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ASBCB Newsletter Vol 4
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Word from the Editor
On behalf of the member-
ship of ASBCB, I would like
to acknowledge the finan-
cial and logistical support
of the three hosting institu-
tions in Kenya - Interna-
tional Centre of Insect
Physiology and Ecology
(icipe), International Live-
stock Research Institute
(ILRI) and Biosciences east-
ern and Central Africa
(BecA). We gratefully ac-
knowledge financial sup-
port from the Centre Na-
tional de la Recherché Sci-
entifique (CNRS), and par-
ticularly the efforts of Pro-
fessor Olivier Gascuel of Le
Laboratoire d'Informatique,
de Robotique et de Microé-
lectronique de Montpellier
(LIRMM) and Dr. Anne Cor-
val at the CNRS office in
Pretoria, South Africa. We
welcome your comments
on paths we should tread/
avoid in this process
Dan Masiga, Ph.D
International Centre of In-
sect Physiology and Ecol-
ogy (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya
I am deeply honored to
write this letter, as the new
president of the ASBCB,
leading a new team of Gov-
erning Council members
elected at the end of the
conference on the Bioinfor-
matics of African Pathogens
and Disease Vectors held in
Nairobi from 28th May to
2nd June 2007 (visit confer-
ence website for details:
http://www.lirmm.fr/
france_afrique/
Nairobi2007). As Govern-
ing Council, we look for-
ward to working with the
membership in order to
advance the objectives for
which the society was es-
tablished, as outlined in the
constitution.
The conference in Nairobi
marked a new beginning in
the society, for various rea-
sons. We saw the emer-
gence of a new governing
council, a vibrant students
council that assures contin-
ued growth of the society
membership and stature,
and a truly impressive
presence of eminent per-
sonalities who gave excit-
ing keynote talks and also
offered their expertise and
experience towards build-
ing bioinformatics devel-
opment and applications in
Africa. We gratefully ac-
knowledge the contribution
of scientists and students
from about 20 countries
who took part in the confer-
ence and the training work-
shop that followed. I take
note however that less than
half of the countries in Af-
rica were represented. For
ASBCB, this is a huge chal-
lenge and we want to part-
ner with everyone who can
make a contribution to
make a difference in en-
hancing participation
among countries currently
out of the loop. Winston
Hide, Director of SANBI,
who was instrumental in the
formation of ASBCB in 2004,
gave the conference key-
note address on transla-
tional bioinformatics.
Bioinformatics in Africa has
continued to make strides
in the last couple years and
without a doubt the May
conference in Nairobi,
Kenya was a timely event.
Several laboratories across
the region are now en-
gaged in different re-
searches aimed at studying
the local pathogens and
disease vectors. The enthu-
siasm that the research
scientists in the continent
continue to maintain in en-
suring that they are in tune
with novel developments in
the field of bioinformatics
and computational biology,
is partly the reason for the
success of the May confer-
ence. The meeting was also
crucial in that it enabled
different research groups
Message from the President
Special points of interest:
• New ASBCB Council
• Funding Sources for Students
Disclaimer
Any views or opinions
presented in this news-
letter are solely those
of the contributors, and do not necessarily rep-
resent those of the edi-
tor or ASBCB. The or-
ganization will not ac-
cept any liability in
respect of such com-munication, and the
contributors will be
personally liable in
case of a need for sub-
stantiation.
ASBCB Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 2
November 15, 2007
A F R I C A N S O C I E T Y F O R B I O I N F O R M A T I C S A N D C O M P U T A T I O N A L B I O L O G Y
President’s Message 1
Word from Editor 2
New ASBCB Council 2
Funding Sources 4
Views from Nairobi 5
Conferences 6
Inside this issue:
with a common goal to
have a serious tête-à-tête
on what has been accom-
plished so far and to help
chart the course for differ-
ent research topics in the
coming years.
Most of the keynote talks
and presentations carried a
theme on the endemic dis-
eases and pathogens local
to the continent. Another
encouraging piece of news
is that scientists in the re-
gion now realize that in
order to achieve success in
dealing with the massive
data so far generated from
local pathogens such as
Mosquito and Tsetse fly
genomes, they not only
have to work together, but
also be proactive in ena-
bling/establishing collabo-
rations with research scien-
tists and laboratories from
around the world. These
collaborations will hope-
fully set the tone in placing
priorities on the relevant
areas of research pertinent
to the local populations and
livestock. Other research
projects such as those on
Malaria, AIDS, TB and the
lesser studied diseases are
continuing to be dealt with
in earnest.
Also, I am glad to report
that during the conference,
the new ASBCB governing
council members were
elected and are now in
place with their roles re-
ported in this issue. Hope-
fully they will revamp the
activities of the society to
greater heights. On behalf
of the governing council, I
will take a moment to rec-
ognize and thank the spon-
sors of the bioinformatics
meeting as well as the local
venues and facilitators for
making the May event such
a success. It is our hope
that these kinds of confer-
ences will become a yearly
event.
Finally, I wish each one of
you great scientific accom-
plishments in the remain-
ing days of the year.
Beatrice Kilel, Ph.D
Editor, ASBCB Newsletter
tional Conference on the
Bioinformatics of African
Pathogens and Disease
Vectors in Nairobi, Kenya.
The new Governing Coun-
cil members are:
• President: Dan Ma-
siga, Kenya
• Vice President: Eze-
kiel Adebiyi, Nigeria
• Secretary: Nicky
Mulder, South Africa
• Treasurer: Alia
Benkahla, Tunisia
• Membership Com-
mittee Chair: Jaco de Rid-der, South Africa
The African Society for Bio-
informatics and Computa-
tional Biology was estab-
lished in 2004 at a meeting
at the University of the
Western Cape in South
Africa. ASBCB currently
consists of over 240 mem-
bers from 34 countries,
including 24 African coun-
tries. The most represented
countries are Nigeria
(23%), Kenya (21%) and
South Africa (14%). At the
time the society was
formed, a governing coun-
cil was voted in, and these
members have been in
office ever since. It is now
three years on, and a new
governing council has
been formed through a
balloting process carried
out at the recent Interna-
• Public Relations
Committee Chair: Bea-trice Kilel, USA
Governing Council Mem-
ber: Seydou Doumbia, Mali
In addition to the govern-
ing council, a series of
ASBCB subcommittees
have been formed to tackle
specific tasks within the
society. These are listed
below together with their
proposed roles and a con-
tact person for each.
Executive committee:
The role of the executive
committee is to coordinate
the general running of the
society. This includes de-
velopment of society .
Page 2
Revisions to ASBCB Governing Council
ASBCB Newsletter
“The new Governing
Council welcomes
any views and
comments on how to
make ASBCB a
stronger society.”
Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 3
Contact: Dan Masiga
Administrative committee:
The administrative committee is
responsible for the society’s con-
stitution, and for coordinating
links with other organizations.
The committee also manages
society membership and fi-
nances.
Contact: Nicky Mulder
Publicity committee:
The role of the publicity commit-
tee is to manage marketing and
promotional events. This in-
cludes management of the soci-
ety website, production of news-
letter and flyers, and organisa-
tion of society conferences and
meetings.
Contact: Beatrice Kilel
Research committee:
The role of the research commit-
tee is to gather information on
research focus areas of society
members, coordinate and en-
courage collaborations, and co-
ordinate journal access for soci-
ety members. This committee is
also responsible for disseminat-
ing information about job and
funding opportunities
Contact: Jaco de Ridder
Education committee:
The education committee is re-
sponsible for training and cur-
riculum development and stu-
dent mentoring. The committee
will collect and disseminate in-
formation on courses and post-
graduate opportunities, and will
liaise with the society’s student
council.
Contact: Ezekiel Adebiyi
The Governing coun-cil is committed to ad-vancing the develop-ment of bioinformat-ics in Africa.
Any comments you might have on paths we should tread/avoid in this process are greatly welcome.
The subcommittees will focus on
carrying out the mission of the
society, i.e. the advancement of
Bioinformatics and Computa-
tional Biology in Africa. If you
have comments or suggestions
please don’t hesitate to contact
the subcommittees using the
addressed provided above.
Nicky Mulder, Ph.D
University of Cape Town, South
Africa
Nicky Mulder, Ph.D ([email protected]) University of Cape Town, South Africa
Funding Opportunities for Students in Africa
Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 4
Grant/bursary name Organisation For Eligible Deadline Info
Bursaries/fellowships
South African Biosystematics Initiative (SABI) SABI MSc and PhD No restrictions None given http://www.nrf.ac.za/
NRF prestigous/equity scholar-ships NRF
MSc, PhD, Post-doc
MSc, PhD SA, Post-doc, any 31-Jan-08
http://www.nrf.ac.za/studentsupport/index.htm
NRF DOL scarce skills NRF MSc, PhD, Post-doc South Africans
closed for 2007 word doc
MRC Research development grants MRC
MSc, PhD, Post-doc South Africans
closed for 2007
http://www.mrc.ac.za/researchdevelopment/opportunity.htm
Graca Machel scholarship
Canon Collins trust
Postgrad
Females, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozam-bique, Swaziland and South Africa
1-Dec-07
word doc
List of fellowships UCT etc Research and postgrad Variable varies
http://www.uct.ac.za/research/office/funding/fellowships/
UCT bursaries UCT Postgrad South Africans & others varies
http://www.uct.ac.za/apply/funding/postgraduate/applications/
UCT postdoc fellowships UCT Postdoc Open varies http://www.uct.ac.za/research/pgfo/noticeboard/
Wellcome Trust Research Fel-lowships
Wellcome Trust All levels Open varies
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/funding/biomedicalscience/iid/
Projects
NRF Focus area NRF Research pro-jects South Africa March/April http://www.nrf.ac.za/focusareas/
UCT funding info UCT Research, travel etc. South Africa varies http://www.uct.ac.za/research/office/funding/
Research capacity strengthening in Africa
Wellcome Trust
Research pro-jects Africa, UK 14-Feb-08 http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/node2175.html
Research training grant WHO TDR Training Developing coun-tries 15-Nov-08
http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/grants/rtg2008.htm
Malaria control MIM TDR Research pro-jects Africa 15-Dec-08
http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/grants/mim_08.htm
Page 5 ASBCB Newsletter
Views from Nairobi Conference in 2007
“The conference was well attended and participants
participated in all
sessions with all excitement
and vigour. In fact, the vig-
our was so intense that one
could tell that, we have
been overdue for an oppor-
tunity to convene together
for this kind of conference.
And Nairobi was a good
location.
I'm most grateful for our
French partners and their
contributions as regards
funding and intelligency.
Thanks in particular to Oliv-
ier Gascuel. The invited sci-
entists also added colour to
the whole occassion. Infact,
for me it was a beautiful ex-
perience and look forward
for an annual continuation
of this kind of conference.”
Ezekiel Adebiyi, Ph.D
(eadebiyi@sdsc,edu)
University of South Dakota, USA
"I was impressed by the standard of scientists,
students and their re-
search at the Bioinfor-
matics conference in
Nairobi. I have attended
many popular Bioinfor-
matics conferences
abroad, and by compari-
son found the Nairobi
conference to be more
intimate enabling inter-
esting scientific discus-
sions and a high concen-
tration of good quality
presentations. The stu-
dents who attended were
of high calibre and made
an effort to interact with
the academics. Overall it
was a very enjoyable
conference from both the
networking and scientific
points of view."
Nicky Mulder, Ph.D ([email protected].
za)
University of Cape Town, South
Africa
I will take a moment to personally thank those who have con-tributed to this issue. I hope many of our readers will in the near future contribute to the newsletter as well.
We always value your research endeavors and this is the best medium to share with the rest of the ASBCB community.
Thanks.
Beatrice Kilel, Ph.D.
** ISCB meetings found at http://www.iscb.org/events/event_board.php. This section
will be dedicated to reporting regional meetings in the future.
c/o South African National Bioinformatics Institute
University of the Western Cape
Bellville 7535
SOUTH AFRICA
African Society for Bioinformatics
and Computational Biology
Enjoy the remaining days of the year and see you again in 2008!
Phone: +27 (0)21 9593645 E-mail: [email protected]
We’re on the Web!
Http://www.asbcb.org/newsletter
Conferences and Trainings
28-Nov-
07 Australia - Vic
ISSNIP International Workshop on Biomedical Informatics Associated
Dates Available
30-Nov-
07
United States - Colo-
rado
Rocky Mountain Bioinformatics Conference ISCB Event Associated Dates
Available
30-Nov-
07 United States - CA
RECOMB Satellite Workshop on Systems Biology Associated Dates
Available
3-Dec-07 France
International Workshop on Web Data Integration and Mining for Life
Sciences Associated Dates Available
3-Dec-07 United States - NY
DREAM2: The 2nd Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and
Methods Associated Dates Available
3-Dec-07 Singapore
The 18th International Conference on Genome Informatics (GIW 2007)
Associated Dates Available
7-Dec-07 Canada - BC
New Problems and Methods in Computational Biology Associated Dates
Available
10-Dec-
07 Australia - QLD
2007 International Symposium on Computational Models for Life Sci-
ences Associated Dates Available
13-Dec-
07 Spain CAMDA07 Associated Dates Available
13-Dec-
07 United States - Ohio
2007 Workshop on Machine Learning Methods in Biomedicine and Bioin-
formatics Associated Dates Available
4-Jan-08 United States - HI
PSB 2008 - Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing ISCB Affiliated Associ-
ated Dates Available
