{ C O N T E N T S }
Volume 7, Issue 2

President's Letter

ISMB/ECCB 2004

Special Interest Groups

ISCB Student Council

2004 Call for Nominations

PSB 2004

RECOMB 2004

Introducing ASBCB

ISCB as Member of FASEB

Events and Opportunities of Interest

 

A Note From ISCB President…
Michael Gribskov

Welcome to the spring edition of the ISCB newsletter! There has already been great progress within the Society in just the four short months of this year. Our membership is on the way to being the highest in our history, and we are preparing for our annual ISMB conference in Scotland, this year being held jointly with the third annual European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB), which is expected to draw more attendees than ever before for either of the conferences independently. See the ISMB/ECCB 2004 article in this newsletter for a full status report and links to important information and opportunities for all conference-goers. And don’t miss the great information about all ten Special Interest Groups that will be meeting just prior to the conference in Glasgow.

The developments in membership growth and anticipated conference attendance are a far cry from what we were experiencing last year at this time, when we were in the midst of worldwide travel restrictions due to SARS, the start of the conflict in Iraq, and a downward spiraling global economy. So, we anxiously awaited and welcomed the start of a new year, and to date it is proving to be all we had been waiting for, and more.

One of the very exciting developments within ISCB is the formation of an inaugural Student Council. A full unveiling of the council’s mission, priorities and plan of action will be unveiled during ISMB/ECCB 2004 at a meeting dedicated to introducing the Student Council to student and post doc members of the ISCB. An article in this newsletter outlines the council’s progress to date, and suffice to say the senior leadership of ISCB is as anxious as the inaugural members of this council to set the wheels in motion and open the council up to all members during ISMB/ECCB 2004.

Each year at this time the ISCB also puts out a call for nominations for upcoming openings within our Board of Directors and for successors to our current Officer positions of Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Please see the full call for nominations in this newsletter, and then submit your nominations for the members of our community you would like to see lead the Society in the years to come. Also note that nominating yourself is highly encouraged if you are willing, ready and anxious to serve.

Other articles of interest in this newsletter feature recaps of the PSB conference that kicked off this year in Hawaii, as well as RECOMB held just a month ago in San Diego. Additionally, we are proud to introduce our newest ISCB Affiliated Regional Group in Africa. And finally, Barb Bryant, ISCB Board Member/Corporate Secretary and liaison to the FASEB Board of Directors has contributed an article recapping issues and events being addressed by FASEB, and ISCB’s role in their process.

As you can see, there is a lot happening within and all around ISCB. As your elected President, I am always interested to know if there are other or better ways we can be serving our membership and the scientific community at large. Please feel free to contact me through admin@iscb.org for any issues related to ISCB. I welcome your feedback.