International Society for Computational Biology

International Society for Computational Biology is a professional organization that aims to promote the development and application of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics in the scientific community, with members from National Institutes of Health, European Bioinformatics Institute, and University of California, Berkeley. The society was founded in 1997 by a group of scientists, including David Haussler, Russ Altman, and Lawrence Hunter, with the goal of advancing the field of Computational Biology and providing a platform for researchers to share their work and collaborate with each other, such as at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The society has grown to include members from over 50 countries, including United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, and has established partnerships with other organizations, such as the International Union of Biological Sciences and the American Medical Informatics Association. The society's activities are supported by its members, who are affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

● History

The history of the society dates back to the 1990s, when the field of Computational Biology was rapidly expanding, with the establishment of the National Center for Biotechnology Information and the development of the BLAST algorithm by Stephen Altschul and David Lipman. The society was formally established in 1997, with the first meeting held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in California, attended by researchers from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and California Institute of Technology. Since then, the society has grown rapidly, with the establishment of new chapters and special interest groups, such as the Bioinformatics Open Source Conference and the Computational Biology and Functional Genomics Conference, and the development of new initiatives, such as the ISCB Student Council and the ISCB Senior Member Program, which recognize the contributions of senior members, including Michael Waterman and Temple Smith.

● Organization

The society is governed by a board of directors, which includes representatives from University of California, San Diego, University of Toronto, and European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and is advised by a council of experts, including David Eisenberg, Minoru Kanehisa, and Jill Mesirov. The society has a number of committees, including the Conferences Committee, which organizes the annual Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology conference, and the Publications Committee, which oversees the publication of the society's journals, such as Bioinformatics and PLoS Computational Biology, in collaboration with Oxford University Press and Public Library of Science. The society also has a number of special interest groups, including the 3D-SIG and the Bio-Ontologies SIG, which focus on specific areas of research, such as Protein Structure Prediction and Gene Ontology, and are supported by researchers from University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Columbia University.

● Conferences_and_Meetings

The society organizes a number of conferences and meetings throughout the year, including the annual Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology conference, which is one of the largest and most prestigious conferences in the field, and has been held in locations such as Boston, Toronto, and Vienna, and the European Conference on Computational Biology, which is held in Europe and attracts researchers from University College London, University of Edinburgh, and Karolinska Institutet. The society also co-organizes a number of smaller meetings and workshops, such as the Great Lakes Bioinformatics Conference and the Rocky Mountain Bioinformatics Conference, which are held in United States and Canada, and are supported by researchers from University of Michigan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and University of British Columbia.

● Publications

The society publishes a number of journals and newsletters, including Bioinformatics, which is one of the leading journals in the field, and PLoS Computational Biology, which is an open-access journal that publishes research articles and reviews, in collaboration with Public Library of Science and National Academy of Sciences. The society also publishes a newsletter, which includes news and updates from the field, as well as announcements and job postings, and is distributed to members from University of Texas at Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. The society's publications are supported by editors, including Alfonso Valencia, Burkhard Rost, and Gary Stormo, and are available online through PubMed and Google Scholar.

● Awards_and_Honors

The society presents a number of awards and honors to recognize outstanding contributions to the field, including the ISCB Senior Member Award, which is presented to senior members who have made significant contributions to the field, such as Michael Levitt and Ruth Nussinov, and the ISCB Overton Prize, which is presented to young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the field, such as Bonnie Berger and Serafim Batzoglou. The society also presents a number of travel awards and fellowships to support the attendance of students and postdoctoral researchers at conferences and meetings, such as the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and recognizes the contributions of researchers from University of California, Los Angeles, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.

● Membership_and_Chapters

The society has a diverse membership, which includes researchers from Academia, Industry, and Government, such as National Institutes of Health, European Bioinformatics Institute, and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The society has a number of chapters and special interest groups, which focus on specific areas of research, such as Protein Structure Prediction and Gene Ontology, and are supported by researchers from University of Southern California, University of Maryland, and Georgia Institute of Technology. The society also has a number of student and postdoctoral members, who are supported by the ISCB Student Council and the ISCB Postdoctoral Council, and are affiliated with institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, University of Chicago, and Brown University.

● Research_and_Education

The society is committed to promoting research and education in the field of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, and has established a number of initiatives to support this goal, including the ISCB Education Committee, which develops educational materials and resources, such as Bioinformatics courses and Workshops, and the ISCB Research Committee, which promotes research collaborations and funding opportunities, such as National Science Foundation grants and European Research Council grants, and recognizes the contributions of researchers from University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Utah. The society also provides support for students and postdoctoral researchers, including travel awards and fellowships, and recognizes the contributions of researchers from University of Arizona, University of Oregon, and University of Minnesota.

Category:Scientific organizations