ISMB 2018 - About Us

The annual international conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) is the flagship meeting of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB). The 2018 conference is the 26th ISMB conference, which has grown to become the world's largest bioinformatics/computational biology conference.  The 2018 conference takes place July 6-10, in Chicago, IL, USA at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

ISMB brings together scientists from computer science, molecular biology, mathematics, statistics and related fields. Its principal focus is on the development and application of advanced computational methods for biological problems.

ISMB provides an intense multidisciplinary forum for disseminating the latest developments in bioinformatics/computational biology, fostering fresh dialogues and perspectives to learn about and shape the future of the field. In response to the increasing interest in the activities of the ISCB’s Communities of Special Interest (COSIs) who have previously organized the Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings at ISMB, ISMB 2018 will be organized with the active participation of the COSIs. In the second year of this organizational format, it will continue to  streamline sessions, highlight emerging or hot research areas, and have an outstanding scientifically effective program.

The conference format retains the key features that make ISMB a successful open conference, including proceedings talks and presentations that include highlights (previously published research) and late-breaking research. Each day of the four-day conference includes outstanding keynote lectures, technical tracks, COSI track presentations, a variety of workshops, special sessions, equal opportunities activities, a students’ council day and focused presentations on other important research area topics in computational biology. Some of these are around research communities which include: Critical Assessment of Metagenome Interpretation; Computational Immune Oncology; Machine Learning in Systems Biology; along with a Bioinformatics Core Workshop and Workshop on Education in Bioinformatics. The structure is intended to bring a new energy and flow to the conference by centering it thematically around the vibrant ISCB COSI communities. Further, with the COSIs more central to the conference, networking within and between the scientific communities will be greatly enhanced.

ISMB enables intensified community involvement and bolsters its reputation as the leading conference in the field, with the strongest scientific and technical program that showcases the best international developments in bioinformatics and computational biology.