Community Award.
- Statement on Diverse Perspectives (maximum 250 words) explaining how the nominee’s work incorporates different backgrounds, sectors, or communities.
Presentations are recorded unless the presenter explicitly denies us permission to do so. Videos are released on our YouTube channel and the Content Library on Nucleus, provided we have permission from the presenter to share it. Both of these resources are open to the public.
Permissions
ISCB acts to ensure it is compliant with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To this end, we cannot share any recordings until we have express permission from the copyright holder of the recording under Creative Commons 4 License (CC BY-4.0). Permissions are first collected with the confirmation of participation form required to be submitted by all presenters. If you have given a talk at an ISCB conference but cannot see the video in the associated playlists, be sure you have filled out the permission form allowing us to share it. The forms are conference specific and listed on the ISBCtv page. If you have any questions about your recording please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Navigating YouTube
The playlists section of our YouTube channel shows the overview of playlists for various events (i.e. ISMB, ISCB-LATAM, ISCBacademy, etc.), but an event doesn't show all the playlists within it simply by looking at the screen. If you click on the title of that event, for example "ISMB and ISMB/ECCB Playlists" it loads all of the playlists we have available for that event. You then have to scroll to the bottom (which can take scrolling to the bottom of the page to load more playlists multiple times) and you'll see the most recent playlists. There's also the channel search tool on the top right, just click on the magnifying glass icon.
The videos section of our YouTube channel shows the videos in order of release date by default; if you scroll to the bottom of the listed videos the page will load more videos. Every video has the presentation title, presenter(s), conference, year, and track in the video description so you can search for any of them using Ctrl+F as well as YouTube's search function.
Navigating Content Library on Nucleus
The top of the content library contains a search bar. Any term(s) entered into the search bar will be searched for within presenter names, content titles, and content abstracts for a match. This bar automatically updates as you type so there may be load time while you complete your terms. Note that this search is progressively word-order dependent. This means that search terms are applied in a series from left to right. For example "genome assembly" will filter out all content that matches "genome", then filter those results for content matching "assembly".
Every video is also tagged with relevant tags that can be applied using the Filter button, located to the right of the search bar. These tags are grouped by category to help narrow down the filtering process. Tag filtering will return results with any of the selected tags. If no tags are selected then there is no tag filtering applied.
Questions
If you have any questions please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Success Circles reimagines traditional thought-leader sessions. Designed as expert-led discussions, success circles address common challenges in bioinformatics, computational biology, and data science, providing practical advice and fostering valuable connections.
What to Expect
- Networking Reinvented: Success Circles is a dynamic networking event where participants are grouped in small circles, each led by a knowledgeable facilitator. This setup encourages in-depth conversations and the exchange of valuable insights.
- Expert-Led Discussions: Our expert facilitators will guide discussions on various topics related to careers in bioinformatics, open science, cross-sector collaborations, and beyond. Whether you're an expert in the field or just starting, there's something for everyone.
- Personalized Learning: Connect with peers who share your interests, challenges, and aspirations. Explore new ideas, gain fresh perspectives, and form lasting connections.
- Interactive and Engaging: Break away from traditional conference formats and enjoy a lively, interactive experience that encourages open dialogue and collaboration.
Topic tables
This year’s topic tables will include:
- Choosing a career path: What are my options?
- Navigating the challenges of starting a professional career in bioinformatics
- Developing transferable leadership and mentoring skills
- Building collaborations across sectors
- Behind the scenes of open science
- Bioinformatics project management strategies
- The reality of inclusion in research environments
Who Should Attend
Success Circles is open to all CBHC attendees looking to expand their professional networks, share knowledge, and gain insights from experts in the field. Attendance is limited and registration is required. Ensure you save your spot by including this in your conference registration.
Don't miss this opportunity to make meaningful connections, share your expertise, and be a part of a dynamic networking event. Success Circles promises to be a memorable and valuable addition to your CBHC experience.
Join us and be a part of the future of networking at CBHC’s Success Circles!
Event Support
Success Circles is a dynamic opportunity to connect and collaborate with conference attendees by sponsoring one of the expert-led discussions. Support this exciting and innovative event by sponsoring a topic table. Contact Veronika Hotton to learn more about this and other opportunities.
Dr. Robert Gentleman
Principal Research Scientist,
Dept of Data Science at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Dr. Robert Gentleman, Ph.D. is a prominent Canadian statistician and bioinformatician, internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions to statistical computing and bioinformatics. He is the co-creator of the R programming language, a foundational tool in modern data science, and the founder of the Bioconductor project, a widely used open-source software platform for biomedical and genomic data analysis.
Dr. Gentleman is the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Computational Biomedicine at Harvard Medical School. Over his career, he has held academic appointments as well as senior leadership positions in industry, including at Genentech and 23andMe.
He has been honored with the Benjamin Franklin Award in Bioinformatics and is a Fellow of both the International Society for Computational Biology and the American Statistical Association. Through his groundbreaking work, Dr. Gentleman has bridged the gap between computer science and biology, transforming how researchers analyze biological data and shaping the future of computational biology.
| Wednesday May 27: Workshops | |||
| Start Time | End Time | MaRS Collaboration Center | |
| Workshop #1 - Bioinformatics as a Career: An insider view | |||
| 08:00 | 08:45 | Registration | |
| 09:00 | 09:15 | Welcome & Introductions | |
| 09:15 | 10:15 | Interactive Panel Discussion with Trainee Presenters | |
| 10:15 | 10:45 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:45 | 12:00 | Building your career path | |
| 12:00 | 13:00 | Lunch & Networking Session Workshop #1 + #2
|
|
| Workshop #2 - Nurturing an Early Career growth ecosystem in Canada | |||
| 13:00 | 13:15 | Welcome & Introductions Audience Participation Activity in Slido |
|
| 13:15 | 14:15 | Setting the Stage - Early Career Professional Perspectives | |
| 14:15 | 14:45 | Coffee Break & Networking | |
| 14:45 | 16:15 | Breakout Groups - Guided Discussions on Resourcing BCBDS Careers | |
| 16:15 | 17:15 | Report Back & Next Steps | |
| Thursday, May 28 (Day 1) | |||
| Start Time | End Time | MaRS Auditorium/Concourse | |
| 08:00 | 09:00 | Registration | |
| 09:00 | 09:10 | Welcome Address & Land Acknowledgement | Dr. Michelle Brazas, Bioinformatics.ca |
| 09:10 | 10:10 | Keynote | Dr. Robert Gentleman, Dana Farber Cancer Institute |
| 10:10 | 10:30 | AM Coffee Break | |
| Session 1 : Data initiatives and resources Chair: Dr. Emma Griffiths |
|||
| 10:30 | 11:00 | Plenary talk | Speaker TBD |
| 11:00 | 11:15 | Short talk | Selected from abstracts |
| 11:15 | 11:30 | Short talk | Selected from abstracts |
| 11:30 | 11:45 | Flash talks (3min/speaker; 5 speakers) | Selected from abstracts |
| 11:45 | 12:30 | Panel Discussion: Scaling up with National Computing Infrastructure | Speakers TBD |
| 12:30 | 14:00 | Lunch Break & Poster Session #1 - Even Posters | |
| Session 2: Computational methods and algorithms Chair: Dr. Arvind Mer and Larisa M. Soto |
|||
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Plenary talk | Speaker TBD |
| 14:30 | 14:45 | Short talk | Selected from abstracts |
| 14:45 | 15:00 | Short talk | Selected from abstracts |
| 15:00 | 15:15 | Flash talks (3min/speaker; 5 speakers) | Selected from abstracts |
| 15:15 | 16:00 | Fireside Chat: Do we really need another bioinformatics tool? To build or not to build | Selected from abstracts |
| 16:00 | 17:30 | Success Circles - Career Focus | |
| 17:30 | Social Evening (pay your own way) | ||
| Friday, May 29 (Day 2) | |||
| Start Time | End Time | MaRS Auditorium/Concourse | |
| 08:00 | 09:00 | Registration | |
| Session 3 : Leveraging data and methods to discover biological insights Chair: Dr. Mohamed Helmy, Dr. Finlay Maguire, and Dr. Guillaume Bourque |
|||
| 09:00 | 09:30 | Quantum computing applications in biology | Dr. Steven Rayan, QuanTA, U. Saskatchewan |
| 09:30 | 09:45 | Short talk | Selected from abstracts |
| 09:45 | 10:00 | Flash talks (3min/speaker; 5 speakers) | Selected from abstracts |
| 10:00 | 10:45 | Panel Discussion: Building Sustainable Funding for Bioinformatics | Speakers TBD |
| 10:45 | 11:15 | AM Coffee Break | |
| 11:15 | 11:45 | Digital Twin Modeling using integrated omics data | Dr. Kumar Selvarajoo, BII, A*STAR |
| 11:45 | 12:00 | Short talk | Selected from abstracts |
| 12:00 | 12:15 | Flash talks (3min/speaker; 5 speakers) | Selected from abstracts |
| 12:15 | 12:45 | Fireside Chat: Human vs machine in research | Selected from abstracts |
| 12:45 | 14:15 | Lunch Break & Poster Session #2 - Odd Posters | |
| Session 4: Recognizing excellence in Bioinformatics Co-Chairs: Dr. Gary Bader, Dr. Aline Talhouk, and Dr. Arnaud Droit |
|||
| 14:15 | 14:20 | Award introduction & overview | Dr. Gary Bader |
| 14:20 | 14:45 | CBH Award distribution | Award Recipients for Research Innovation & Community |
| 14:45 | 15:45 | Keynote | TBD |
| 15:45 | 16:15 | Plenary talk: Looking ahead | Dr. Michelle Brazas |
| 16:15 | 16:30 | Closing Remarks | Dr. Will Hsiao |