The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) and the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB), in collaboration with the African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) and H3ABioNet, are thrilled to invite you to the ISCB Africa ASBCB Conference on Bioinformatics, taking place April 14–17, 2025, in the vibrant city of Cape Town, South Africa. 

This premier conference brings together a dynamic community of global and African researchers, providing a unique multidisciplinary platform to explore cutting-edge advancements in bioinformatics and computational biology. With a focus on Africa-driven research and innovation, the conference fosters collaboration, sparks new ideas, and empowers participants to shape the future of the field while building essential technical skills.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions are invited for oral presentation abstracts and posters at the 2025 ISCB Africa ASBCB Conference on Bioinformatics, an official conference of the International Society for Computational Biology. This is an invitation to scientists and professionals working in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology to submit high quality original research papers for presentation. Authors of oral abstracts that are accepted to the conference will present their work at the conference.

Abstracts for Oral Presentation or Poster

Abstracts for Oral Presentation submissions to ISCB Africa ASBCB should be approximately 400 words and have no figures. Adding references to already published papers is recommended where appropriate. Submission deadline in Easychair is February 14, 2025.

For a variety of reasons, ISCB/GLBC strongly prefers that scientific research accepted for oral presentation be presented in-person at the conference venue. We understand that some presenters will have valid reasons to avoid in-person attendance. ISCB will grant remote presentation options for reasons associated with maternity/paternity leave, care for a family member, personal/medical disability, sickness, financial hardship, or potential visa problems. If your research is accepted for oral presentation and you are unable to present in person, ISCB/GLBC requires notification at the time of acceptance and no later than March 17, 2025. You will be asked during your confirmation of participation to confirm your in-person participation. If unable to participate you will need to request a waiver by writing presentationwaiver@iscb.org

Any abstracts submitted after the deadline will be included only at the discretion of the conference chairs, and will be eligible for poster presentations only. Please also note that we can only allow one abstract per presenting author.

In-Person Poster Hall: When preparing accepted posters please note that your printed poster should not exceed the following dimensions: 46 inches wide by 46 inches high. There will be 1 or 2 poster per side on the each poster board. Additionally, we ask that you also follow the Virtual Poster Hall information below in addition to your in-person presentation. This ensures all posters are viewable to both in-person and virtual attendees thus providing more exposure to your work.

Virtual Poster Hall: When preparing accepted posters please note that your poster will need to be uploaded via the virtual platform portal in two formats - a PDF of the poster and a 5-7 minute flash talk video not to exceed 100MB. Poster portal information will be sent to all approved posters closer to the conference and after the notification deadline. All presentations MUST be uploaded on specific dates the week of April 1st*. More specific dates will be given closer to the conference.

*Late Breaking posters will have a very short turn-around.

List of Topics

• Agricultural Bioinformatics
• AI in Genomics and Precision Medicine
• Bioinformatics Education
• Biomedical Ethics
• Data Governance
• Data for OneHealth
• Drug Design and Discovery
• Informatics for Biobanks
• Metagenomics
• Open Science and Open Data
• Pathogen Genomics
• Population Genetics, Variation, and Evolution
• General Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Committees

Organizing committee

• Dominique Anderson, South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI)
• Alan Christoffels, SANBI, University of the Western Cape
• Ruben Cloete, South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI)
• Amel Ghouila, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Nicola Mulder, University of Cape Town
• Sumir Panji, H3ABioNet
• Hugh Patterton, Stellenbosch University

Program Committee

• Faisal Mohamed Fadlelmola, Centre for Bioinformatics & Systems Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum
• Chance Hwenude, University of the Western Cape
• Fungiwe Mpithi, South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI)
• Catherine Rossouw, SANBI, University of the Western Cape

Additional Support

• Bel Hanson, ISCB, Director of Operations and Programs
• Diane Kovats, ISCB, Chief Executive Officer
• Justine Morris, ISCB, Coordinator of Operations and Programs
• Seth Munholland, ISCB, Lead Technologist
• Maddie Thomas, ISCB, Community Engagement Liaison
• Mallory Wiper, ISCB, Communications Specialist

Venue

The conference will be held at Lagoon Beach Hotel & Conference Center in Cape Town, South Africa.

Program activities will begin on Monday, April 14, 2025 and conclude on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to events@iscb.org.