* Important: If you meet all of the eligibility requirements below AND are a US citizen or US permanent resident belonging to a minority group recognized as underrepresented in the sciences by the NIH please be aware that you qualify to apply for a Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) travel award through the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). For more information and to link to an application form, please see: http://marc.faseb.org/pages/page2a.htm and then click on Poster/Platform (Oral) Presenter Travel Award to access the MARC application form.
(Please note: If you are selected for funding to ISMB 2008, it will either be awarded through ISMB or through the MARC program, not both. However, because we have very limited funding available, an additional application to the MARC program is encouraged for all who meet the MARC eligibility criteria.)

Application Process

Application is by invitation only for non-MARC fund applicants (see note above for explanation of MARC applicants). All submitting authors of accepted Papers, Posters, Highlights presentations, and Visual Reflections on Science works will be emailed a unique travel fellowship application URL after notification of their acceptance. The application must be submitted by the presenting author no later than the application deadline of April 25, 2008.

Eligibility Requirements

1. Per the guidelines of the funding agencies, applicant must be the presenting author of an accepted ISMB 2008 Paper, Poster, Highlights, or Visual Reflections on Science presentation. Multiple authors applying with the same presentation title will not be considered. Submitters to the Call for Late Posters are not eligible for fellowship funding.

2. Applicant must be a current ISCB member (membership dues must be paid in full before acceptance notification date).

3. Applicant must be registered in a degree program (undergraduate or graduate) or as a postdoctoral research fellow at an accredited university or college at the time of the conference.

4. Funded applicant will be required to register for ISMB 2008. If your attendance at the conference is dependent on receipt of a travel fellowship, please do not register until after the notification of travel fellowships. The deadline for fellowship recipients to register for the conference will be noted on the acceptance letter. Any funded applicant failing to register for the conference by the designated registration deadline will automatically forfeit the funds so that another applicant can be awarded instead.

5. Funded applicant is responsible for paying all expenses of attending the conference up front, including conference registration fee (early registration is encouraged to secure the early discounted rate).

6. Funded applicant must submit receipts for travel and accommodations that equal or exceed the announced award amount in order to receive the full award funding. Details of receipt submission and check distribution will be included in acceptance letter.

Eligible expenses

Eligible expenses toward travel fellowship funds include transportation (either air, train or bus fare from home region to conference city), up to $500 hotel room charges, and non-conference meals. Receipts for transportation and hotel expenses are required. Conference registration fee is not considered an eligible expense, as it is expected that will be covered by your institution. Additionally, registration fees for SIGs and Tutorials are not included in fellowship funds.

The total fellowship award is determined based on geographical location of applicant and upon submission of appropriate receipts. Travel fellowship awards are not intended to cover all expenses of attending the conference, so it is recommended that each applicant seek and secure additional funding sources as well (i.e., from your own institution or grant funding).

Notification

Applicants will be notified by May 25, 2008 of funding status. Funded applicants will be required to present evidence of their eligibility status (such as student identification card) at the conference to receive their funds.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

You must be listed as an author of an accepted Paper, Poster, Highlights presentation or Visual Reflections on Science work in order to be eligible to apply for travel fellowship funds through ISMB or MARC. The submitting author will be sent the invitation. If you are not the submitting author, but will be the presenting author you must pursue the application URL from the submitting author after s/he has received notification of acceptance. If you plan to apply only through MARC you must do so per the URL in the Funding Information section above.

Deadline: fellowship applicants must complete and submit the application form no later than April 25, 2008, by 11:59 PM in the time zone of your choice.

Questions regarding fellowships should be addressed to: fellowships08@ismbconf.org