Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is ISCB?
A: The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) is the parent organization of the annual conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB). The ISCB is dedicated to advancing the scientific understanding of living systems through computation. The ISCB communicates the significance of our science to the larger scientific community, governments, and the public at large. The ISCB serves a global membership by impacting government and scientific policies, providing high quality publications and meetings, and through distribution of valuable information about training, education, employment and relevant news from related fields. ISCB membership offers many benefits including reduced conference registration fees to several high impact events and reduced subscription prices for a selection of journals of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. Members are from more than 50 countries and include over 800 students and nearly 500 post doctoral researchers. A member's meeting and a meeting of the Board of Directors for the Society are held annually in conjunction with the ISMB conference.

Q: Who do I contact for information on the conference?
A: You can get information on the conference from:

Steven Leard
ISMB/ECCB Conference Manager
Phone: +1-780-414-1663
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Q: Where will the conference be held?
A: The conference will be held at the Prague Congress Centre (PCC) located at:

5. kvetna 1640/65, Nusle
140 00 Prague 4, Czech Republic
Phone: +420 261 171 111

The Prague Congress Centre is adjacent to the Vyšehrad station on Line C of the Prague underground railway network, providing convenient access by public transport from the city’s airport and all major rail and bus stations. A map of the network is available here.

Maps, timetables, fares and route planning are available in English on the Prague Public Transport website www.dpp.cz/en/

If you are travelling by car to the PCC you can find parking details here.

Q: What are the conference hotels?
A: The ISMB/ECCB organizers through ISCB's official housing partner, onPeak, have reduced hotel rates for your trip. Book through the simple-to-use reservation website or with helpful and friendly booking agents. Full details are available at: https://www.iscb.org/ismbeccb2017-accommodation

Q: Who should I contact about childcare?
A: Child care services may be able to be arranged with your hotel. Please contact them in advance to make arrangements.

Q: Do I need a visa to visit Prague and Czech Republic?

A: The Czech Republic has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Inhabitants of the EU require passports or other form of valid identification in order to enter the country. The same applies for the citizens of Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, who can move freely within the European Union.

Visitors from other countries must have passports valid for at least further six months after the date of arrival and in some cases visa. The list of countries whose citizens require a visa in order to visit the Czech Republic can be found here.

The Czech Republic is a member of the Schengen agreement. Inhabitants of the Schengen countries can move freely within the Schengen area without having to go through border checkpoints. However, they still must have their passports or identification cards with them when travelling.

Additional Information is available at: http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/czech-republic-visa/

Invitation letters required for visa applications will be sent with your confirmation after registration and full payment have been received. You must be registered and paid-in-full for the conference in order to receive an invitation letter. IMPORTANT: If you require a visa for entrance register early, it can take time for your application to be processed - do not delay in submitting your visa application.

Q: What is the name of the International Airport?
A: Václav Havel Airport Prague: http://www.prg.aero/en/

Q: How do I get from the airport to my hotel?
A: A variety of options are available including taxi and public transit. Details are available at: http://www.prg.aero/en/parking-transport/transport/public-transit/

  • Bus Lines:
    • 119: Prague Airport - Nádraží Veleslavín (metro line A) - 15 min
    • 100: Prague Airport - Zličín (metro line B) - 18 min
    • Airport express: Prague Airport - Prague Main Train Station (metro line C and connection to SC, EC, IC and EN trains) - 35 min
  • Bus stop:
    • Terminál 1
    • Terminál 2 – in front of the Arrival hall
  • Public Transport Ticket Sale
    • Public Transport counters in Arrival Halls of Terminals 1 & 2 (from 7 am to 10 pm),
    • Automats placed at bus stops (cash required),
    • From a bus driver (cash required).
  • Ticket prices/Fares:

Q: Are Prague Transit Passes available to delegates?
A: Yes, the Prague City Transportation Company is providing ISMB/ECCB delegates with a Complimentary Transit Pass, Valid July 21 - 25. The pass will be provided to delegates when collecting your name badge at the registration desk. Delegates, you must have your badge available for presentation if requested by transit officials when using the transit pass. Time tables and routes available at http://www.dpp.cz/en/

 

Q: What is the local Time Zone?
A: The Czech Republic is in the Central European Time zone (CET = GMT+1). Summer Time (GMT+2) begins in the last week of March and ends at the end of October.

Q: What is the Electrical Current?
A: The electrical supply is 230v 50hz. The plugs and sockets used are of type E. Check out the following pictures:

Q: What is the International area code?
A: The area code for Czech Republic is 402 - Information on calling from your country can be found at: www.countrycallingcodes.com

Q. In what language will the conference sessions and materials be presented?
A. All conference presentations and materials will be presented in English.

Q: What is the climate?
A: July is the hottest month, followed by August and June. Average temperatures in July are 20C/80F. In recent years especially, temperatures above 30 degrees are not uncommon. Storms and rain are common in summer.

Q: Where can I find medical or emergency information?
A: Emergency telephone numbers are composed of three digits and can be dialled from mobile telephones and phone boxes free of charge:

112 - general emergency number
155 - ambulance / first aid
158 - police
150 - fire brigade
156 - Prague municipal police

Q: What is the custom on tipping?
A: Tipping in the Czech Republic is commonly expected. Foreign visitors are often expected to tip at least 10%. (N.B. This practice holds true mainly in Prague and leading tourist "meccas" such as Cesky Krumlov, not in the general countryside, where foreigners are not expected to do anything more than locals.) Locals rarely leave a substantial tip in pubs or low-mid range restaurants, often leaving a few Crowns from the change rounding up to the nearest 10. This practice is changing as the economy grows and about 10% tip is quite usual in better restaurants.

Q: What is the currency?
A: The currency unit of the Czech Republic is the Crown (1 Crown = 100 Hellers). Currently in circulation are banknotes with values 5,000, 2,000, 500, 200 and 100 Crowns, and coins with values of 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 Crown.

Q: How can I pay to register for ISMB/ECCB?
A: Delegates can pay on line during registration using a Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card. Delegates wishing to pay using a wire transfer would create an invoice at time of registration and then contract the conference registrar for instructions.

Q: Where do I register when I arrive?
A: Conference Registration is available from Friday, July 21 to Tuesday, July 25 at the Prague Congress Centre.

REGISTRATION DESK HOURS – July 21 – 25

Prague Congress Centre - Watch for signage

Friday, July 21

3:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
* registrants in SCS and Tutorials will receive their registration materials at
the presentation room - watch for details.

Saturday, July 22 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 23 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Monday, July 24 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 25 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

 

Q: What should I do if I lose something at the conference venue?
A: A conference lost and found will be located at the information booth located at the Prague Congress Centre.

Q: What sightseeing opportunities are available in Prague and the Czech Republic?
A: Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic, is bisected by the Vltava River. Nicknamed “the City of a Hundred Spires,” it's known for its Old Town Square, the heart of its historic core, with colorful baroque buildings, Gothic churches and the medieval Astronomical Clock, which gives an animated hourly show. Completed in 1402, pedestrian Charles Bridge is lined with statues of Catholic saints.

If you are planning on doing local sightseeing or have family joining you for the conference you may wish to consider the Prague Card. Details are available at: https://www.praguecard.com/index.php?lang=en

Tourist links:

http://www.praguecitytourism.cz/en/pct/pct
http://www.pragueconvention.cz/plan-your-event/day-out-of-prague/

Q: Can more than one talk be presented at ISMB/ECCB?

A: The same talk is not permitted to be given more than once as an oral presentation at ISMB/ECCB 2017. Research may presented as both a talk and poster. Researchers may submit more than one talk to the meeting. Having the same person deliver two (or more) different talks is possible (and not prohibited), but it is not encouraged. This allows for many people from one lab to present the work of the lab.

Q: What is the policy of photography or image capture at ISMB/ECCB?

A: ISCB encourages open sharing of science. As an author, you have the right to restrict the use of photography or any other form of capture of your research. If you do not wish to allow others to share your research, simply disclose this at the start of your oral presentation or add a note to your poster.

Q: What are the hashtags, twitter information for the conference?

A: These are the hashtags:

ISMB/ECCB is #ismbeccb.   @ISCB is the ISCB twitter handle.  (@infoISMB has been redirected to @ISCB)
3DSIG COSI: #3dsig17 Bio-Ontologies: @bioontologies and #bioontologies
BioVis COSI:  #biovis and @biovis_net 
BOSC COSI: #BOSC2017 and @OBF_BOSC 
CAMDA COSI: @CAMDA_conf  and  #camda2017 
FUNCTION COSI: #FunctionSIG
NetBio COSI: #netbio
RNA COSI: #RNASIG17 
SysMod COSI: @cosi_sysmod 
TransMed COSI:  @cosi_transmed and #TransMed2017

We strongly encourage the use of Twitter at the conference to disseminate information.  ISCB kindly requests that you observe the Conference Code of Conduct when tweeting.  If you have a specific complaint, suggestion, or comment related to conference logistics, audio, heating and cooling, bathroom cleanliness, etc, we kindly request that you communicate your wish to a volunteer wearing a yellow shirt, go to the conference registration desk, or an ISCB team member.  Due to limited resources and the demands of managing the conference ISCB is unable to monitor Twitter fully and may miss an improvement request.

Q: Is there a nursing/lactation room available?

A: Yes, Room 2.2 on the 2nd floor of the Prague Congress Centre will be available. The room does not have a toilet or sink. There is restroom adjacent to this room for your convenience.
A map of the 2nd floor is available here.

Q: What is a COSI?

A: A COSI is an ISCB community of special interest. These member communities are self-organized and have multiple activities or interactions throughout the year, as well as a dedicated scientific track at the ISMB/ECCB conference. An important goal of any COSI is to foster a topically-focused collaborative community wherein scientists communicate with one another on research problems and/or opportunities in specific areas of computational biology.

3DSIG - Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics
Bioinfo-Core – Core Competencies in Bioinformatics
BioOntologies – ontologies for medicine and life sciences
BioVis – visualization of biological data
BOSC - Bioinformatics Open Source Conference
COBE – Bioinformatics Education
CAMDA – analysis of heterogenous datasets
Function – methods for protein function annotation
HitSeq - high throughput sequencing algorithms and applications
RNA – computational and experimental aspects of research in RNA biology
NetBio – methods and tools for network biology
RegSys – computational methods for studying the regulation of genes and systems
SysMod – computational modelling of biological systems
TransMed – computational approaches in clinical and translational medicine
VariSIG – methods for understanding the impacts of genetic variation

Q: What is the URL to the web version of the app?

https://app.core-apps.com/ismb_eccb2017