Greeting from the MCBIOS President:
It is my great honor to serve as the 19th president of MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society (MCBIOS). I want to thank members of the society for trusting me and giving me this opportunity to lead a regional bioinformatics powerhouse. I also want to thank the board of directors and past presidents for their unwavering support and guidance.
MCBIOS organization began as a grassroots effort spearheaded by a group of researchers 20 years ago. The first set of annual conferences were organized within the Mid-South regions which had large representation of members in the society. The100% volunteer-based organization has since grown significantly, both in size, diversity and geographical locations. The purposes of the Society are centered on scientific, educational, literary and charitable. The society especially support, encourage, and mentor our trainee Members.
Reflecting my own professional journey, I can’t emphasize more on the importance of professional organization for a trainee and junior professionals. I didn’t discover bioinformatics until in my postdoc years. Joining ISCB and attending my first ISMB conference really made a difference. I felt that I found the community of like-minded people, especially young professionals, that I belong. Therefore, I encourage colleagues, especially trainees, no matter where you are located, to please consider joining us.
I considered myself very lucky to be introduced to MCBIOS and attended my first MCBIOS annual conference in 2019. Over the years, I found MCBIOS to be a very welcoming community consist of energetic professionals working in all aspects of bioinformatics. Because of the pandemic, for the past three years, we have to either postpone or move the annual conferences online. I am really pleased that we are able to get back to normal earlier this year in the 2023 Conference. Looking forward to next year, I sincerely hope that you can join us for our 20th annual conference to be held in Atlanta, GA on March 22-24, 2024.
Additionally, I encourage and welcome the scientific community to join us and connect with us via social media to stay updated on upcoming events such as the career development webinar series and our 2024 annual conference. Over the coming months, we will be sharing more information on upcoming webinar dates, 2024 conference call for session proposals, abstract deadlines and more. Many thanks for all of your continued support and well wishes!
Sincerely,
Zhaohui “Steve” Qin, PhD
President, Mid-South Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Society
Professor
Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics
Emory University
Objectives
- Advance the understanding of bioinformatics and computational biology
- Bring together scientists of various backgrounds and disciplines
- Facilitate the collaboration of researchers with similar or complementary backgrounds to solve biological, health and/or medical problems
- Promote education in bioinformatics and computational biology
- Inform the general public on the results and implications of current research in bioinformatics and computational biology
- Promote other activities that will contribute to the development of bioinformatics and computational biology MCBIOS Bylaws Current version (Amended Feb 20, 2010)
Membership
Membership in MBIOS includes meeting registration for the annual Conference and access to workshops and collaborative projects hosted by MCBIOS through the year. Students receive a discount for membership and are eligible for student awards. Click here for more information about MCBIOS. MCBIOS encourages involvement at both the regional and state level.
About local chapters
MCBIOS encourages the formation of local chapters. Chapters require:
- At least three members
- An elected chairman
- A regular meeting schedule, with a minimum of two meetings per year
- A purpose for organizing