President’s Column

2005 Membership Registration
Don’t Delay!

ISMB 2005
Bound To Be the Best Yet

SIG Meetings
Kick-Off ISMB 2005

ISCB Thanks Sun
for Continued Support

KEY DATES
RECOMB, ISMB, ECCB

Calling All Leaders!

PLoS Computational Biology
Exciting Open Access Journal

Student Council
Announcements & Updates

Travel Fellowships Offered
Deadlines Approaching Fast

Public Affairs

Immigration Workshop
April 16, 2005 in San Diego

RECOMB 2005 Highlights

ECCB 2005

SCCB Computational Biology
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

News from the Field

Events & Opportunities



ACCESS NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

ISCB Student Council Announcements and Updates

Submitted by Manuel Corpas, Chair, ISCB Student Council

1) How to Join the ISCB Student Council (SC)
If you are or plan to become a student or post doc member of ISCB, signing up for the Student Council is a very simple process. Within your membership registration form just mark the check box for Student Council on the list of committees you are interested in serving. If you already registered for 2005 ISCB membership but neglected to mark that checkbox, or cannot remember if you did or not, simply login on the membership page and select Edit Personal Information to update or verify your record. Once your checkbox is marked you will be enrolled as an SC member within seven days. It’s that simple!

2) SC Leadership Elections
The current SC has had a successful inaugural year outlining plans and activities of interest to our student and post doc community of members. Now it is time for our SC members to hold their first elections for the coming year. Simultaneous to the ISCB Board of Directors nominations that are currently in progress, the SC is also seeking nominations for all of its leadership positions. These include Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Operations Representative, Events Representative, Outreach Representative, Business Relations Representative, Marketing Representative, and Representative to the ISCB Board of Directors. One person can be elected to more than one position, provided they can commit to performing satisfactorily to the multiple tasks involved. Nominations close April 15th, with online elections planned for May 20-June 3, 2005. All terms will begin June 20, 2005 and end January 21, 2007. The full call for nominations is posted at http://www.iscb.org/nominations05.shtml and all SC members are urged to submit self nominations if interested in serving any of these positions, or nominations of their peers who have an interest in leading the SC.

The new SC leadership will be introduced at ISMB 2005 where they will begin to assess past activities, assume responsibility for implementation of initiatives of the past year, and carry forth the SC activities planned for ECCB 2005.

3) SC Travel Fellowship Award Availability
The ISCB is pleased to announce that a travel fellowship award to defray the costs of attending ISMB 2005 in Detroit has been designated for one outstanding contributor to the SC from among its most active members during this past year. If you have been an active member of the ISCB-SC and would like to apply for this award, please contact the acting Operations Subcommittee Representative, Venkata Pardhasaradhi (venkata.satagopam@embl.de) for an application form. Submission deadline is March 31, 2005, so act now to ensure you will be considered. And if you have not been active but would like to be considered for such awards in the future be sure to get involved and volunteer your time and talents (there are plenty of opportunities for such right here in this newsletter article).

4) Website Dedicated to the SC
The SC is currently developing a website dedicated to matters of the ISCB student and post doc community. This website will include a survey evaluating the SC membership program to gather suggested changes and improvements to attract and retain more members. If interested in serving our community by volunteering to help finish the website and the survey, please write to Manuel Corpas (protein_bioinformatics@yahoo.co.uk) immediately and you will be notified of a URL to access the prototype website. The final website will be released to the public in early April, 2005 so final revisions are needed by the end of March.

5) ISMB 2005 Events
The SC is finalizing the agenda of SC events during ISMB 2005 in Detroit. The line up of events will include sessions of scientific and career relevance, as well as social networking activities to help expand each student’s and post doc’s circle of influence and support. Volunteers are needed to contact prospective speakers and to help coordinate and implement a planned mentorship scheme. Please send an email by March 31, 2005 to Manuel Corpas (protein_bioinformatics@yahoo.co.uk) if you would like to volunteer to help out in this way.

6) ECCB 2005 Events
The ISCB Student Council is organizing an International Symposium to be held on Wednesday, September 28, immediately preceding ECCB 2005 in Madrid. This Symposium is targeted to young computational biology researchers who are keen to develop their research communication skills, want to meet like minded colleagues, network with accomplished scientists and learn about career opportunities available in Europe and globally. Please be sure to register for ECCB 2005 at http://www.eccb05.org/ and sign up for the symposium at the same time.

Selection of ECCB Abstracts
Students planning to attend this ISCB-SC Symposium on the 28th of September are encouraged to submit an abstract. The best abstracts will be selected for oral presentation at the Symposium. All submitted abstracts for the Student Council Symposium will also be presented as posters at the main ECCB 2005 event, and included in the poster abstract book.

Email your abstract to bioinspiration@gmail.com no later than the deadline of August 15, 2005.

ECCB Best Student Presentation Award
Oral presentations on the SC Symposium day will all be eligible for the best student presentation competition if the main contributor is a student. The process for selection of the best presentation will be based on the quality of the research presented, the clarity and style of the ideas and on originality. All in attendance at the SC Symposium will be asked to submit a paper ballot to select the winner, so get those abstracts in soon and start brushing up on your skills to deliver the winning presentation!

Please check the ECCB 2005 website for updates http://www.eccb05.org/student.htm and register for the conference to capture the advantageous registration rates for ISCB student members before the early registration deadline of July 20, 2005.

Several Student Council Members enjoying a social outing at ISMB/ECCB 2004 in Glasgow