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Note From ISCB President Michael Gribskov
With
this winter newsletter of 2004 I am fast approaching the midway
point of my first term as ISCBs President. This past year
was challenging for ISCB in many ways, and I am very proud of the
enormous commitment shown by my fellow board and committee members.
The Society is fortunate to have a great group of volunteer leaders
from across the globe on our board of directors and committees,
and the benefit of dedicated staff has proven invaluable to getting
the work of the Society done.
To
address the challenges ISCB faced in 2003, which included reduced
memberships and conference attendance that resulted in tapping into
our financial reserves to keep from eliminating services, the board
of directors and staff crafted a strategic plan to guide us through
the next few years. The planning process took nearly a year to complete,
and there is a lot of work ahead to bring it all to fruition. But
the plan itself will help keep us focused on strategic priorities
so the ISCB can continue to grow as an international organization
and enable our members to network, build collaborations and affiliations,
stay informed of advances and opportunities in the field, and share
in a common voice toward advancing the worldwide understanding of
computational biology. The full strategic plan can be accessed on
our website, and I encourage you to read through it and let us know
if there is a direct role you would like to play in building the
future of the ISCB.
Personally,
I am committed to strengthening our ties with affiliated regional
groups that serve memberships within defined geographic areas. In
late 2003 I was honored to be a guest of the Korean Society for
Bioinformatics at their annual symposium on bioinformatics, and
of the Japanese Society for Bioinformatics at their annual genome
informatics workshop. In both cases I met hundreds of very enthusiastic
young researchers and reconnected with many of the leaders of bioinformatics
from these countries. Their membership numbers are strong, their
conference programming is excellent, and their interest in contributing
their voice to the international scene is clearly evident. A basic
framework for ISCB regional affiliations was introduced in early
2002, and it is time to build upon this program toward fulfilling
a core priority of greater internationality in all we do. Toward
that end, ISCB recently created the Affiliates & SIGs Committee
to explore and develop interactions with affiliated regional groups
and special interest groups. We will likely be running some experimental
reciprocity programs as the committee develops a core set of benefits
for members of affiliated groups that become members of the ISCB
as well. I highly support these efforts and welcome the opportunity
to work together with our affiliates in any way we can.
A
year ago in this newsletter I asked you, our members and colleagues,
to think about what you would like the ISCB to be and what you could
do to help. As we embark on a new year, I reiterate this open invitation
to get involved: Join a committee; post your news, events or educational
programs to our website; fully participate in our conferences; and,
oh yes, be sure to renew your membership for 2004!
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