{ C O N T E N T S}
Volume 16, Issue 1
A Letter to ISCB
Members & Colleagues


Officer and Student
Council Elections --
The Choice is Yours


New Face at ISCB

Travel Fellowship
Campaign


Fostering Relationships and Increasing Global Awareness

ISCB's Junior PI Initiative

Student Council
Symposium Highlights


Bioinformatics &
Nucleic Acids Research


PLOS Computational
Biology
Overview


Senior Scientist Award: David Eisenberg

Meet the 2013 Class
of  Fellows

Overton Prize:
Goncalo Abecasis


Latest News from ISCB on the Society Pages

FASEB Activities

Bioinformatics Update


Career Corner

Announcing GLBIO 2014

Mark Your Calendar for ISMB 2014

FASEB Comments on the NIH Data Initiative

News from ISCB
Student Council


Upcoming Conferences & Events

ISCB Conferences
 
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Copyright 2013
International Society for
Computational Biology.
All rights reserved
.
 

NEWS FROM THE ISCB STUDENT COUNCIL





Nine years have passed since ISCB Student Council was established with the goal to promote the next generation of computational biologists. These nine years have seen the organization and its extended regional student group network expand across 20 countries, reaching over 2000 students. The Student Council (SC) supports the student community by organizing and promoting scientific symposia and providing networking opportunities, educational resources and career development activities. Read on to learn about our initiatives and how we operate! You can also find more information on www.iscbsc.org.

STUDENT COUNCIL INITIATIVES
The largest yearly event organized by the SC is the Student Council Symposium, held in conjunction with ISMB. In the past years, the symposium has regularly attracted over 100 delegates, with high quality submissions and a number of high-profile keynotes. The 2013 edition will be no exception, with presentations by Dr. Alex Bateman, Dr. Satoru Miyano, and Dr. Goncalo Abecasis. Find out more information about the Student Council Symposium program for this year and the additional activities offered by the SC at ISMB 2013 at
http://symposium.iscbsc.org/.

Since 2009, the SC has been running the Internship Program, an initiative that aims at offering to students from developing nations an opportunity to gain experience in an established lab. Since its foundation, the program has filled 7 internship positions. We received great feedback, both from the students and the group leaders involved: a snapshot of the program structure with PI and student testimonies will be presented in a poster at ISMB. If you are a PI and you are interested in the initiative do not hesitate to contact us: we are always looking for new positions! You can also write to us at
internships@iscbsc.org.

"....what is definitely sure is that this internship has changed me a lot. It has encouraged me to more eagerly look for opportunities and pursue my research interests."

- Kaur Alasoo, Intern at Schneider Lab at EMBL (2010) selected from the SC Internship Program

 

 



Among the most active and successful initiatives promoted in the context of the SC there are the Regional Student Groups (RSGs), the 'regional' associations of young researchers in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology working in close collaboration with the SC. There are almost 20 RSGs spread across the world now and we are looking forward to the return of RSG Northern Africa and to welcoming *RSG Switzerland* to the RSG family. Looking for an RSG in your country? Please visit: www.iscbsc.org/content/regional-student-groups. You might have the chance to establish one!

The RSGs are providing valuable initiatives to support and promote students in bioinformatics and computational biology. Their experiences are worth sharing and perhaps will inspire many more students to join these groups. An article series documenting the various RSG initiatives, experiences and concerns was proposed by the SC and approved by the ISCB publications committee to be published in the PLOS Computational Biology ISCB Society pages. Two articles have already been submitted and 10 more will be, over the coming months.

The RSG funding program was conceived and begun by the ISCB-SC in 2010 with the aim of providing funding support for small events and programs proposed by our Regional Student Groups from around the world. These events, which are typically targeted towards the local bioinformatics student community of the RSG, help the SC to directly deliver value to these communities and also helps motivate the RSGs in organize more events and be more active. This year, 4 RSGs have submitted their proposals and we are looking forward to supporting their activities.

This year will also see the Arts and Science exhibition at ISMB, organized by Dr. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern and supported by the SC. Come and see some beautiful microscope images and photographs of protein models, phylogenetic trees, graphs among many other submissions to witness the true amalgamation of Art and Science.

"As a volunteer organization, the Student Council attracts a fantastic group of students and young scientists from around the world. Meeting, interacting and working with these people through RSGs and the SC has been a rewarding experience both in terms of skills learnt and the motivating and positive environment it provides."

- Avinash Shanmugam, Former RSG India, active SC volunteer (at several positions) and a PhD student at the University of Michigan Program

 

 

 

 


You can read more about the ISCB Student Council at the SC website (www.iscbsc.org) or look us up on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Of course, the best way to find out about the Student Council is to talk to our members! At ISMB 2013 if you have a few minutes between sessions or if you are feeling lost in the crowds, stop by the ISCB Student Council booth (we are at booth 1). We'll show you how we're making a difference in the computational biology student community.